Night At The Museum (2006)

I had always wanted to catch up with this film because the advertisements and plot always peaked the curiosity of my inner kid. It did not fail to disappoint because NATM is one of the most fun family films I’ve seen in a while. It is far from perfect, but I can totally see why kids made this a big hit and it’s one that adults will be able to have fun with as well.

Larry (Ben Stiller), a divorced dad, is slowly loosing his son’s respect due to always hopping from one dead-end job to another. He finally lands a night security job with the Museum of Natural History, and to his surprise, all the historical artifacts come to life at night. This pushes Larry’s perseverance like never before as he tries to figure out how to handle the nighttime antics while also trying to earn his son’s respect.

I couldn’t help but think of Jumanji when watching this. The fun lies in not knowing what will happen, but what will come alive next. I’ve seen Stiller in better roles, but he plays the over-exasperated guard pretty well. What I thought was very commendable of the film was its ability to challenge the audience, particularly kids, to visit museums. It stresses the importance of knowing about what has come before us, but does it with such energy that I can see kids actually wanting to go to their local museum without complaining.

Not every joke is funny and some characters get a little tiring, but I haven’t seen a film provoke so much imagination in a long time. I give NATM 3.5 out of 5 monkey slaps.

Side notes:
• It seems like every family film I see these days have a scenario in which the parents are divorced. I know that it’s the norm these days, but it’s still sad to me that this scenario more relatable to a bigger audience.

• I usually don’t notice this as much, especially in a family film, but I loved the historical feel that the cinematography evoked.