Stiller hosts another Night at the Museum

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian is all flash, bang and whiz. Normally those characteristics are enough to propel a big family blockbuster. Sometimes all we want is a little flash.

But for a movie that barely comes up for breath in the sea of loud noises and one-liners, it really is lackluster.

The biggest laugh in the movie comes not from the clunky scripted jokes by writers Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant (the normally hilarious, co-creators of The State and Reno 911) or from the self-indulgent improvs (at least they felt that way) by the cavalcade of comedians gasping for screen time.

No, the best laugh comes from a scene where Amelia Earhart (the always endearing Amy Adams) and befuddled hero Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) take a midnight flight on the Wright Brothers’ plane through Washington, D.C., right over Capital Hill, the Lincoln Memorial and the White House. A pretty risky move in these fearful times I would think.

To do it once is hazardous, but later in the movie when they fly a motor plane right into Manhattan, they are just asking for it. But of course, no one bats an eye. I would have liked to see thousands of New Yorkers running for their lives until they saw who was piloting. “Oh, it’s just Amelia Earhart, we’ll be safe. It’s not like she’s ever crashed a plane before.”

But criticizing a movie like Battle of the Smithsonian for being unrealistic misses the point. It’s just that the movie was so lame that I found myself pondering these inconsistencies. A bad sign for a movie meant to distract with spectacle.

If you’ve seen the first Night at the Museum you know how it goes. A bunch of museum displays come to life at night, courtesy of an ancient tablet, and chase Ben Stiller through the hallway. That’s basically it.

The new movie expands on that concept only in that it features the much-larger Smithsonian museums. That means instead of the first film’s Natural History-themed exhibits, we get to see modern art, paintings and, yes, Oscar the Grouch chase the on-again, off-again museum night guard played by Stiller. Exciting. …

The movie attempts to piece together a plot, if somewhat feebly. A whiny Egyptian pharaoh, Kah Mun Rah (Hank Azaria), wants to raise an army of the dead to take over the world. To do that he needs the previously mentioned ancient tablet. If only Larry and his exhibit friends—including Owen Wilson as a miniature cowboy, Steve Coogan as the equally diminutive Octavius and Bill Hader as General Custer—can save the day. Oh please, pleeeease Ben Stiller, won’t you save us?

The cast does do an admirable job selling this dead-on-arrival material. Ricky Gervais, in a small role, brings his usual deft comedic touch and Stiller, as usual, makes a suitable comedic anchor. But it’s Amy Adams who once again shines, giving us a sweet portrayal of Amelia Earhart that belongs in a much better movie.

The movie does show signs of inspiration. One scene has Earhart and Larry jump into the famed V-J Day photo of the sailor kissing a nurse. The world is alive and vibrant as they interact with the subjects—Quantum Leap-style. However, instead of really exploring the high-concept of living art throughout the movie, we are only teased with what is possible.

I know it’s a family movie, but I never tire of saying that we need to give kids more. I hope only the next big family release will actually try and tap into a child-like imagination and give us something original. But since this movie is likely to make $500 million, I’m not holding my breath.