Welcome to MOVIE MATH! Where we review our movie-going experience and see if it ADDS UP to FAMILY FUN!

NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM 2 – This is a cute, fun movie. Interesting premise. Good special effects. Is it as good as the first one? NO. Know why? It’s the sequel. The sequel by nature is always more contrived because they don’t make it because they have a great story. They make it because the first one made lots of money. While AMY ADAMS is delightful as Amelia Earhart and BEN STILLER satisfies playing his usual bumbling self, this film isn’t grounded in the same heartfelt story as the first one. The first one had Ben trying to prove himself to his son as a decent father. That subplot raised it above your usual special effects-laden movie. In this one, the special effects take a front seat. Not that that’s bad. But it’s not as emotionally engaging.

Does that matter to a kid? Probably not.  My kid still liked it a lot. I had higher hopes. But hey, I gotta hand it to a movie that subversively teaches while entertaining. A couple of days after seeing it, Julia saw a picture of the Wright Brothers plane and was able to identify it as such! Cool, I say. And why not? I first learned opera through Bugs Bunny (remember “The Rabbit of Seville”? )  And was introduced to Shakespeare through “Gilligan’s Island”. Who could forget the castaways singing “Neither a borrower, nor a lender be! Do not forget! Stay out of debt!”. So if it doesn’t bother you that your kids might think that Sacagawea and Teddy Roosevelt had a thing or that Pharaohs talked in British accents with lisps – CHECK IT OUT!

GOOD EFFECTS + FUN PREMISE + SUBVERSIVE HISTORY LESSON = FUN FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY