Date Night (2010)

A well developed comedy stirred up with some action and romance. A can't miss surefire comedic teaming of Steve Carrell and Tina Fey as the married couple The Fosters. A modern everyday American husband and wife who have fallen into the marriage rut of same day, same time, same everything, to routine. On the spur of the moment night they decide to hit the fanciest dinner spot in the city. No reservations, no problem, they improvise and steal some other couples reservation and enjoy an incredible dinner. Here is where the fun begins as they are mistaken for another couple and craziness ensues. The writing in this film is brilliant with one liners and zany dialogue between characters. A plethora of amazing cast ensemble with Mark Wahlberg, Taraji P. Henson, James Franco, William Fichtner, Mila Kunis, Ray Liotta, Common, Jimmi Simpson, Kristen Wiig, Gal Gadot, Olivia Munn and Mark Ruffalo. It is funny, laugh out loud comedic brilliance, great editing and direction.I firmly give this a 7 out of 10 as it was good, NOT great, funny, but NOT bust a gut laughable.

Shame on me for thinking I would enjoy this film. Other than Little Miss Sunshine and the Minions I can't think of any Steve Carrel movies I liked. Tina Fey is great at impersonating Sarah Palin but I guess she can't do that all the time. Others found this movie more disagreeable than me so I don't need to add much more. The outtakes, at the end, are not worth the wait. However the scene done by Mila Kunis and James Franco was enjoyable.

Carell and Fey are the Fosters, an average married couple with children, living in the burbs. After long days working and taking care of their children they do not have enough energy left for romance, not even on their "date night", which seems a compulsory weekly event.One night they decide to dress up and go to New York, rather than to their local restaurant. They want to dine in a fancy place, but without a reservation they are forced to wait at the bar until the opportunity arises to "steal" the reservation of a no-show couple.This premise is already pretty thin: who would actually go without reservation to a fancy restaurant on a Friday night, hoping somehow to "squeeze in"? What follows is yet another take on the mistaken identity theme, done many times before and much better (should I mention "North by Northwest"?)Mistaken for a couple of petty criminals the Fosters have a series of unfunny adventures with cops and criminals. Taraji P. Henson and Ray Liotta are in the supporting cast. Guess who's the criminal and go with the most predictable option.I saw several Carell's movies and most are hit or miss. With a decent plot, Carell can be very funny in his deadpan way. This was not a good plot but a series of gags that could easily be disconnected: meeting with beefy, rich guy to make hubby jealous; pretending to be a pole dancer; the inevitable car chase, etc….The attempt to squeeze in some "daily wisdom for married couples" further ruined any chance to actually enjoy the story. Disappointing.

What can I say?: It's a product.Some producers said, "Let's make a product and sell it." And they agreed to do so.What's specifically lacking in the flick? At times the writing flags. Normally, you can be in awe of the immense talent of the leads who mouth those lines; they make them believable. Here, some of the lines are so dumb that even the very talented actors have trouble breathing life into them.The scenario work varies from rather empty/cookie-cutter to somewhat engaging. One thing I had trouble believing was that thugs could muscle their way into a super-ritzy restaurant and bodily remove a couple--on the basis of their name. No one showed these guys photos of the targets? Gimme a break!And the flick ends with all the bad guys in cuffs, all the good guys scot free. Ho hum!Which, I suppose, highlights the core weakness of the enveloping story: It's not a big enough story to induce us to graciously excuse these scenario glitches.What's good about the flick? They put together enough money to hire quite a bevy of heavy hitter acting talent. The actual film/shooting/sound production technique is fantastic. The editing is fine.But the core idea--that hardship strengthens spirit, thence relationship-- is an old idea, and it doesn't feel particularly well- or uniquely-served in "Date Night".Skip it.