Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, the abysmal
sequel to the already lugubrious Night at the Museum, received
some interesting competition in gross-out comedy Dance Flick last weekend. While the films play to different portions of the
under-30 market—Museum to the kiddies, Dance Flick to
the teens—the films can be compared in their execution, offering up
some dos and don’ts in commercial comedy filmmaking.
Museum is infuriating in its condescension. In case we don’t
get that this is a fantasy, anything remotely magical is accompanied by
tinkling chimes over the soundtrack. If we do not believe that this is,
in fact, a comedy, alleged comedians like Christopher Guest and Ben
Stiller stuff the film full of meandering riffs that were probably
hilarious on set but are interminable to sit through. And if we realize
there is no genuine meaning to any of this drivel, the script tacks on
some horseshit moral, straight from Hollywood’s Rolodex of questionable
life lessons to insert into shallow films, that says you can’t have a
successful career and nurturing relationships at the same time.
This article appears in May 28 – Jun 3, 2009.