No-one can doubt Ben Stiller's comedy skills.

From great turns in comedies as diverse as the high(ish) brow The Royal Tenenbaums to the more, well, gross comedy of Farrelly Brothers hits like There's Some- thing About Mary, there's no questioning that he can bring home the funny.

However, this is really his first attempt at a true family comedy and, thankfully, he still manages to come up trumps.

In Night at the Museum, Stiller plays hapless loser Larry who takes a job at the Museum of Natural History in order to impress his disappointed son and exasperated ex-wife. What he doesn't know is that each night all the exhibits in the museum come to life, thanks to a pesky old Egyptian curse.

Fortunately, Theodore Roosevelt (Williams) is on hand every night to quell the inevitable disturbances, which range from a frisky dinosaur skeleton to the marauding hordes of Genghis Khan.

Williams is in thankfully restrained form as Roosevelt, who is capable of plenty of bluster when trying to rouse Larry into action, but who can't quite find the courage to declare his love for a shy Indian scout.

Special mention must also go to the ever watchable Owen Wilson who plays diminutive cowhand Jed. His double-act with Roman centurion Steve Coogan is one of the highlights of the movie. Another Brit interloper, Ricky Gervais, also shines as the pompous but inarticulate boss of the museum.

As a piece of purely entertaining escapism it has very few rivals this Christmas.