How can you make a fantasy comedy and not nail even one joke?I honestly don't understand how you can consider this movie good.

Night At The Museum has Ben Stiller in a cash flow problem. One get rich quick scheme after another has fallen through and he needs a job just so he can keep joint custody of his son Jake Cherry. In a nice scene at the Employment office where Ben's real life mom Anne Meara he lands a job as the night watchman at the Museum Of Natural History. The job comes with a few hidden perks. Like since 1953 the exhibits come alive in the evening hours. All as a result of a tablet from ancient Egypt with a spell that was there. Acting as Empresario of the exhibits is Robin Williams as President Theodore Roosevelt who was instrumental in founding the museum.But previous night guards Bill Cobbs, Mickey Rooney, and Dick Van Dyke know about the nightlife and the tablet and they want it for themselves.I think the special effects kind of overwhelm the story though it's a good one. Stiller is fine as your every man Walter MItty like dreamer. Small wonder he wound up playing Walter Mitty later on.The film is a lot of fun and with a cast like this it would be a shame for the whole family to miss it.

Centred around a harmlessly fun if blatantly writer's block induced 'what-if' concept, this friendly and fairly heart-felt family flick is a feel good affair throughout and is as entertaining as you'd expect despite its few narrative flaws and heavily-dated special effects (despite it being a modern flick fuelled with a healthy, CGI-capable budget). There's a predictability underlying 'Night At The Museum (2005)' but also a sound logic, and it's as satisfying as it is clichéd which makes it a rather endearing affair with a few chuckle-worthy moments and a couple of emotionally resonant ones too. 6/10

Ben Stiller plays Larry Daley, an unemployed father to son Nick (Jake Cherry). He's not been very successful in previous jobs and is about to start a new life in Queens. However, before Larry leaves he makes one last attempt to find a job. Larry ends up securing employment as a night watchmen at a local museum - but this is no ordinary museum and Larry discovers that the statues and museum pieces come to life between sunset and sunrise due to an ancient tablet that has been placed in the museum. This means that Larry's evenings at work are 'eventful' to say the least.This to me is much more than just a special effects extravaganza. It's actually very funny and also contains some great acting performances. There are occasional cheap sight gags and once or twice it does get a bit crude, but these elements aren't over-done and a lot of the jokes are actually clean and tasteful - Larry's feud with the monkey Dexter was a personal highlight for me. There are a few gags that are a bit crude and there is some very minor violence in this film so it's probably not suitable for younger children (although teenagers should be OK with this).It's not just the animals that come to life, but many of the cast do as well - Rooney for me was the scene stealer and was a blast in this. Stiller was excellent and gave the film a nice manic edge when required. Stiller is well-supported by an excellent cast including Bill Cobbs, Dick Van Dyke, Owen Wilson, Steve Coogan. In fact, all the cast were great apart from one person......RICKY GERVAIS; I'm sorry but whenever I saw him on screen I didn't see a Museum Director in a New York Museum - what I actually saw was a camp David Brent playing a Museum Director in a New York Museum. Anyone who has seen the UK version of The Office will know what I'm talking about. His mannerisms and the way he speaks just reminded me of David Brent. This would have been OK if his character would have been funny, like his David Brent character was in The Office, but the writers probably gave Gervais the weakest material to work with and for me he was a pointless character in the film. I can just imagine him repeating "Assistant to the museum director" if he'd had an assistant. I'm probably being a bit harsh, but it did bother me slightly when watching this film. Thankfully, Gervais isn't given much screen time so it wasn't a huge problem.Although I had an issue with the casting of Gervais, this is still an absolute laugh riot from start to finish. The script is mostly sharp and funny and it very rarely loses momentum. In summary, it's a very funny film and highly enjoyable.