History comes alive

I saw Night at the Museum recently, and I LOVED it! The movie stars Ben Stiller as Larry Daley, a young dad who can't seem to hold down a regular job. In order to achieve some stability in his life (primarily for his son's sake), Daley interviews for a job as the night watchman at the Museum of Natural History. During his first night on the job, Larry learns that every evening, all the museum's exhibits come to life. Larry's menial job turns into a fun caper as he tries to keep a lid on all of his new charges and foil would-be thieves.

I really enjoyed this movie. In addition to Stiller's performance (which I thought was great), there are surprise appearances by Dick Van Dyke, Mickey Rooney, Owen Wilson, and Robin Williams. There are some cool special effects, too, as everything from T-Rex skeletons to Civil War soldiers to models of tiny Roman cities come to life. Mainly, though, the movie has great messages about the value of self-reliance, confidence, and ingenuity.

This is a really good family movie. It's rated PG, and kids and adults would both enjoy it. Fun, fun, fun, and very entertaining.