Night at the Museum (DVD, 2009, Widescreen; Movie Cash)

My pre-teen son, my wife and I viewed this last night on DVD, as this was not one we caught at the theater.

Ben Stiller played Larry Daley, a divorced father in this story directed by Shawn Levy.

I kind of felt for Larry, being a divorced dad myself. Larry had lots of ideas and dreams, but had a hard time getting them to come into being.

He is about to be evicted from his apartment in Brooklyn, so he accepts a job as a night guard at the Museum of Natural History. This would prove his stablility to his son and ex-wife who doesn't want him to see his son until he is more firmly rooted.

The strangest thing is that the elderly night guards who hire him ,(played by Mickey Rooney, Dick Van Dyke, and Bill Cobbs), fail to mention one major plot twist! At night when the museum is closed, everything inside comes to life!

No kidding! From Attila the Hun to miniature Roman soldiers, animals, a dinosaur skeleton, Teddy Roosevelt, Lewis & Clark, to Columbus, it is a big party at night!

As the new night watchman it’s Larry’s job to control the night festivities and show his son that he is more than an ordinary man after all.

Carla Gugino plays the female lead. Robin Williams is hilarious as always, this time as a wax figure of Teddy Roosevelt. Owen Wilson is a standout as a bickering miniature cowboy!

Good family fun! Good for a rental, and possibly for your Family Film Library if you are a Ben Stiller or Owen Wilson fan!

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.

I AM RATING THIS FILM EXCELLENT,BECAUSE IT CAN APPEAL TO ALMOST ANYONE.THE FAMILY,THE SINGLE,THE GATHERING,OR JUST THE KIDS TO KEEP 'EM QUIET.

THIS FILM WAS TONS OF FUN RIGHT FROM THE START.YOU MEET BEN STILLER AND HIS SON,AND GET TO KNOW WHAT LIFE IS LIKE FOR HIM.HE LOSES HIS CURRENT JOB AND LUCKS INTO THE GREAT MUSEUM JOB.HE IS TRAINED BY DICK VAN DYKE,AND MICKEY ROONEY(YOU CAN GUESS HOW FUNNY THEY ARE TOGETHER)!

THE FIRST NIGHT HE IS THERE THINGS GO CRAZY!THE ENTIRE MUSEUM COMES TO LIFE,AND CHAOS FINDS BEN STILLER MEETING AN ENTOURAGE OF CHARACTERS INCLUDING:ROBIN WILLIAMS & OWEN WILSON!

THIS FILM COMBINES ACTION WITH HUMOR,AND HISTORY WITH MODERN DAY LIFE.SO PERHAPS THE KIDS CAN LEARN SOMETHING WITHOUT KNOWING IT!

THE SHOTS ARE CRYSTAL CLEAR,AND THE SOUND QUALITY ARE FABULOUS ON THE DVD!WIDESCREEN OFFERS AN EXTENDED SIDE VIEW OF THE FILM,SO YOU SEE MORE THAN IN FULL FRAME.THE LINES AT THE TOP AND BOTTOM WILL DISAPPEAR ONCE YOU ARE INTO THE FILM.

This is one of the most original comedy movies in recent years! There is never a dull moment in this movie about a man who is down on his luck and reluctantly accepts a museum night security job. Ben Stiller is the guard who finds he got more than he bargained for with this job! He finds he's replacing 3 elderly gentlemen who have held down the night job for many years. Dick Van Dyke and Mickey Rooney are guards who are not too happy about being replaced. Robin Williams holds down a role as Teddy Roosevelt as if he were meant to play it! The film's cast also includes Owen Wilson among others which keep the laughs coming all the way to the end! I had to buy it because I will have to watch this quite often in the future. Excellent!!!

This movie is a lot of fun as the history museum comes to life at night for a night guard. It features great stars such as Ben Stiller, Dick Van Dyke, Mickey Rooney, Robin Williams, Owen Wilson and more.
It's kind of a wild ride through history but it is fun and humorous for the entire family. It's adventurous, but not scary.
I recommend it for all ages. Enjoy!