Summer '09 - Blockbuster #4 - "Night at the Museum: BOTS"

I was a fan of the first film in this series.  It was an enjoyable combination of nifty special effects, a sweet story, and Ben Stiller shifting into family-friendly territory with his comedy.  I mean, I loved "Dodgeball", and I loved "Tropic Thunder".  But he's good when he's not edgy, too.

This looked like it was going to be enormously enjoyable from the trailers.  The magical tablet that brought the New York museum to life gets transported to the Smithsonian in Washington; hijinks ensue.

The problem is that there are so many characters to return to, and they have so many new ones to introduce that everyone gets short shrift.  Robin Williams's Teddy Roosevelt is reduced to little more than a cameo.  Owen Wilson and Steve Coogan (as the tiny little cowboy and centurion figurines) have a couple of good scenes.  Sacajawea has almost nothing to do.  Bill Hader and Christopher Guest are funny, but their characters (George Custer and Ivan the Terrible) are barely sketched out.  The second best new character is Hank Azaria's evil Egyptian Pharoah wannabe.  His effete lisp is hilarious.

The best new character is Amy Adams as Amelia Earhart.  She's feisty, just like you imagine Earhart would probably be, which is an excellent excuse for her to tag along with Ben Stiller as he tries to sort everything out and save the day.

I had fun, particularly when the artwork came to life.  (Loved the dancing Koons dog.)  But the film didn't really have the magic of the first. 

But, in its favor, it did have Clint Howard in a fantastic cameo.