I'm Made Of Wax Larry. What Are You Made Of?: Night At The Museum (2006)

Sometimes a middle of the road, uncomplicated family friendly movie is exactly what a person needs to distract them from the very real and work heavy semester they will undertake in graduate school.  At least, this is what the Ben Stiller vehicle Night at the Museum provided for me last night as I attempted to forget about the fact that I will have very little free time until at least the end of April.  I will admit that I would never have given this family feature any credence, were it not yet another discovery as a result of buying DVD lots and being afforded copies of films that I had otherwise dismissed.  Of course, Night at the Museum was not a revelation in the same way some of the other films within this method of obtaining have proven to be, but that should not mean that I found it to be terrible.  For a feature focusing on one man's attempt to, on a cursory level, maintain the magical world of a museum coming to life at night, and proving his worth to a doubting son on a deeper level, it is really hard to think terribly about this film.  In fact, Night at the Museum gets its message out, leaves viewers happy with some decent special effects and certainly has enough cameos to make a viewer of any age ecstatic.  Furthermore, while I am wary to give Ben Stiller complete, unadulterated praise (despite adoring Tropic Thunder) it is hard not to love his commitment to such an absurd plot, so much so that you can believe him both as a man struggling to maintain his paternal identity, as well as a befuddled night guard placed in an absolutely incomprehensible level.  One cannot help but consider the possibilities of this notably star-studded film had the producers considered providing even a bit more time with the work, as opposed to clearly creating it as a quick money grabber, suitable for a handful of straight-to-DVD spinoffs.  Night at the Museum could have been a far greater and respectable film, but at the same time it could have been way worse and probably still made a considerable amount of money, it deserves acknowledgement at the very least and maybe even an earnest viewing cinephiles with even the most discerning of tastes.

Night at the Museum focuses on the constantly changing life of Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) a single dad living in New York, while attempting to make his various "big ideas" translate into money with little or no success, much to the disappointment of his ex-wife and son Nick (Jake Cherry) who is proving to take a liking to his mom's new husband and successful Wall Street broker Don (Paul Rudd).  Desperate to make a respectable living and assure his ability to stay close to his son, Larry agrees to take a job at a museum on the night shift, even though he has been warned of the headache that will invariably ensue with the notably odd job.  While the former employees seem quick to pass the torch to Larry, he, nonetheless, sees the work as a means to make money for doing next to nothing, however, during his first night on the job he realizes that working at this particular museum may be a bit more complicated than he initially assumed, especially since everything in the place comes to life thanks to an ancient Egyptian rune that adorns the wall above a sarcophagus.  Assuming it to be a bizarre hallucination it is not until Larry is confronted by the museum manager about some figurines being out of place that he realizes it is, in fact, something much more complex.  When it is revealed that the rune causing this magic to occur is of high value and sought after by a set of thieves with close ties to the museum, not to mention the threat by the director of Larry losing his job if he is to find another thing out of place, Larry plans a means to properly maintain the wily world of the museum.  This of course involves the help of his skeptical son and the eventual aid of one of the museums curators, for whom Larry has taken a liking.  It is through his ability to acknowledge history, as well as the promotion of unity amongst the disparate and famously jarring identities within the museum that Larry is eventually able to save his job, as well as the magic of the museum.  More importantly, Larry is able to gain the much desire respect of his son and assure their future together.

It seems a bit foolish for me to dig too heavily into the commentary within the film, but to ignore the notion of history within Night at the Museum would be equally foolish in my book, particularly its clear promotion of studying it in order to better understand one's own relationship with the world around them.  For Larry this has a very literal sense, in that he is forced to learn the ways of Mongolians, warring Romans and rambunctious cowboys, in order to maintain the museum from delving into complete chaos, not to mention learning the ways of a variety of animals as to assure that they do not maim one another.  This learning, while narratively manifesting itself with his relationship to the museum, nonetheless, reflects his own evolution, particularly considering that he is depicted as a spineless, self-loathing individual, emphasized by a poster in an elevator, as well as his own inability to get a job, or blame inventive competitors for his failures.  It is not until Larry gains knowledge that he is better able to navigate between his past failures and the promises of his future, going so far as to defy historically powerful figures like Attila the Hun, as well as deal with the tiny revolutions in his world, brilliantly visualized through the cowboys and Romans.  These tiny figures serve as an exceptional metaphor because in the films earlier portions it is clear that Larry is allowing for a series of small inconveniences and missteps to completely navigate his life.  Furthermore, it is no coincidence that when he learns to harness the power of a T-Rex and break a few members of the museum from glass freedom, or even tame an entire menagerie of animals that he finally asserts a self-esteem and authority that gains him respect from his colleagues, as well as his son.  Sure the antics of Larry taming the zoo have a great cinematic appeal, however, one must consider how these elements exist as a reflection of his life, as it is attached from the museum.

Key Scene:  Robin Williams is Teddy Roosevelt is Robin Williams...enough said.

Rent this film, by all means it is not close to worth owning, but who knows if you are in a bad mood or need to relieve some stress it is well worth affording a few hours towards.

We're Not Criminals, We Don't Know How To Steal: Tower Heist (2011)

Tower Heist upon its theatrical release was a film that had everything going against it, from Brett Ratner making an ass of himself when hired to produce the Oscars, to having a cast of actors who are no longer top level talent.  With that being said, Tower Heist is an incredibly enjoyable movie and often has the viewer surprised by the genius, innovation and sheer fun that exists in the relatively short movie.  It is not a brilliant movie deserving of large amounts of praise, nor is it a film that marks an advancement in heist films, but it is quite watchable and balanced in its comedic delivery.  It is precisely what a person would want out of a streamline Hollywood comedy, and to expect anything more out of this film going in would be foolish and illogical.  It offers nothing new to the film palate, but sometimes regular is exactly what a person needs, and Tower Heist is exceptional at being middle of the road. 

Tower Heist primarily focuses on Josh Kovac (Ben Stiller) a manager at an illustrious high-rise apartment known as The Tower.  Josh is a man who takes great pride in his job and concerns himself with the safety and comforts of his apartment’s residents which include the recently unemployed Mr. Fitzhugh (Matthew Broderick) and the profusely rich owner of the apartment’s penthouse Arthur Shaw (Alan Alda).  While Josh is greatly concerned with the respectability of his job, his fellow employees display a less than zealous fervor for customer service.  These employees include Josh’s own mumbling and inept brother Charlie (Casey Affleck), the loud-mouthed West Indian apartment cleaner Odessa (Gabourey Sidibe) and a recently hired elevator repairman named Enrique (Michael Pena).  Despite their dysfunctions, the group works nicely together and please the residents, and all appears to be normal until Arthur Shaw is arrested in his penthouse.  Confused and uncertain of the reasoning Josh approaches the arresting FBI agent Claire (Tea Leoni) only to discover that Shaw has been arrested for large scale money laundering, which includes his and the rest of The Tower employees money.  At first skeptical, but quickly enraged by the act, Josh sets out to exact revenge upon Shaw by robbing him of the money, he believes to be kept somewhere in the penthouse apartment.  Unfortunately, before Josh can do so he is fired for damaging Shaw’s rather expensive replica of a car driven by Steve McQueen in a film.  This dismissal from his job leads to Josh recruiting the help of his brother Charlie and the unemployed Mr. Fitzhugh in the robbery, as well as the help of Slide (Eddie Murphy) and convict who is an expert in all things thievery.   Despite having differences of opinions, Slide agrees to help and the group sets out on a zany and slapstick heavy attempt at obtaining the money that is rightfully theirs.  I would go into detail about the robbery, but to do so would involve a severe amount of spoilers.  It is better to experience the twists in this movie, as they are indeed one of its biggest selling factors.

What I will do instead is focus on why I think this film has fared so well critically.  What separates Tower Heist from simply being a run of the mill heist movie, is the inherent racial and class issues present.  Often robbery movies involve wealthy thieves becoming wealthier, it is a rare occurrence in contemporary cinema that we get a revisioning of the classic Robin Hood narrative, in which wealth is stolen from the rich and given to the poor.  Yet even Tower Heist is different in that the film is about the rich stealing from the poor, and the poor deciding that they are fed up with the thief.  This film comes on the tail of some of the most expansive and outrageous bank frauds in American history as well as the fizzling of the much followed and discussed Occupy Wall Street movement, which shared the same condolences as the characters in this film.  Furthermore, this film also portrays a rather vast array of persons involved in the robbery.  Josh Kovacs is perhaps the most normal of the group, yet his privilege as a white male also means he possesses the most to lose if the robbery fails.  In contrast, characters like the poor uneducated Charlie or the silenced Hispanic Enrique gain the most from a successful robbery, an image that is often overlooked in heist movies.  Similarly, it is made quite evident that characters like Slide and Odessa are constantly at threat of white oppression, whether it be the ridiculous rules barring Odessa from becoming an American citizen or the heavy hand of the law the prevents Slide from acting in a civilized manner, as opposed to relying on theft.  Even the relatively well to do Mr. Fitzhugh is troubled by greed, as we are led to believe that he is one of the few bankers who was working without devious intentions.  I would simply like to contrast this film with The Town, which was about a group of white males engaging in robberies and simply posit that its popularity and critical praise is due most likely to its statement that the oppressed no longer care to take oppression sitting down.

I am wary about recommending this movie as anything but a theater movie.  I am uncertain how its enjoyability with transfer to home video, so if you get a chance your best bet is to see this film in theaters.