Like its predecessor, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian is a mix of genuinely funny performances and highly lazy storytelling. You know how it goes: the plot is inane, but a lot of the dialogue makes you laugh. It's hard to respect a movie like that -- but, then again, I'm pretty sure "respect" isn't really what they were going for anyway.

In the sequel, Larry Daley, the hapless former security guard played by Ben Stiller, is now a successful TV pitchman, having invented such handy products as the glow-in-the-dark flashlight. It's been a couple years since he visited his pals at the American Museum of Natural History -- you know, the exhibits and models that come to life after dark, thanks to the magic of an Egyptian artifact -- and when he does, he's alarmed to learn that most of them are being shipped off to the Smithsonian archives in Washington D.C., where they'll sit in storage crates for the foreseeable future.

This is progress, it seems. Dr. McPhee (Ricky Gervais), Larry's old boss, tells him that people are bored with dioramas and wax figures. They want holograms and robots. All these old-fashioned pieces are going to be replaced with state-of-the-art technology like a talking Teddy Roosevelt -- which, strangely, speaks with the same voice as the waxwork Teddy Roosevelt (Robin Williams) from the first film. What, did the graphic artists who created the computer program see him come to life late one night and record his voice? (Sorry. I'll try to keep that sort of thing to a minimum for the rest of the review.)

All the way back in 2006, Ben Stiller and Jim Carrey were headed to a future where women not only rule the world, they also "clone and trade men like used cars." Emily Mortimer was going to co-star as a woman whose unease over buying a cloned man leads to love with the cookie cutter Stiller. However, a few days later, the whole thing was scrapped ... but then it was back on the pre-strike priority list. And now, it's back on (again), with a whole new focus.

The Hollywood Reporter posts that the sci-fi comedy has dropped Jim Carrey, and will now star Stiller and Reese Witherspoon. But this isn't a case of sex-changing characters. The project will now focus on Clone Ben, and his relationship with clone owner Witherspoon -- in other words, the character once played by Emily Mortimer. Little Miss Sunshine's Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton are in talks to helm the project, but no writer has been hired yet to change things up.

This makes perfect sense. When the economy is alright, the project is scrapped because it would be way too pricey. The economy tanks, and they decide to pay for a big re-write, and to hire another big-paycheck star. As for the why behind switching this from buddy comedy to romance, THR notes that "Fox hasn't yet successfully mined the new vein of guy-centric comedy," but have fared well with funny flicks aimed at women. Yay. Gotta love when films of the future go back to the stereotypical past. Couldn't this be aimed at us without making the central theme romance? I mean, it is about a women-leading future after all.

Forbes has released its Most Valuable Comedians list, and through some intricate calculations I stopped studying after high school, came up with Adam Sandler as Hollywood's most powerful laugh riot, both in front of the camera and behind the scenes.

Sandler is gaining traction not only because of his starring roles in such critic-proof movies as You Don't Mess with the Zohan and I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry, but because he can also occasionally show off some real acting chops as in 2007's Reign Over Me and Punch-Drunk Love. The number of movies he's producing and has in development under Happy Madison Productions are growing in number. And despite its premise, this summer's Funny People, which stars Sandler as a comedian dying of cancer who mentors a younger comedian, has quite a number of big names attached. Judd Apatow wrote, directed, and produced the film; Seth Rogen and Jonah Hill costar. Oscar-winning cinematographer Janusz Kaminski is behind the lens. So even though at first glance, I thought, "Adam Sandler, WTF?" it's clear that even though Sandler doesn't tickle my funny bone, he does have all the criteria for Forbes's list firmly in place.

Will Ferrell, who's #2, is getting more and more into production along with writing and acting, and launching FunnyorDie.com with director and writer Adam McKay was a watershed moment for viral video. HBO's investment in the website led to a deal with Ferrell and his FoD cohorts for a TV show - 10 episodes to be exact - which turned out to be the hit Eastbound and Down.

I can think of at least three movies in the coming two weeks that feature scenes that are strikingly out of tone with the film they're a respective part of and yet seemingly included as a means of getting people to tell their loved ones how ridiculous Bit X in Movie Y is. And so today's Cinematical Seven list will be an arbitrary, far from ultimate compilation of the most distractingly disgusting and supremely superfluous parts in recent movies. Sure, most of these are comedies, and yes, most of them seem to have been released from the year 2000 on, and as always, we welcome your comments below. Just make sure they're not too gross.

(Speaking of which, NSFW clips follow after the jump.)

Because it's easier when everything is in one spot ...

-- Michael Bay stopped to chat with Collider on the red carpet during the Friday the 13th premiere, and he talked all things Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Highlights include Bay calling the three scenes they shot in IMAX "awesome" and the film itself "dark", as well as noting that while he'd be interested in directing a third Transformers movie, he definitely wants to take a year off first. Also: New toy images of the robots over here.

-- Sam Rockwell has joined Hilary Swank in a legal drama called Betty Ann Waters, which tells the true story of a woman who spent a decade trying to free her innocent brother (Rockwell) from a life-in-prison sentence for a crime she thinks he didn't commit. [Hollywood Reporter]

-- Say what? Tom Cruise may star alongside Denzel Washington in the next David Cronenberg flick? Sounds like some bizarre nightmare you had after a night of partying with some film buddies, but it's totally true. The film is that big-budget adaptation of The Matarese Circle, and Cruise would go from playing a German in Valkyrie to a Russian spy who's the "mortal enemy" of Washington's American intelligence character. Word is this sucker has Bourne-like franchise potential. [Hollywood Reporter]

-- The Mumblecore movement is slowly inching its way toward the mainstream as indie darling Greta Gerwig (Baghead, Hannah Takes the Stairs) has signed on to star opposite Ben Stiller (!) in Noah Baumbach's (Squid and the Whale) next film, Greenberg. No plot information yet (relationships, awkwardness, etc ...), but I'm jazzed to see Gerwig getting some more love. She's a fantastic moody actress that deserves greater exposure. [Hollywood Reporter]

-- Rob Zombie's Halloween sequel (aka H2) will hit theaters on August 28, 2009. Check out the teaser poster that was sent to us below.

As much as we try to cover everything here at Cinematical, unfortunately some stories slip through the cracks. Here's a bunch of stuff we missed this week:

-- The first images of The Fallen, from Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen have arrived online ... except it's the toy version of the Transformer, which means it's a toy and not very interesting. But that's an image of the toy up above, and you can see two more below (courtesy of TF08).



-- Robert Downey Jr., Tina Fey and Ben Stiller are in negotiations to lend their voices to a new animated superhero flick called Master Mind. This one, however, focuses on a brilliant superhero villain who loses purpose in life when he accidentally kills his good-guy nemesis. DreamWorks is currently eying a November 5, 2010 release for the film. [Hollywood Reporter]

-- Mickey Rourke has signed on to play a hit man who returns to New York (in disguise as a priest) to complete a botched hit in St. Vincent. Walter Hill, who directed the 1989 Rourke flick Johnny Handsome, is stepping behind the camera, and production is supposed to begin sometime later this year. [Hollywood Reporter]

-- Amber Heard is slowly becoming the next up-and-coming starlet, beating out ladies like Scarlett Johansson and Keira Knightley for the leading lady role opposite Johnny Depp in Rum Diary, based on the Hunter S. Thompson novel. Heard will play "the free-spirited girlfriend of a fellow journalist who cheats on him with Kemp (Depp), trying to convince him to run away with her." [Hollywood Reporter]

-- According to Upcoming Pixar, the short accompanying Up on the big screen will be called Partly Cloudy, and it will be directed by Peter Sohn (a storyboard artist and animator who also lent his voice to Remy's brother Emile in Ratatouille.) Partly Cloudy, which doesn't have an official plot description yet, will mark Sohn's directorial debut. [Slashfilm]

The very first trailer for Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian has arrived online ... via the McDonald's Happy Meals website. Not exactly ideal viewing (who knew McDonald's was fighting their way into the trailer premiere game), but if you want to watch the preview, head on over here.

There doesn't look to be anything groundbreaking here -- if you were a fan of the first film, you should dig this one quite a bit. In fact, this looks just like the first Night at the Museum, except, like any sequel, there are more characters, more special effects and more gags. Story once again follows our clumsy night watchman (Ben Stiller) who rushes to the Smithsonian in Washington D.C. after his friends Octavius (Steve Coogan) and Jedediah (Owen Wilson) are accidentally shipped there. Also starring in the film are Amy Adams, Bill Hader, Ricky Gervais, Hank Azaria, Eugene Levy, Christopher Guest and more. Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian hits theaters on May 22.

Gallery: Night at the Museum 2

He may truly suck at making himself into a believable German, but Tom Cruise did something right when he signed on for Tropic Thunder. The gig got him his first raves in eons, a Golden Globe nomination, and now maybe a feature film?

E Online talked with Cruise, who says Grossman is far from cinematic history. "I've talked about doing different videos with the character. I've started working with Ben [Stiller] on it, and we've kind of talked about different things to do." Right now, they're just looking for the free time to make this a reality. Cruise then went on to say that he wouldn't rule out a feature film, but he has to talk to Stiller first.

It'd probably be wise not to hold our breaths. Stiller has been adding on the projects like mad lately, so unless there's some A+ scheduling, I bet this will take a while or never come to fruition. But more importantly: should it? I really enjoyed Tom in Tropic Thunder, Grossman was great, but I'm not sure I'd want to see a full film with him. To me, it wasn't so much the character, but Cruise having some fun. I'd much rather see a fun film written for Cruise that goes somewhere new, while maintaining that sense of self-deprecation. How about you?

*
When you watch Mark Ruffalo act, have you ever thought: "Hey, Ben Stiller would be a good Ruffalo replacement"? No? Me neither.

But it's happening! Back in May, Mark Ruffalo and Amy Adams were set to star in Noah Baumbach's next film, Greenberg.** Now, The Hollywood Reporter posts that Stiller has signed on to replace Ruffalo in the feature. I would assume that this is due to the death of Ruffalo's brother, which has been making news lately, but it could just be a case of a film taking too long to come to fruition. Amy Adams is out as well, and they're currently searching for her replacement.

It certainly seems like Stiller is now trying to balance his goofy Tropic Thunder type fare with something a bit meatier, between this and that earlier Chicago 7 rumor. As I've said before -- I'm all for it. It's about time he went back to more dramatic fare. But who should he traverse the rocky road of relationships with? Any ideas?

*The Hollywood Reporter has since corrected their post -- Ruffalo was never attached, but rather one of the actors interested in the film.
**The title of the film is actually Greenberg, not Greenburg, as THR listed.

In anticipation of what's sure to be the first trailer (or teaser) for Night at the Museum 2, USA Today has unloaded the first official batch of photos -- most of which show off a few of the new characters, a couple of returning characters and a cameo from Jonah Hill (who plays a security guard). Above, you'll see Ben Stiller, returning as the bumbling guard, and Bill Hader, who's playing General George Custer. Director Shawn Levy and Stiller both chat up the film, claiming it's definitely better than the first one. And with a cast that includes Robin Williams, Dick Van Dyke, Owen Wilson, Steve Coogan, Ricky Gervais (all of whom are returning), Christopher Guest, Hank Azaria, Craig Robinson, Ed Helms, Eugene Levy, Bill Hader and Amy Adams, you can't really go wrong.

In the sequel, Stiller's Larry Daley goes in search of his friends (and museum pieces) Octavius (Coogan) and Jedediah (Wilson) after they're mistakenly shipped to the Smithsonian in Washington, DC. On whether this will turn into a franchise for the studio, Levy says, "There are rumblings of another installment. We would love to take this premise (further). But even to say there's a likely third film is premature. We're not going to jinx things." We've included a few more images below, then feel free to hop on over to USA Today for the rest.

Night at the Museum 2 hits theaters on May 22.