Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian

For those who have not been able to visit our National Mall and tour the Smithsonian Institute’s museums and galleries, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian provides a gleeful romp through a few of the more popular buildings that are our nation’s “attic.”

Directed by Shawn Levy, the film brings former night guard turned successful entrepreneur Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) back to New York’s Museum of Natural History to find that his nocturnal friends, the various exhibits that come to life courtesy of the magic tablet of Pharos Ahkmenrah, are being sent to Washington D.C. for deep storage.

Museum curator Dr. McPhee (delightfully played by Ricky Gervais) explains that a lot has happened while the “night guard” was off being successful, including the museum board’s decision to bring in new “interactive” exhibits.

President Theodore Roosevelt, beautifully played by Robin Williams, sets the stage for the ensuing mayhem as he explains to Larry that some of the exhibits are going to Washington, D.C., but not the tablet.

Ergo, this will be the last night of midnight wandering before a final, everlasting deep sleep. Those destined to leave in the morning include Teddy’s love, the Indian Sacajawea (Mizuo Peck).

Also ready to be packed away are the miniatures Roman Gladiator Octavius (Steve Coogen) and a very obstinate cowboy, Jebediah (Owen Wilson) who carries a deep hurt because Larry just stopped coming around.

Receiving a frantic phone call from Jebediah, helped with a bit of guilt and the realization that being a night guard at the museum, not worrying about corporate meetings with Walmart, is what made him happy, Larry takes off for Washington, D.C. in order to rescue his friends.

You see the movies real star, Dexter (played by the capuchin monkey Crystal) stole the life-giving tablet of the Pharaoh King Ahkmenrah (Rami Malek) and the New York exhibits have woken up in D.C.

But so has everything at the Smitshonia, including the Pharos evil brother, Kahmunrah, hysterically played by Hank Azaria, who also played Rodin’s The Thinker and Abe Lincoln.

Kahmunrah needs the life-giving tablet in order to open the door to the underworld and release his army, gaining world dominance. Only the tablets “combination” has been changed and Larry has to find out what it is, or else...

But that would be a spoiler.

From this point on, the museums of The Smithsonian Institute and the wonderful treasurers it holds come to life , including the very lovely Amelia Earhart played by the equally lovely Amy Adams.

During the movie viewers are treated to romps through the museum, including Larry’s encounter with the Smithsonian’s night guard Brandan (Jonah Hill), leading to what should become a classic comic bit between the two comedic actors.

During their flashlight battle, Larry is able to pilfer Brandan’s security clearance badge and gain access to the main underground floors of storage where the New York exhibits are under attack by classic bad guys such as Ivan the Terrible (Christopher Guest), Al Capone (Jon Bernthal) and Napoleon (Alain Chabat).

Film magic brings to life classic statues, and in a bit of brilliance, the paintings on the wall, allowing Larry and Amelia to dive into the famous Eisenstaedt V-J Day in Times Square photo, wherein the movie turns into a 1945 monochrome period piece.

There is a lot to love about this family friendly movie and the duo of films is my favorite Stiller fare. Writers Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon do a great job bringing this fairy tale to life with lots of incredible touches that make the film memorable.

A few favorites are how the exhibits has a sense of awareness, acquiring information, accents, and pop-culture references from the crowds that come to see them.

I also thoroughly enjoyed how the actor’s played with some of the better known museum treasures, including Kahmunrah taking Archie Bunkers “chair” for his throne and punching a few jabs while wearing Muhammad Ali’s robe and gloves.



The Goods: The movie held plenty of good, laugh out loud points. Hank Azaria’s special feature, Phinding Pharo, in which viewers are treated to the process of the vocally gifted actor trying on different voices for the Egyptian bad guy. His final choice, which is an almost effeminate Boris Karlof, is perfect and it is fun to watch the process.

I also thoroughly enjoyed the Apollo 13 Rocket Launch sequence featuring Clint Howard reprising his role from the 1995 film, Apollo 13.

The Bads: The blu ray version does not look anywhere near what one might expect. The widescreen picture in 1080p lacks pop, which is disappointing as the film is really well shot.

The Mandatory Extras: With a cast of comedic powerhouses, the Gag Reel is neither forced nor made up, but filled with some really funny actors reducing each other to fits of giggles and peals of laughter. It was obviously one of those sets you would love to have sat in on.

Other Extras, of which there are many, include a Behind the Scenes look at the film with Ben Stiller and Museum Magic that takes the viewer into the sequences filmed “inside” the Eisenstaedt photo.

Also included are deleted scenes and commentaries amongst other fun features.

Above and Beyond: Watching the film while playing the Museum Scavenger Hunt provides another great excuse to watch the film. Solve twelve clues, such as “this flat antlered animal was almost hunted to extinction,” by finding the correlated scene, filling in the Pharaohs Tablet with every correct answer,

Another great extra is found not on the Blu Ray but by visiting the Smithsonian Institute website and taking an informative and fun video tour with the Night of the Museum star Ben Stiller.