3 Reasons to See (& Sell) “Night at the Museum”
“Night at the Museum,” according to Josh Hurst of Christianity Today, “is a big-budget, live-action concoction of comedy and adventure that makes no pretense of anything other than a 2-hour romp through goofy humor.” Some of our staff members had seen it with their kids and really enjoyed it, so when it became available from one of our suppliers, we decided to add it to the site. In just a few days, we had several requests for the film from our DVD Rental club, as well as orders on the website.
I’ve wandered through my share of museums that seemed about as interesting as the phone book
Then we got some negative feedback (which I’ve posted as a comment below), and our staff dialogue began. The person writing brings up some valid concerns about language, divorce, and the portrayal of religions other than Christianity. He concludes by referring to it as a “Christian movie.” Well, it’s not a Christian movie and hasn’t been advertised as one. It is considered a “family-friendly” movie, and even received a positive recommendation from the Dove Foundation.
So we put the question out to you. Should we or shouldn’t we carry “Night at the Museum?” Here are 3 of my reasons to carry it.
- It makes history fun and important. I’ve wandered through my share of museums that seemed about as interesting as the phone book. Chances are great that after seeing this movie, families might opt to visit a museum and see the exhibits in a fresh light. Some of my personal favorites are: the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., the Museum of Westward Expansion in St. Louis, MO (home to the Gateway Arch), and the Louvre in Paris.
- Dick Van Dyke, Mickey Rooney, and Robin Williams together in one film. Need I say more? In my humble opinion, these 3 men are brilliantly funny and are just as good in ensemble casts as they are individually. There are times when Robin Williams’ humor goes too far over the top for me, but not here. It’s really refreshing to watch something and find it laugh-out-loud funny.
- If we want Hollywood to put out films that the family can go and see them, we need to support them! Hollywood recognizes cash at the box office and DVD sales as votes for the work they’re producing. If we don’t vote for the ones that can be enjoyed by a wide audience, they’re not going to keep making more. By offering this DVD for sale on our website, we can let Hollywood know we want to see more films like this.
Does this film line up with my personal beliefs? No. But then again, a large percentage of the world doesn’t. If I want the movies I watch to reflect only my beliefs and church culture (see Expectations of Grandeur posting), it’s going to be a very limited selection. While the action in “Night at the Museum,” is silly and unrealistic, the characters are probably more reflective of “real” life than I want it to be. The divorce rate amongst people identifying themselves as Christians is now the same or higher than those not claiming to be Christians. I know people who have very close relationships with God who occasionally let loose a curse word.
We received this feedback from a customer:
“Wow, I can not decide what the best part of this movie is… The accepting view of divorce, the acceptance of evolution, the idea that if we just all “understand” each other and hug we will all get along, cussing in a kids movie, the romanticism of lust, or maybe just the supernatural power of the ancient Egyptian religion used for good. What ever your favorite part is, I’m so glad this is finally recognized for how all it’s elements go together to make a great Christian film.”
May 23rd, 2007 at 2:58 pm
While I enjoyed the movie, it’s acceptance of evolution is the most troubling for a Christian site to carry it…I wouldn’t think any less of anyone for enjoying it, but I think Christiancinema.com would be getting away from what made them unique if they start selling those kind of movies…I think you will lose more people than you will gain if you start selling all the “regular-family friendly” fare on the site…you can get that stuff anywhere. just a thought.
May 23rd, 2007 at 4:33 pm
Reece,
Good thoughts. That is something we consider strongly when deciding what goes onto our site. We do have a distinctive we maintain and act as a gatekeeper for many people.
May 23rd, 2007 at 4:58 pm
I agree that confusion comes when you see a site called ChristianCinema.com carrying a movie that has evolution in it!
However, I’m not put off by the portrayal of evolution in the film… and here’s why. I watched it with my kids and it gave me an opportunity to discuss it. It’s not like they aren’t going to come across it in their lives! I’d rather have the opportunity to dialogue about it in my home, than have someone else try to cram it into their heads as fact!
While I don’t have it all figured out about Night At The Museum, I wanted to respond to your other comments about ChristianCinema.com carrying family friendly titles.
This has often been a point of discussion in the halls here! We do have a family friendly category (and this film is only listed there, not in the “Biblical Drama” category for example). On many titles there is a review from a Christian perspective included. One of our hopes is that you can use these films and the Christian perspective review as a pre-evangelism tool to begin conversations with friends who need to hear about the love and redemption of Jesus Christ.
The other reason we have been carrying titles like this is because we recognize that our customers will also be buying titles like this elsewhere. Offering them on our site provides you a service by enabling you to do all your DVD buying in one place. And at the same time you are buying family friendly movies, you are supporting the continuing availability of a wide selection of films with an overtly Christian message!
While I don’t personally love or agree with every movie we carry, I know that we all have our own movie tastes and viewing perspectives. We try to have as broad as possible of a view (within reason) and provide as much info about the films we carry to enable people from a wide variety of Christian backgrounds to purchase the ones they enjoy. It’s just too difficult to come up with a formula to fit every film. There will just always be an exception.
I’m really excited to have the blog running now to bring our hallway discussions about films out into the public and to hear feedback from you and others!
What do you think: Are we straying too far from our core or are we providing an added service for our customers?
May 23rd, 2007 at 5:02 pm
“Christian film” is such an elusive term to define and everyone has different tastes..I can see both sides of the coin. I think that movie in paticular just stood out, because it’s not exactly like the other family friendly films in your list “Walton’s, Touched by an Angel”, ect and then you have the fact that everyone has a different definition of “family friendly”, obviously not everyone feels that movie is truely family friendly and presents more worldly attitudes.
It’s a double edged sword, lol. I’m glad I’m not the one deciding on that one. I guess your customer response will be your gage as to whether you are straying too much..I’ll admit it suprised me a little mainly because of the lack of anything spiritual in the film, while at the same time I wouldn’t have been suprised to see “A Walk To Remember” or even “Hotel Rwanda” but that’s how different we all are!
May 23rd, 2007 at 7:48 pm
when in doubt leave it out…. or you will loose the trust and water down your service.
June 15th, 2007 at 3:11 pm