Night at the Museum 2 Review

Published by Jeff Leins on May 25, 2009

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian is equally as long and boring as its title.  It should have been called “Another Night at a Different Museum” for a bit more honesty in advertising, even though it feels like the longest night ever.  This Smithsonian “battle” is little more than a frantic, PG skirmish between countless underdeveloped characters, like a history textbook threw up on the screen.

In a violent, R-rated affair, children under 17 are only allowed in the theater if accompanied by an adult.  In this PG excursion, adults should only be allowed in if accompanied by a child.  Toddlers will be delighted by it’s whimsical intention and slapstick, lowbrow humor, but there isn’t much for anyone who might actually recognize the historical figures.  The story is nothing more than an amalgam of anachronisms, as lifelike as a room full of taxidermy and fossils.

In the first adventure Larry Daley (Ben Stiller), desperate for employment, takes a night security job at New York City’s Museum of Natural History.  Much to his surprise, an ancient, magical tablet brings everything to life and the re-animated historical characters help Daley bond with his son.

The sequel picks up two years later and somehow Daley is already peddling his third successful invention.  With a little help from George Foreman and a phony infomercial audience, his glow-in-the-dark flashlight is such a hit that it’s never seen in the movie again.  Daley doesn’t use his own product, other security guards don’t carry one, and the apparently non-existent Washington D.C. police force isn’t around to use them.  If the script can’t remember the lame setup scenes minutes before, why should you?

Daley’s favorite characters are all being relocated to the archives in the basement of the Smithsonian Institute at the U.S. capitol.  It seems Daley’s eagerness to move on and up was matched by the museum’s desire for progress in the form of holographic displays (what year is this?).  This is all explained by the underused Dr. McPhee (Ricky Gervais) and Teddy Roosevelt (Robin Williams), whose comic talents don’t belong in the mixed bag of cliches and wacky kid comedy.  In fact, there is a massive list of funny people all wasted in minuscule parts, including Christopher Guest, Steve Coogan, Bill Hader, and Jay Baruchel.  Jonah Hill has the best comedic scene, even if it is a forced interaction with Stiller.  (I’d love to see Hill take the reins of the series if Stiller has had enough scampering around.)

Once again, the mythical tablet makes the special effects, errr… exhibits come to life.  Who saw that coming?  Jedediah (Owen Wilson) and friends are under attack from the villainous, inexplicably lisping Pharaoh Kah Mun Rah (Hank Azaria), who wants to use the tablet to open an inter-dimensional gate.  Daley is coerced into searching for the combination along with a new female sidekick.  Amy Adams rises above the mess as Amelia Earhart, a lovable version of the famous pilot outfitted here with an affection for goofy men and a pleasantly distracting pair of tight flight pants.

In the first movie, Daley is racing around trying to keep the characters contained.  However, this time he’s running around Washington D.C. springing anything and everything to life so they can deliver corny one liners.  Even the Lincoln Memorial becomes animated enough to make hokey jokes and deliver odd matchmaking tips.  Plus there is an unnecessary appearance by The Thinker statue, incorrectly placed in this museum for cheap trailer fodder.  The movie is so packed with historic figures that by the end they’re all battling for screen time.

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian is worse than the first, a scattered display of kiddie fluff and blatant morality messaging that makes you wish you were at a real museum instead.  Don’t see this unless you’re part of a class field trip.

2 out of 5.