My greatest complaint against Stiller is that in almost every movie he makes he just seems to have to have some bit or scene involving excretory functions, whether it is a case of the trots or some reference being made about his manhood deficiencies. Each time I see one of these films I swear that I'll never see another Stiller movie again, but for some reason I still find myself watching another one.
The plot of this latest film is that an out of work single dad, Stiller, needs to find regular employment rather than his far fetched schemes that are doomed to fail before they ever begin. In other words, dad is a loser who is on the verge of losing custody of his young son to his remarried and well off ex-wife if he doesn't shape up. As an act of desperation last gasp he applies for a job as a night watchman in the financially troubled Natural History Museum, currently held by three old geezers (Dick Van Dyke, Micky Rooney [yes, he still IS alive] and Bill Cobbs) who are being eased out in an austerity move. After an all too brief explanation of the duties of the job Stiller is left with the instuctions to be sure that no one is allowed in, OR out after the museum closes.
What happens next is what the previews have promised, everything, and everybody comes to life, often with quite disasterous results. The sight gags are piled on, as if the sheer volume will cause the viewer to forget that the last one was not all that funny, and leave them with the anticipation that the next one will justify the $10 that was plunked down for the priviledge of seeing this escapism.
Of course there is always a little romance to these affairs and some redemption for the main character before the end, but for once I'd just like to see the loser really bite the big one and become a candidate for The Darwin Awards. But, alas, the romance moves forward with promise, and because Stiller is luckier than his boss is smart, the night watchman becomes the savior of the failing museum.
So, unless you like throwing away your money at the snack bar for popcorn moistened with some kind of yellow liquid approximating butter, I'd just wait for the DVD release at Blockbuster.