Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) is looking for that “dare to be great” situation. His young son Nick is disappointed in him, his ex-wife is worried that Larry can’t provide enough stability for their son, and her new husband is a real go-to kind of guy that his son is starting to look up to. Larry just feels if he can find that perfect invention (one of his failed attempts at success was called “The Snapper” which worked like “The Clapper” but with snapping) or perfect job then everything would be great.
But Larry also loves his son and doesn’t want him to be disappointed, so he goes to an employment agency looking for any kind of job that would give him some stability. After reading through his resume, Debbie (played by Ben Stiller’s mother, Ann Meara) doesn’t feel that she has anything Larry would be suited for. But Larry pleads with her and Debbie finally agrees to send him to a job she hasn’t been able to fill yet- a job at the Museum of Natural History. Larry goes to the museum for an interview and learns it’s a position as a security guard.
Larry is interviewed by the three current guards of the museum, who he learns are being fired and replaced by just one guard because the museum is not doing very well financially. The three guards hire Larry right away, believing “he’s the one.” When Larry returns the next night, they show him around quickly and then give him a huge page of instructions that they encourage him to follow exactly. Then they take off, leaving Larry all alone.
At first, everything seems normal and rather boring and Larry ends up falling asleep. He’s awakened by falling off his chair and while looking around, realizes the Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton is gone. At first he thinks it’s some kind of joke, but when the skeleton approaches him with a deafening roar, Larry knows something is wrong. He quickly learns that at night, the entire museum comes to life including miniature cowboys and roman guards, Neanderthals, Attila the Hun, Teddy Roosevelt and animals (including lions) from the Africa deserts. Larry survives his first night, just barely, and decides he’s going to quit. But after a talk with Teddy Roosevelt (Robin Williams) he decides to give it one more chance. But the fun doesn’t stop there. There’s a thief at work, putting Larry’s job and the museum’s nightly inhabitants at risk. It’s up to Larry to step-up and become the man and father he wants to be while figuring out how to save the museum.
“Night at the Museum” is a great family flick. The T-Rex is only scary for a few moments and the language in the movie is minimal. It’s a movie the whole family can enjoy. Our 5-year-old thought it was terrific and was talking about it the next day. It has a lot of laughs (many coming from mini-cowboy Owen Wilson and the mini-roman emperor Octavius that he just can’t get along with) and a good message too.
Rated PG for mild action, language and brief rude humor.
Stars: Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Robin Williams, Dick Van Dyke and more.
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