What to say about "Night At The Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" (opening locally as "Night Museum 2"), the latest outbreak of Hollywood sequelitis? Well, I can tell you with all confidence that leading man Ben Stiller is just as funny here as he was in "Meet The Parents 2" or "Madagascar 2." Or that director/producer Shawn Levy has made a comic gem all the equal of his previous masterpieces, "Cheaper By The Dozen 2" and "The Pink Panther 2."
Am I being too subtle? It takes a truly special talent to put Steve Coogan ("I'm Alan Partridge"), Ricky Gervais ("The Office"), Hank Azaria ("The Simpsons"), Christopher Guest ("Spinal Tap"), and Robin Williams in the same film and barely even draw a laugh.
But that's par for the course these days with big-budget Hollywood comedies, where nothing matters but a thick coating of digital effects and just enough clever bits to flesh out a 60-second trailer. What's the point in actually working on a script to shape jokes and sharpen up the comic timing when you can have, say, the Lincoln Memorial statue jump out of its chair and kick the butts of an army of undead instead?