Crazy Night

My wife and I spent our date night on "Date Night." Starring two of the funniest people in the American film industry makes this a must-see. And we were not wrong.

The Fosters are a typical middle-income suburban couple with two hyperactive kids. One night, they decide to spice up their date night by going to The Claw, a posh Manhattan restaurant. Desperate for a table, they claim the reservation of a no-show couple called the Tripplehorns (a hilarious homage to the actress Jeanne!). Once that die was cast, the Fosters were then plunged into a night of mistaken identity, crooked cops, double-crossing crooks and blackmail. Of course with Carrell and Fey as the Fosters, this nightmarish scenario becomes a fun rollicking madcap all-night adventure!

Witty lines and zingy one-liners are thrown between these two, and the numerous name actors who make supporting appearances. These include the perpetually shirtless Mark Wahlberg (though that joke did wear thin after a while), and a gruff and dirty James Franco (whose shouting match with Carrell is classic!). The funniest scenes involve two hooked up cars in a frenetic car chase in downtown New York, and a psychedelic dance floor with a pole. Those two LOL scenes alone are worth the price of admission!

With the talents and goodwill of the two lead stars, I am pretty sure "Date Night" will be liked by most audiences. There are a couple of scenes with heartfelt discussions about married life as well in there. This is indeed a perfect movie for a fun date night.

The director Shawn Levy sadly doesn't inspire a lot of enthusiasm going into one of his movies. At best he's competent at what he does, and some years back made a halfway clever and original 'movie'-comedy (Big Fat Liar), but mostly has kept to Fox studio commercialism like Cheaper by the Dozen and the Night at the Museum movies. And yet, he (or just the studio) must have had the insight to put together two of the funniest people working right now- not to mention with shows back-to-back on Thursday nights on NBC- Steve Carrel and Tina Fey, because they help elevate anyone's work by a longshot. This isn't to say that Josh Klausner's script may not have some laughs, but where exactly I can't be sure, since most of his contributions would appear to come from the super-conventional story aspects (as my own mother put it, "I don't know, looks like The Out of Towners, or that Blind Date movie from the 80's").

So yeah, basic premise, married couple looking for a little change (their friends are splitting up), go out to 'The City' (NYC of course) and to a very nice restaurant. In a move that could come out of a Seinfeld episode, they can't get a reservation so Carrel overhears a waitress calling for someone else for a reservation and he decides they should take it since they're no-shows. The "Tripplehorns", as it turns out, have some shady dealings with some bad dues with guns, and so the Fosters, our confused heroes, go on the run in the city. Whenever the movie focuses on the core plot of all of this, it's by the numbers stuff, save for a climax that ratchets up the absurdity of everyone involved (including good actors playing decent-to-mediocre baddies like William Fichtner and Ray Liotta).

It's when Fey and Carrel are allowed to play loose with the script that it strikes the iron. Their timing is impeccable, and they have chemistry together, which is crucial. And when they come across some other supporting characters, like Mark Wahlberg's (VERY) shirtless ex-military guy with all of his high-tech equipment, or the "real" Tripplehorns played by James Franco and Mila Kunis, there's further hilarity that ensues from the interactions and precise timing. That's all you need sometimes in a comedy that's based in formula, is two character to at least semi care about (and, perhaps more wisely than a Hollywood rom-com can be given credit for, it has painfully normal characters here, nothing too complicated), and who are funny in semi-funny situations. Even a ridiculous car chase where the Fosters hit a cab and the two are connected bumper to bumper through the streets is funny just because of the acting. Given the right mood and timing they could read a census report and get a few chuckles from the pauses and inflections.

So, if you're looking for something masterfully done, look elsewhere. If you just want to see two stars who are funny be funny almost despite some of the limitations in the script, Date Night deserves a chance. At the least you get to see the two show off their "skills" in a strip-club scene, and, did I mention Mark Whalberg doesn't have on a shirt?

Greetings again from the darkness. Most married couples can probably relate to the grind of a life absorbed with work and parenting. Sometimes the fantasy turns into having a quiet moment of solitude. Heck, even "date night" can devolve into just another responsibility tacked on at the end of a long week. This is the premise for director Shawn Levy's film. The best part? It doesn't matter at all.

The reason this film works is not the plot or script, but rather the talents of the two funniest people in showbiz today: Steve Carell and Tina Fey. The two seem to have an exceptional comedic connection that brings out a timing that reminds of the best comedy teams of all time.

Sometimes what makes for the funniest comedy is putting "normal" people into exceptional situations and let them react. Here, Carell and Fey are just a typical suburban couple trying to re-ignite the luster of an all too comfortable marriage. The motivation comes when their friends (Mark Ruffalo and Kristen Wiig) announce they are splitting. This starts Carell and Fey off on a series of skits that would make Seinfeld proud.

The nightmare begins when the couple "steals" a reservation in a hot new restaurant and assume the identity of, what turns out to be a couple of low level thieves. The multitude of skits that follow include supporting work from dirty cops (Common and Jimmi Simpson), the real reservation holders (funny James Franco and Mila Kunis), a mob boss (Ray Liotta), a corrupt city official (William Fichtner) and a "security expert" in the eternally shirtless Mark Wahlberg.

The approach of the film reminds me of "After Hours", "Adventures in Babysitting" and "The Out of Towners". Some of the best comedy occurs when the main players aren't tossing out incessant one-liners. Think back to Cary Grant's screwball comedies. He was not a bumbling idiot or a stand-up comedian walking through life. His characters were reactionary to the odd-ball situations in which he was placed. That is the approach of Carell and Fey, and I hope they pursue future projects together.

I didn't have any original plans of watching this movie. However, after reading quite a few good reviews of it, I decided to check if my prejudice had been correct. I have been a fan of Steve Carell & Tina Fey for some time, owing to their performances in The Office & 30 Rock. Alas, what they do in this movie is nothing even comparable to what they have achieved on the small screen. The movie is based around The Fosters, a simple family with the basic family problems: too much work, less time with family, a mechanical and repetitive routine, a boring life, annoying kids etc. The movie follows the predictive plot of this couple going out for a quiet evening which steam rolls into a supposedly crazy wild adventure.

Don't get me wrong, I don't mean to complain about the plot. Its a standard comic flick and not some thriller. I don't expect a revolutionary story but I do expect a few good laughs from the movie which it definitely failed to give me. It mostly comprised of 10yr old kids' level jokes and a whole lot of overacting. But to be fair, I must mention the acting was terrible on almost everyone's part and not just the main star cast.

Maybe its just because of so many movies following the average-person-goes-super path, that this seems so boring and unworthy of spending 2hrs on, but the fact is that people expect more of such a great cast. From corny 1 liners to repeated jokes (Mark Wahlberg's shirt uhhh....), if the things were not overdone so much, the movie may not have been this bad. But nevertheless, I guess I went for this movie with way too much expectations due to the cast. Watch it if you love the leads and have time to kill for some so-so jokes. Don't expect too much & you may just come out without a frown on your face.....

I never was a fan of director Shawn Levy's films. Sure, "Big Fat Liar" and the 2006 version of "The Pink Panther" did get some memorable moments, but they weren't THAT re-watchable. A good, funny movie is something that you can remember for quite some time, and I had a hard time remembering something memorable from "Cheaper By The Dozen" and "Just Married". However Levy isn't a bad director, it's just that he needs one good funny movie to really hit it off. No, the two "Night At The Museum" movies don't count. This one does. "Date Night", thus far, is the best movie Levy's directed.

By taking two of the funniest comedians today and putting them in a movie tailor-made for them is somewhat like a blessing. "Date Night" is a romantic comedy, with a slight detour into the action thriller genre. But it still has many laughs, big hearty ones, especially from both Carell and Fey. You see, both of them play a bored married couple who decides to liven up their love life by going into a posh (and extremely snobbish/overbooked) restaurant in the Big Apple. So the loving husband, desperate to work things out, claims (or rather, steals) an unoccupied reservation so that their night together would be romantic and luxurious. Big mistake, as they are mistaken for someone else, which leads to a night of danger, intrigue and excitement.

The best thing about the movie are both Carell and Fey and how well both play each other off. Both have excellent chemistry and have memorable moments and lines. Steve Carell is perfect as the dead-pan husband Phil, while Tina Fey as Claire looks gorgeous and deliver her own brand of jazzy humor. A fine example of their chemistry together is a scene where both of them ad-libs many couples in the film. Great stuff. To quote an early Australian reviewer; "The two surprisingly "deliver the emotional reality of a couple even under comedic demands". I loved them in the movie and I hope they do more comedies together.

There are jokes throughout the movie, both physical and in dialog. A fine example of the physical humor in the film: a car chase that is intense as it is ridiculously funny; and what is arguably the most hilarious strip/pole- dance I've seen in any movie. That scene had me laughing so much, I now have to take cough syrup. There's some memorable lines here too: "You stole our reservation? What kind of people are you?"; "He turned the gun sideways. It's a killshot!" among others. To see these two comedians going through all this in a plot so hilariously Hitchcockian (the plot kinda reminds me of "North By Northwest") is a hoot.

Balancing the comedians out are some fine supporting actors; in fact you could call the cast an ensemble cast of sorts. Besides Carell and Fey, you've got Mark Wahlberg who looks hunky shirtless, to Phil's dismay; Oscar-nominee Taraji P. Henson as a detective trying to put the pieces together; Mila Kunis and James Franco in nearly scene-stealing scenes as a wild couple who enjoy their love life despite their rowdiness; Common and Jimmi Simpson as the two pursuers; William Fichtner in a hilarious yet sleazy performance; and a villainous role for (surprise) Ray Liotta.

In technical aspects, Shawn Levy's direction is brisk and fast-paced, and the cinematography and camera work, as always by Dean Semler, is nothing short of great. The editing is fluid and doesn't ruin the smooth flow of the movie. The script, though with some flaws, is still pretty well written. Yes I agree the movie is illogical and clichéd at some points but then again it's a light-hearted comedy at it's core and for that purpose it got the job done tremendously. Plus at only 90 minutes it's pretty much short and straightforward with it's pace, so that you get what you want. Comedic entertainment at it's finest.

So overall, this is a great romantic comedy to take both your friends and/or your other too. It's a very funny and enjoyable movie to watch. It's a jolly good time at the movies, and I'm glad I saw it. Hey, maybe I'll see it again if I had the chance. This one's a winner.

Overall rating: 7.5/10 (Very good, worth your time and money)