Tina Fey and Steve Carell make for a comedy dream team. Director Shawn Levy (Night at the Museum movies and Cheaper by the Dozen) was able to bring these two together and it worked out nicely. Carell and Fey are talented people in their own right. They both shine in their roles on The Office and 30 Rock, but together, their chemistry is undeniable and very believable. This is why Date Night is funny and entertaining all the way through. Fey and Carell carry this movie high on their shoulders with the help of some great cameos. There is a great mixture of action and comedy, but there is real heart in the movie as well. It simply works on all levels.
Date Night is about Phil (Carell) and Claire (Fey) Foster, who are married with kids and are living out the same routine day in and day out. Even their date night is a routine. Same night and at the same place. Mark Ruffalo has a short but important cameo. He is getting divorced and his marriage fell apart. They fell out of love with each other, and this story sounds familiar to the Fosters. They do not want to end up in the same situation.
So, Phil decides he is going to change things up…put that spark back in their marriage. He wants to take his wife into the city (of New York) to a new, hip seafood place. Phil and Claire were going for unpredictability and that is exactly what they get. They are not able to get a table, so they take someone else’s reservation. The Fosters become the Tripplehorns – at least for one night. So, when two guys come to their table and ask them to go outside, it cannot be good. The Tripplehorns have some information that some do not want to get out. Phil and Claire are left running for their lives while trying to clear their name.
The movie is pretty exciting. It is only 90 minutes, so it’s packed full and goes by fast. I already mentioned one cameo, but there are others including Mark Wahlberg, who does work for Black-Ops and has some cool technology and can find anyone. He also cannot put on a shirt, which Claire loves and Phil hates. It’s because of Holbrooke (Wahlberg) that they can find the real Tripplehorns, Taste and Whippit. James Franco and Mila Kunis play them and they are funny. Mila is good, but Franco steals the show. The conversation between the Fosters and the Tripplehorns is one of the best things in the movie. It gets so stupid, it turns hilarious.
I think Date Night really impresses by putting an emotional touch on the story. We hear about people getting divorced all the time. Some people do fall out of love. We know of, or may be in, a relationship where everything has become routine. There are no surprises anymore in some marriages, and this is the case for the Fosters. But, a night of mistaken identity serves a purpose. Phil and Claire love each other, but they may have forgotten why. All they needed was a reminder and they got one. One hell of a reminder.
Date Night consists of two great comics surrounded by craziness. But it delivers action, laughs, and tender moments. There is no way you can leave and not feel like you had a fun time at the movies. This movie was made to entertain and it does just that.
Brandon Vick is a member of The Music City Film Critics’ Association, the resident film critic of the SoBros Network, and the star of The Vick’s Flicks Podcast. Follow him on Twitter @SirBrandonV and be sure to search #VicksFlicks for all of his latest movie reviews.
Check out the SoBros Shop. Become a Patron. Give us money for no reason. Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter @SoBrosNetwork. Watch on YouTube.
