Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) is a divorced father unable to keep a job. Desperate to keep his son Nick (Jake Cherry)in his life, he takes a job at the Museum of Natural History as a night guard. The three older, and soon to be unemployed, night guards, Cecil (Dick Van Dyke), Gus (Mickey Rooney), and Reginald (Bill Cobbs), give him an instruction manual and some exit advice: leave some of the lights on, don't let anything "in...or out", Once night comes, Larry freaks out when the museum exhibits come to life and he barely makes it through the night. The Theodore Roosevelt(Robin Williams)exhibit helps him restore order, explaining that ever since an Egyptian tablet was brought to the museum everything comes to life each night. However, if the exhibits are outside of the museum at sunrise, they turn to dust. The rest of the movie consists of the wild antics of the various exhibits as they clash with each other and Larry. Larry learns history, re-establishes his relationship with Nick, and makes freinds with his charges in a series of wild escapades with lots of sight gags - the T-rex fossil attempting to drink from the water fountain, for example - and the scenery is rich and filmed well. The dark museum is a perfect Blu-ray meduim - you see lots of detail in spite of the dim lighting in the movie scenes. There is no offensive language to speak of and all ages will like this movie - one of the few that you can sit down with a 4 yerar old, a 40 year old and an 84 year old and all will get a few good laughs.Read full review
This is definitely a FAMILY MOVIE meaning that kids will probably like it and adults will probably be bored with it- I know that after the first 20 minutes or so my husband and I both were... Ben Stiller plays a divorced, unemployed father who desperately wants to earn the respect of his 10 year old son and just cannot seem to compete with his ex-wife's new husband. He accepts a job at the museum of natural history as a night guard and quickly realizes that the job entails more than he bargained for. All the displays in the museum come to life after midnight, which is problematic as not all of the displays cohabitate well together (i.e. the cowboys and Indians fight, the wild animals are dangerous and so forth). Stiller is desperate to keep the job because he wants to show his son that he is capable of following through. Therefore, he attempts to devise a plan to help all the displays live peacefully together. Robin Williams, one of the museum's displays, serves as the voice of reason throughout Stiller's nightime tribulations and gives him inside advice about the basic needs of each of the museum displays. In short, an interesting concept (a museum coming to life), good special effects, okay acting, fun for the kids but not quite enough wit to equally entertain the parents. This lack of "wit" is probably what makes it a good FAMILY MOVIE, as what entertains adults the most are things that are probably not appropriate for children anyway... Recognize it for what it is... watch it with the kids and watch them have a good time... that's really what it's all about anyway...Read full review
Night at the Museum is a movie about unemployed Larry (Ben Stiller) and him desperately wanting the respect of his 10 year-old son. Larry takes a job at the Museum of Natural History to try to gain some stability and keep a place close to his son. When Larry decides he finally wants to make this job stick, he uses clever and interesting ways to keep the peace and destruction down to a minimum. The “advice ridden” and responsible presence of Robin Williams was great. Robin was toned down and believably smitten with Sacagawea. The film is filled with excellent CGI museum displays running amuck and wandering the halls. There was so much to see I’m sure the family will enjoy this movie much more upon DVD re-viewing. In the theater, my 6 year-old son cheered aloud when he saw Owen Wilson (Shanghi Knights, Shanghi Noon, Cars) as a cowboy with his feelings on his sleeve. With him was Steve Coogan (Around the World in 80 Days) and also present briefly is Paul Rudd (Clueless). I have to admit that the presence of an actor named Ricky Gervais as the Museum director seemed to have a “cameo feel” I just didn’t get. He received way too much screen time and attention, especially for someone I had no idea who he was, coupled with the fact that he was totally unfunny and a bad actor to boot… well, it was painful to watch. The three old guys playing the former security guards were just that, the director could have saved some money and cast just one, although hearing Micky Rooney (The Black Stallion) calling Ben Stiller “butterscotch” was pretty funny. I missed the chemistry between Owen Wilson and Ben Stiller present in their other movies (Zoolander, Meet the Parents), probably due to the fact that because of the special effects, neither really shared screen time. Owen and Steve did sneak in some funny references to other movies that the kids definitely won’t (probably for the best, shouldn’t) catch. Don’t forget this is a FAMILY film and you will like this movie.Read full review
It is a good family movie, no sexual scenes. It is funny and educational with history spoofs included. Actually I enjoyed it more the second time I watched it. Teaches compassion for family members that have gone through divorces.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
I love this movie. The 1st time I watched it I laughed so hard and felt good after watching it. It is very entertaining and has no violence like you see in a lot of todays videos. Great for the kids to watch and you can definitely have a family night with this DVD. I have added to my collection with this movie and will watch it again and again. Pick-up Night At The Museum Two also. Robin Williams does an excellent Teddy Roosevelt. While watching this movie you do not realize the characters at the museum are pint size. They are alive and real on the screen.
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