All Hollywood movies have one thing in common. They have the special ability to make past eras of history, rich, poignant and interesting. That is the premise of this film, "A Night at The Museum." It is the simple story of a father, Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) who has developed a strained relation with his son. The boy, like most children wishes his bond with his father was more secure. Instead, Larry dreams of becoming an over-night success with his wild 'get rich' schemes. In doing so he puts in jeopardy the custody of his son. To remedy this situation, Larry takes a job as a night-watchman at a museum. Unbeknownst to him, three aging guards, Cecil, Gus and Reginald (Dick Van Dyke, Mickey Rooney and Bill Cobbs) do not inform him of their larcenous intentions, nor of the 'Special' magic which descends upon the place each night. Because of the three aging veterans of Hollywood and a well-placed Robin Williams, this movie is destined for Classic status. Due to the incredible artistry of special Effects, what the viewer sees is nothing short of wondrous. This is a fantastic movie. If pressed to find a flaw in the film, I'd say, I would have chosen someone like, Jim Carey or Michael Richards for the father/son scenes as Mr. Stiller was a bit artificial. Still, the movie is worth seeing as it is. ****

For years, I avoided watching "Night at the Museum" because, to put it frankly, it looked rather dumb to me. Well, in hindsight, I guess I was a bit dumb, as the film is a marvelous family picture...far, far better than I'd imagined.

The story is ridiculous. But the way it's constructed, combined with nice acting, you really don't mind. A loser divorced dad, Larry (Ben Stiller) has just lost yet another job and his son, not surprisingly, isn't particularly proud of his ne'er do well father. When Larry gets a job working as a night watchman at a natural history museum, it looks like he'll soon quit as well because the museum has a strange and unexpected problem. It seems that an Egyptian artifact in the building has a strange curse....it brings all the creatures and characters to life every night! So, it's not surprising that Larry wants to quit...but because of his son, he sticks with it longer. So what's next? Well, likely you won't predict it!

The acting and direction are lovely...just lovely. There are many characters who are just fun and enjoyable...and the script, though mega-weird, is also a lot of fun. I particularly like that it's a film kids will love...but so will their parents, who won't feel like they're being drug to 'just a kids film'. Well worth seeing and so much fun.

Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) is an unemployed divorced father of Nick. He is a complete loser and feels he's losing his son. He gets a night watchman job at the Museum of Natural History. Only there is a magical golden tablet of Ahkmenrah that brings all the objects in the museum to life.

The CG is pretty good. Ben Stiller is OK as the lead. There are a lot of great comedic talents here, but they are mostly wasted. Dick Van Dyke, Bill Cobbs, and Mickey Rooney are playing against type. They could definitely be used more effectively elsewhere. Steve Coogan and Owen Wilson are the two standouts who make a great comedy duo.

It's obvious where this movie is aimed at. It's an inoffensive movie with a lot of visual gags. As a family movie, it works but only on that level.