Review: Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009)

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009)

2.5

ADVENTURE/COMEDY
U.S. Release Date: 05/22/09
Running Length: 105 Minutes
MPAA Classification: PG (Mild Action, Brief Language)
Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Cast: Ben Stiller, Amy Adams, Owen Wilson, Hank Azaria, Robin Williams, Christopher Guest, Alain Chabat, Jake Cherry
Director: Shawn Levy
Screenplay: Robert Ben Garant & Thomas Lennon
Cinematography: John Schwartzman
Music: Alan Silvestri
U.S. Distributor: 20th Century Fox

Review by: Carter Moulton

05/25/09

I went into Night At The Museum 2 with an “I’m-watching-this-generation’s-Home Alone” mindset, meaning that I consciously tried to:

a. prohibit myself from thinking, “that could never happen!”
b. call off the plot-hole search
c. take the concept, which actually holds a lot of potential, and try to have some fun.

The result? So so. (Keep in mind that I hold Home Alone and Home Alone 2 in the highest of respects when it comes to ludicrous, corn-syrupy fun.)

Night At The Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian has some truly funny moments, but with all of the talent involved—Ben Stiller, Amy Adams, Owen Wilson, Ricky Gervais, Hank Azaria, Robin Williams, Christopher Guest, Jonah Hill, and up-and-coming Jay Baruchel—there should be a lot more of these moments than there are. For anyone unfamiliar with Night At The Museum, both the original and this film revolve around a secret tablet that, when in the proper position, brings all of the museum’s inhabitants to life. Ben Stiller plays Larry, a divorced father who took a job as a night guard at the Museum of Natural History in the first film. Now, in this installment, Larry has shed his night guard uniform; he’s made it big with the invention of the glow-in-the-dark flashlight, and his company is thriving. He heads back to the Museum of Natural History for “nostalgic” reasons, only to find that all of his wax friends are being shipped to the Smithsonian in Washington D.C. to make room for some new hi-tech displays.

After spending one last night with his museum friends Teddy Roosevelt (Robin Williams), Jedediah Smith (Owen Wilson), Octavius (Steve Coogan) and others, Larry returns home, but no cash-hungry sequel would end without an over-the-top conflict. A mischievous monkey—also in the first film—takes the mystical tablet with him to the Smithsonian. Now, with the tablet bringing the world's biggest museum to life, it’s up to Larry and a batch of new historical figures to find the tablet and rescue their friends from Kahmunrah (played skillfully by Hank Azaria), an evil pharaoh who wants the tablet for his own scheme—rub your hands together—to take over the world.

The film follows the same formula as its predecessor, not surprisingly. The humor is pretty one dimensional—while the concept of a chaotic museum holds the potential for a slapstick symphony, the filmmakers choose to use fast-paced back-and-forth dialogue—Ben Stiller’s signature—which gets tedious past a certain point. It would also help if the exchanges went somewhere—they often consist of a “no” followed by a “yes."

This movie exposes the importance of writing, and the realization that you can pack a film with as many stars as you like, but if there isn’t any substance on paper, you get a hollow result. This is the paradox that both “Night at the Museum” films present: sugarcoated failure versus underdeveloped success. There’s just enough wit and heart in these films for me to say success, but as I sit through the jumbled dialogue and tiresome gags I think failure.

Whatever the answer may be, there are some improvements that Battle of the Smithsonian has made over its precursor. Amy Adams and Bill Hader. Both shine as Amelia Earhart and General Custer, respectively. Whenever Adams is on the screen the film gets a whimsical breath of fresh air; whenever Hader is on the screen you can bet on a laugh. Another improvement, one that should have been further explored, is that we get to see how paintings react to the magic tablet’s life-giving power. Also, if you like “The Office," you’ll be pleased to see many cast members from that show pop up in different scenes throughout the film.

While the film should be funnier, Night at the Museum 2 holds up very well as an action/adventure piece, and this fact may very well make it worth while. Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian might have you fidgeting in your seat or looking at the time on your cell phone (don’t), but afterwards it will leave a semi-sweet taste in your mouth—and that, I suppose, is the goal… if you ignore the—rub your hands together—“squeeze-every-last-dollar-out-of-a-concept” motive.