Night at the Museum

As lightweight and inoffensive as its premise might’ve indicated, Night at the Museum is a breezy piece of work that’s occasionally weighed down by needless instances of heavy-handed sentimentality. Ben Stiller stars as Larry Daley, a down-on-his-luck single father who’s forced to take a job as a museum night watchman to support his son. Problems emerge as it becomes clear that every inanimate item within the museum, including tiny model soldiers and a Stonehenge statue, comes alive at night, and it’s up to Larry to ensure that that nothing/nobody escapes the confines of the building. Directed by Shawn Levy, Night at the Museum moves at a relatively brisk pace and features a number of genuinely entertaining set pieces – with Larry’s frantic, chaotic first night on the job undoubtedly a highlight. Stiller’s expectedly personable performance certainly goes a long way towards keeping things interesting, while it’s hard not to find some value in the exceedingly quirky supporting cast (which includes, among others, Ricky Gervais, Owen Wilson, and Steve Coogan). It’s a shame, then, that screenwriters Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon have opted to throw in a series of increasingly dramatic interludes, as there’s just no denying that such moments come off as entirely needless and flat-out forced (ie unlike certain similarly-themed efforts, the film’s more schmaltzy attributes stand out like a sore thumb). Still, Night at the Museum is generally entertaining and it’s ultimately difficult not to be drawn into the admittedly out-there storyline.

**1/2 out of ****