The relics are on the rise again in Night at the Museum 2 with Ben Stiller inspiring a bigger team of comedians to make an exhibition of themselves. MICHELE MANELIS reports
It's rare that a sequel will surpass its predecessor, especially when the novelty factor of the first film is high. However, Ben Stiller's family comedy franchise A Night at the Museum 2 revisits familiar faces from the original, with a few surprising cameos, and gives them new digs in Washington's Smithsonian museum.
Which is where the cast have assembled today to promote the movie. Surrounded by stuffed wild animals, sculptures, and various relics, Robin Williams observes, "It's nice to be in a room that looks like Michael Jackson's garage sale."
The original A Night at the Museum grossed more than US$580 million (NZ$975 million) worldwide and was directed and produced by Shawn Levy who, despite the obvious pressure to top the blockbuster, jumped at the chance to revisit this world.
Given this is the first movie ever shot inside the Smithsonian (the world's largest museum), it proved an irresistible challenge. "Of course you say to the Smithsonian people, 'I won't break anything!"' he recalls, laughing. "But it helped immensely that our first movie was well known around the world and the Smithsonian knew we were going to treat their institution respectively, with humour, and a definite reverence as well.
"And also, the first movie increased attendances at the New York museum, close to 20 per cent when A Night At The Museum came out. Anything that increases the interests in these institutions is a good thing and the Smithsonian was positive from the get-go."
In this instalment, Stiller's night guard (Larry) becomes a successful entrepreneur/inventor leaving his job at the museum for fame and fortune, but eventually realises that his artefact friends and the love for his work are more important.
"We didn't set out with moralistic or educational agendas," says Stiller. "I thought it was important to have an idea different from the first because we'd already done the thing of everything coming to life and Larry being amazed by it. The idea of him being successful and that in some way not making him happy felt like a new idea."
The original cast came together easily and includes Robin Williams, Owen Wilson, Steve Coogan and Ricky Gervais. As Stiller said months earlier on the set of the movie, "Everybody had such a good time on the first movie and became good friends that they wanted to come back. I wasn't twisting anyone's arm. Ricky Gervais bent over backwards to make his schedule work and be a part of it".
It seems Gervais has become Hollywood's go-to man when it comes to all things comedic. "I like playing awkward sort of putzes. The most fun thing for a comedian to play is a man without a sense of humour because it's already funny. To play Dr. McPhee, we know this man wants to be respected and wants to be articulate. He just hasn't got the tools. McPhee is so out of touch with his feelings - he has that English suppressed thing where he can't say anything nice."
But hilarity and banter is the mode of communication for the cast full of jokers the morning after their world premiere. Gervais says of the historical factor of shooting in the famous museum. "What did I want to take home with me? I wanted to take home the American flag ... because I love America," he deadpans. Williams retorts, "You really want to be a citizen, don't you? Ricky is available for adoption. Here is a lovely Englishman to adopt," he says, looking at the crowd of reporters. "Madonna refused. Call now. Angelina, our lines are open."
Newcomers to the gang include Amy Adams in one of her most endearing performances as the spirited Amelia Earhart.
The nefarious trio of Christopher Guest as Ivan the Terrible, Alain Chabat playing Napoleon, and Jon Bernthal as Al Capone make up the "Axis of Evil" formed by their ringleader, Hank Azaria's Pharaoh Kahmunrah in their efforts to become "rulers of the world".
Although it is a strong ensemble, it is most definitely Stiller's movie, with the potential success akin to Johnny Depp's Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.
"Who knows? We'll have to see how this goes. When you make a movie, you want everybody to love it and you want to make a bazillion dollars and get great reviews, but you can't control it. You just have to do what fulfils you and hopefully that stuff will happen," Stiller says. Indeed, he has come a long way from his days of TV sketch comedy on The Ben Stiller Show in 1992.
"For me, since I was a kid, it was always about becoming a director. I like acting too but that's what I enjoy the most," he says. Stiller had success with The Cable Guy in 1996, Zoolander in 2001, and more recently last year's Tropic Thunder.
As for the potential third museum in the saga, it would most likely be set in Europe. Says Stiller, "Well, maybe not the Louvre since that's sort of already been DaVinci coded, but we have talked a little about getting outside into the world a little bit - Europe or even Japan."
Williams quips: "We could have it set in Tokyo and Buddha could come to life. But you couldn't have an action movie because he just sits."
Says Gervais, "Oh, but when he gets angry ... he's got a terrible temper on him".
LOWDOWN
What: Night at the Museum 2
When and where: Opens at cinemas today
