Date Night (2010)

At long last the television God’s have listened to the prayers of the viewership and given us what we demand: a team up of TV’s comedy extraordinaires Tina Fey and Steve Carell. Finally, Tina and Steve are not divided by their repective shows and commercial breaks. Finally, Liz Lemon can have repartee with Michael Scott. Finally, we can witness great talents building off each other rather than competing with one another. Finally. And the offering of the God’s is “Date Night,” a pretty damn funny screwball comedy.

Admittedly, “Date Night” is not a work of tremendous genius or a comedy that will forever change the course of the genre, but what it does, it does well – namely it makes us laugh. Tina Fey and Steve Carell play Phil and Claire Foster, a married couple who have settled into the tired routines of work, kids, and sleep. For Phil and Claire, the spark of spontaneity that ignites all romance has long since been put out – and they know it, and it scares them. In an attempt to recharge their old flame, they decide abandon their usual routines and head into New York City one night to try a hot new restaurant. When it becomes clear that they will not be seated without a reservation, Phil and Claire take the reservation of a no-show couple, the Tripplehorns.

After a bottle or two of wine, Phil and Claire are approached by two thuggish looking men and are asked to follow them out of the restaurant. Believing the Fosters are the Tripplehorns, the men demand Claire and Phil turn over a flash drive that they know nothing about. This case of mistaken identity sets off a series of actions and escapes that prove to be at once hilarious and fun. We meet the real Tripplehorns, a tough mob boss, and a former client of Claire’s, a security expert named Holbrooke (Mark Wahlberg) who never wears a shirt.

One of “Date Night’s” strengths is its employment of the secondary characters. Too often in comedies, a secondary character will overshadow the stars and usurp the significance of the main action. Here, the supporting actors like Wahlberg, Ray Liota, James Franco, and Mila Kunis are used in superb moderation. None of their characters stays longer than necessary and so they remain as funny as they can possibly be. Perhaps this is the strength of the screenplay by Josh Klausner or the wise comedic discretion of director Shawn Levy, but whatever it is, it works.

“Date Night” also has the funniest car chase I have seen since “The Blues Brothers” (1980).

And then there is Steve and Tina, who, as per usual, are remarkably funny. They know how to balance real emotions with madcap zaniness. It must be hard to do. We believe the Fosters could be real people, a real couple, and that is why the crazy action that follows them on their date night is so funny. I really hope Tina and Steve will be paired up again in a movie. They could be the next Hepburn and Tracey, albeit not lovers (or so we think)…

Rating:
On a scale of one to Casablanca this film is a “The Goonies” (1986)

Rationalization:

You gotta give props to a film that doesn’t stretch itself beyond what it is. “Date Night” is an action comedy that realizes how absurd its action is and yet watches with seriousness. There are no false gimmicks to try and make “Date Night” hipper than it is. We simply have great talents at work here that produce a light comedy that makes us laugh real good. I expected nothing more from “Date Night” than to laugh and feel I had not wasted my two hours. I was not disappointed.