It’s hard not to effuse wildly about a movie like Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian. It contains so much of what we want to see in our movies, it has an excellent pedigree, it even has a special sort of enthusiasm all its own, but sometimes, our own biases must be pushed aside for the sake of a greater truth.
What greater truth, you ask? Am I just being pedantic and pretentious for fun again? No, not really–but first, the plot rundown.
Larry Daley, played by Ben Stiller, is back for more late-night museum fun, but it’s not all about the museum for him any more. His inventions have finally taken off, and Larry finds himself in the position of men like Ron Popeil and Billy Mays and that loud schmuck Vince from those ShamWow! commercials. He’s even hosting his own infomercials for his newest product, the Glow in the Dark Flashlight, with help from George Foreman, who himself has hosted infomercials. But Larry doesn’t quite seem satisfied–considering that his LAST job had him tearing around a museum trying to keep peace with the exhibits who became animated after dark thanks to Egyptian magical artifacts and also busting a ring of corrupt guards, it’s easy to see where “hawking gadgets” might be considered a step down. Even if they’re your OWN gadgets and you own the company. Anyway, the last museum, filled with the living exhibits, is being transferred to the National Archives following a restructuring and renovation of the old museum. But the Egyptian artifact manages to follow them thanks to Dexter the capuchin monkey, and a whole new kettle of worms is opened as the artifacts ORIGINAL owner is out to take it back, and he’ll be nowhere near as benevolent about it as its current owner.
Like I said, there’s a lot to like here for virtually everybody. There are jokes created by two guys from Reno 911, for crying out loud. Those guys can write jokes like no freaking tomorrow. There’s action and suspense and thrills and comedy and fully TWICE the monkey action of the original (yes, there are TWO capuchin monkeys in this one) and a downright celebration of the American can-do get up and go spirit that made this country what it is today…but somehow…somehow….
Maybe the biggest problem with this movie is that it’s so very similar to the last one. Bigger museum, sure. Bigger evil plot, yes sir. Much bigger, in fact. Bigger laughs, bigger jokes…but somewhere, in all the drive to go and make the movie bigger they forgot to include much of anything that distinguishes it from the FIRST one. Oh, look–there are the Mongols, grunting and gesticulating wildly…and there’s the Moa head still asking about gum-gum from every dum-dum that passes by…yeah…that’s not old or nothing.
I spent most of Night at the Musuem: Battle of the Smithsonian convinced that I was actually just watching the first one again, only without the funniest part of all, watching Larry try to get adjusted to his new environment.
But maybe I’m being too harsh. Maybe I’m not taking notice that this movie is still great, despite the fact that it’s not really that original. It’s a retread, but it’s still a pretty good retread. I laughed, I nodded, I understood and followed. The only real downside is that they spent a whole lot of time going over ground they’d already gone over.
It’s like a joke you’ve already heard–still funny, but nowhere NEAR as funny as the first time.
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