Date Night

At first glance, it would be easy to dislike Date Night. It follows an almost classic recipe of taking two funny actors, putting them together, put them through some unlikely yet ultimately funny hijinks and throw in some funny celebrity cameos and improvised humor to spice. It's a tried and true formula that for the most part creates semi-enjoyable flicks worth nothing more than a cursory glance. Date Night, however, has three things those other films do not: Steve Carell, Tina Fey, and the completely natural chemistry they share on screen.

Most of the plot of Date Night can be completely ignored. All it is is a prime opportunity for Carell and Fey to work their comedic (and dramatic) acting chops alongside the also wonderful James Franco, Mila Kunis, and an always shirtless Mark Wahlberg (not to mention a brief but hilariously creepy scene from William Fichtner). However, for what it's worth, Carell and Fey are a boring old married couple with an average family life who after hearing their good friends are getting a divorce decide to spice up their normal date night by going out somewhere fancy. They show up at a famous sushi place without a reservation, and in a moment of inspiration decide to steal someone else's reservation who didn't show. Soon enough, trouble in the form of two large men walk in, bring them out back, and threaten to kill them unless they return a flash drive that belonged to their boss. Trying to explain that they're not who these guys think they are get them nowhere, and soon this boring married couple is off on the adventure of their lives to find this flash drive so they can get back to their kids. Hilarity ensues.

As you might expect from Carell and Fey, a lot of the humor feels improvised, which at some points brings out classic gems and at other times falls a little flat. Also, the more the movie drifts from the relationship between them, the less funny it gets. Sure a creepy/silly striptease scene is funny for what it is, but the moment leading up to it where they're trying to pump each other up is far more funny because it's grounded in this couple's relationship. That being said, the movie really shines when they start having fun with each other in the completely ridiculous situations (as opposed to the only mildly ridiculous I suppose) like the entire car chase scene and their completely ineffectual threats against the brilliance of James Franco and Mila Kunis. When the craziness is at its max is when you can tell they're really enjoying themselves, and so by extension so do we.

But interestingly enough what truly stands out are the serious moments that Carell and Fey share as a couple. First off, Date Night does a wonderful job balancing the absurdity of their situation with their reality as an average married couple way out of their league. But second, the loving moments between them are so genuine that I almost wish they had just made a movie of that, because while it certainly was a wonderful and funny movie, those moments are by far what stood out and elevated this above the traditional recipe. I honestly hope these two get together again for a more dramatic movie because there's something there that just...works.

Until then, Date Night is an above average comedy thanks to its stars, but since it is somewhat limited by that recipe, parts of it still taste a little stale. It is still worth the viewing, but hopefully it will stand as more of an early effort from the classics to come.

Date Night gets an 8/10.