Night at the Museum (DVD, 2007, 2-Disc Set, Special Edition)

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.

"My dum-dum want to speak"
This was a great fun, family-oriented movie. You probably already know the story line: a museum where everything inside comes to life each night. There have already been some good reviews that touched on many important parts; the fact that it is very family friendly, a touch of history (not a lot, but it's there), and a lot of good clean humor.
There are a few things that I really liked about the movie that have not yet been touched on here.
The story is really about a divorced dad trying to maintain his relationship with a son he only sees a couple of times a week due to the divorce. While this is a common story in movies, I like the fact that it portrays a family where, though divorced, the parents remain civil toward each other and have the interests of the son in mind.
On a lighter note, this movie really has some big actors playing smaller parts. The biggest part is by Robin Williams as Teddy Roosevelt. I think he did a great job at the role, and blends into it as only Williams can.
Overlooked is the parts of the other three security guards. These are really some legends in acting. I really liked the spunky part played by Rooney, and it was great to see him on the screen again.
Overall this is a wonderful show to be watched again and again. My family saw it twice in theaters, and my 3 year old has watched the DVD several times over now (as long as I can keep her fingerprints off the DVD).

Funny and entertaining for my whole family. They still put in a few words that I would have rather they left out for the kids, but all-in-all one of the best family flicks of recent years. No one dies to move the story along, which is a pleasant change from Finding Nemo, Lion King, The Incredibles, etc.

Worth a look, even if you don't usually like Ben Stiller's way over the top kind of humor. That's toned-down for the younger range of viewers. Plus Mickey Rooney is hilarious as the crabby security guard!

Another great Ben Stiller movie. Fantastic idea. Turned out to be a better movie (since it's not just 1 night in the museum) than I had hoped. The camera angles are perfect and add even more humor to the already hilarious situations. Ben Stiller definitely delivers in this movie! Fun/safe for the entire family, as well. I can see myself watching this quite a few times...

Suspend your adult imagination and get ready for fun! This film can be enjoyed by any age person. The exhibits in the Museum of Natural History all come alive at night and the resulting chaos is amazing.

The cast is quite good and it is very nice to see some favorites reappear.

The story line is minor compared to just watching what is going on. The outcome is very upbeat and all in all quite a nice viewing experince. I am so glad I purchased this film!