Vetiver
This is seems like my totally my type of film, so it's weird that I saw it so belatedly, 11 years after it came out. Where was I in 2006?! Anyway, if you see Ben Stiller these days, he still looks the same - he's hardly aged at all. Still handsome, and still worthy of being a "really, really, really good-looking" male supermodel. Night at the Museum seems like one of those fun summer flicks that you go to see with your friends, family, or a date. It doesn't take itself very seriously, and it's not trying to be artsy or profound. It's not even making some minor, dumb statement, like what Ben Stiller was kind of trying to do in his supermodel films. This was made by a Quebecois director, Shawn Levy, and if you watch his commentary in the DVD, you'll see that he's overly articulate and formal. He's a no-name director, and maybe it's because his films are not serious, and they're overshadowed by a big-name cast, like Ben Stiller. It's a feel-good, fun film. But Sacajawea in the film takes herself too seriously. The part-Native actress, Mizuo Peck, has remained F-list these days; no one has heard of her. Stiller's love interest in the film seems very innocuous. You might've heard of her - Carla Gugino. You've probably suspected she's the love interest very early on, since the first shot of her, because she seems sweet and pretty, and she's dressed so modest and sexy at the same time. A low-cut cardigan, pencil skirt, and heels - overly dressed up for a mere museum docent job, yet teacherly at the same time. Films are stupid, and they like driving in the beauty-and- brains thing too much. It's slightly pathetic that they made her a very pretty geek girl who's going for her PhD and writing a dissertation on Sacajawea. It just seemed a bit insulting and patronizing, in some way. Stiller seems like a fairly smart guy, but not that smart. It's like he might have a decent IQ and appreciation of all things cultured LA people are into. But then, he hasn't experienced much of life or of the human condition, so he really doesn't know that much. He's like a late Gen Xer - cool, but uncool at the same time. Anyone remember The Ben Stiller Show? Maybe not. It was from the early Gen X days in the 90s, when 20-somethings thought they were the coolest and most badass people on the planet. But I guess every 20-something generation thinks it's that. Stiller is guilty of Asian stereotyping, and he obviously has no close Asian friends in his A-list Hollywood royalty circle. It's so minor, but I can see that he doesn't like the "Asian representation" in the film - the Huns. Attila the Hun was played by a no-name Eurasian Canadian actor, Patrick Gallagher - a character actor, obviously, due to his big build and lack of leading-role looks. Every fantasy character in the museum was non-white-American - and yet, when Stiller was faced with an angry mob of "Asians" (Attila the Hun's crowd), he asked, stupidly, "Do you speak English?" He didn't ask that to Sacajawea, or the pretty Egyptian mummy, or the little monkey, any of the other characters, who were just as unlikely to speak English as Attila the Hun, if not more so. This reflects the "no speak English" stereotype, and so many other wrong stereotypes that are pervasive in American films and American culture in general. Stiller is a major player in Hollywood, and he has plenty of major films under his belt, so he has tons of influence. Even something as minor as asking ONLY the Huns if they speak English, and no one else, is driving in foreign, stereotypical singling out, something that Asian Americans suffer from on a daily basis. Anyway, the film is fun, but it's not totally innocuous. As always, it reflects the stupidity, stereotypes, and limited worldview of its filmmakers and actors. Films drive and influence the perception of the masses, so they have a very important role. Stereotype and degrade, even in s subtle way, and that's causing the stereotyped to be degraded and to suffer in real life, in their everyday lives.
Python Hyena
Night at the Museum (2006): Dir: Shawn Levy / Cast: Ben Stiller, Robin Williams, Carla Gugino, Owen Wilson, Steve Coogan: Embarrassing mess that plays like a chemistry experiment gone wrong. It regards facing fears as if viewing the film wasn't a big enough task. Ben Stiller is newly employed at a museum of natural history where everything miraculously comes to life. The special effects are about as fetching as guessing what food someone upchucks when sick. Setup is rushed into a routine structure consisting of Stiller dealing with mishaps. Director Shawn Levy can do better as he did with Just Married. He also directed Cheaper by the Dozen and The Pink Panther. Stiller is basically a subject for target practice as he struggles to maintain order. Robin Williams plays 26th President Teddy Roosevelt whom comes to life to give Stiller words of wisdom, none involving torching this film unfortunately. Carla Gugino is wasted as a museum historian who is basically seen as a potential romantic prop. She is also the museum tour guide who wasn't lucky enough to give these people a tour of a better film set. Owen Wilson plays a miniature cowboy in a miniature role. Similar to Jumanji only much worse. The norm is the special effects, which is hardly a complimentary element in the film. Despite the imagination, this film is about as boring as History class. Score: 2 / 10
