AT THE MOVIES WITH KASEY BUTCHER
While waiting outside the theater to see Date Night, my friends and I were accosted by a trio of young men who emphatically declared that Date Night was the worst movie ever and that we should see The Thomas Crown Affair instead. At first I wondered if we had somehow found a portal to 1999. Leaving the theater, however, I concluded that the men on the street were as confused as their taste was poor. Date Night is far from the worst movie ever.
Starring Tina Fey and Steve Carell, Date Night tells the story of Claire and Phil Foster, a New Jersey couple whose date night in New York City goes dangerously wrong. After finding out that their best friends are getting divorced, Claire and Phil both feel a little insecure about their own relationship. Therefore, they up the ante on their weekly date night, venturing into New York to dine at a trendy new seafood restaurant, Claw. Arriving in Manhattan at 7:30, with no reservation, of course they cannot get a table. So, when another couple, “the Tripplehorns” are a no-show, Phil grabs the opportunity and the reservation. Unfortunately, the Tripplehorns were in some big trouble and now the henchmen (Jimmi Simpson, Common) after them think the Fosters are the real target. Plus, the bad guys are dirty cops, so the Fosters can’t go to the authorities. Thus begins an adventure across the city, unraveling the mess the Tripplehorns made, so the Fosters can get home safely to their kids (who are with a sitter charging $35 an hour. Ouch).
When promotion for Date Night started, seeing Tina Fey and Steve Carrell starring in a movie together was like a dream come true. It just seemed like a perfect fit to have two of the funniest people on television working together. I was not totally disappointed. At times it seems a bit like they are just playing their own personas. Tina Fey’s sense of humor kind of overshadows Carell’s, as much of the dialogue sounds a lot like her other work. Carell’s performance was closer to Dan in Real Life than to anything else. Funny as they are together, Fey and Carell maybe don’t have the best chemistry, which actually lends itself to the portrayal of a marriage that’s getting boring. Still, they are funny separately and funny together.
Mark Whalburg stars as Holbrooke, a shirtless military securities and black ops specialist, who assists Claire and Phil with the technology they need to get out of trouble (but into way more trouble first). While the character is a little shopworn and featured more prominently than I ever expected, he’s not nearly as cheesy as he could have been. Rather than playing up the machismo, Whalburg/Holbrooke seems self-conscious of the fact that his shirtlessness serves to underline the dulled sexual tension in the Fosters’ marriage, making Phil feel more insecure. This quality helped keep the character somewhat interesting.
There’s nothing really surprising about Date Night. It doesn’t make any vast departures from other fish-out-of-water or mistaken identity action-comedies. As usual, the bad guys are the worst actors in the bunch and the action sequences are ridiculous, if funny. But this movie also doesn’t try to be something that it’s not. While it doesn’t take any risks with the plot, the comedy takes center stage. The dialogue between Phil and Claire throughout the movie is full of jokes centered upon the characters’ cluelessness about hip lingo, pop culture, or technology, that are funny because they’re true-to-life.
Amidst a pretty slapstick genre, Date Night just feels kind of real. The characters are believable and have an everyman quality that makes them endearing. They sound and act like what I imagine a clever, but unadventurous couple would sound and act like in this situation. Further, the characters are aware enough of action movies to joke about the conventions of their own film. Their sweetness toward one another is believable; the moments in which they discuss their marriage are humorous and touching without being trite; and I really wanted them to succeed.
Date Night is laugh-out-loud funny, if a little stupid. When I saw it, there was a lot of audience interaction, with laughter and people shouting at the screen. It made for a fun night at the theater, whether with friends or on a date. 4/5 stars
Date Night was directed by Shawn Levy, runs 88 minutes and is rated PG-13 for sexual and crude content throughout, language, some violence and a drug reference.
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