Tina Fey, Steve Carell, and Mark Wahlberg in 'Date Night'. Courtesy Fox Home Video.
Date Night is a rarity of a comedy as it actually exceeded the expectations I had, mainly because of the strong chemistry between Steve Carell and Tina Fey who play Phil and Claire Foster — a typical married couple living in the suburbs (New Jersey to be exact) who have slipped into a daily routine, which doesn’t leave much room for passion.
The film revolves around one night out where the tired couple can forget about the kids and their mundane jobs and live it up. They decide to go to a hip new restaurant in Manhattan called “Claw”, but to their dismay they can’t get seated when they arrive. Prepared to keep his promise of a fun date, Phil takes charge and steals another couple’s reservation. The night is going great until two tough guys show up mistaking them for the couple that was supposed to be sitting at the table. They’re escorted into the back alley and interrogated for a flash drive they supposedly have. From there it’s an adventure of mistaken identity that puts the duo in situations where they have to escape in a boat, steal a sports car from a security expert (played by a shirtless Mark Wahlberg), pole dance at a strip club, and hunt down the real couple who are wanted (hilariously portrayed by James Franco and Mila Kunis).
Let’s be honest, the mistaken identity premise is tired and most films that attempt it fail miserably (think Bill Murray’s The Man Who Knew Too Little). Without Fey and Carell carrying the movie it probably would have been painful instead of a constantly humorous ride. We know they’re funny because of their respective ongoing television shows, 30 Rock and The Office, as well as their previous work in films like Mean Girls and The 40-Year-Old Virgin. Together onscreen it’s twice as fun though, reminiscent of great pairings such as Jack Lemmon and Sandy Dennis in The Out of Towners (1977), which Date Night borrows a little from.
Director Shawn Levy obviously learned a thing or two from working with comedians Steve Martin (Cheaper by the Dozen and The Pink Panther remakes) and Ben Stiller (both Night at the Museum films), because with Date Night he appears to have taken a hands-off approach and lets Fey and Carell do their thing. It works well and in the end he’s delivered a fine comedy.
The Blu-ray release is very crisp and clean in picture and sound and offers both the theatrical version and extended cut of the film. Special features include commentary with director Shawn Levy, a gag reel, deleted scenes, public service announcements, three featurettes, and a digital copy of the film.
Film *** / Blu-ray *** (out of 5 stars)
Rated 14A
Cast: Steve Carell, Tina Fey, Mark Wahlberg
Directed by: Shawn Levy
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August 10.
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