Date Night (Movie Trailer) torrent

In this romantic comedy, Steve Carell and Tina Fey play Phil and Claire Foster, a happy, but bored, married couple with kids that needs an extra zing in their life. One day, at an expensive restaurant, the couple, to be more daring, steals a table reserved for another couple, and by case of mistaken identity, they become targets of ruthless killers involved with the mafia.

I personally believe this could've worked better as an independent film with unknown actors than a Hollywood-ized romantic comedy. It might've also worked better as a drama. Or, a foreign film. Perhaps it's because I find myself comparing the film to True Lies and that was a high standard for a movie like this. Action was fun there, too. This film's whole mistaken identity plot reminded me of Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest, which I can appreciate. I was partly hoping for something remotely Hitchcockian. Well, the film is a comedy, and pretty much stays there, which isn't so bad, but it also makes it predictable.

This is one of those films, once I saw the trailer, I knew what I was in for, and when I saw the film, I pretty much got what I expected, except that in the back of my mind, I had hoped for possibly something a little more, but I just got pretty much what I expected. I feel this way perhaps for most of Hollywood's romantic comedies. They tend to be predictable, and I can assume many of these fans do want that predictability, because, if done right, it's a relaxing, popcorn night at the movies. It's like listening to a calming waterfall—it's familiar and it's relaxing. For us guys, that used be called "the next Arnold Schwarzenegger action flick." When we approach genre films, we indeed expect predictability—the familiarity brings the geeks together. In the back of our heads, though, we still want something fresh in there, something that will stay in our minds. A genre film can't be like stale water forever—it'll just go bad.

First off, there are enough things that work and to like about this film, the main reason being that you like Steve Carell and Tina Fey—and, well, if you don't like them in this film, the rest of the film won't change your mind. They are predictably likable and just hearing their banter and their chemistry is more fun than the whole "thriller" plot that's here. Steve Carell's dead-pan humor compliments well with Tina Fey's sharp wit. There are occasional awkward and sometimes flat jokes, but you will go along with them because you like these guys. The supporting characters, however, don't fair as well. Ray Liotta, as a mob boss, seemed wasted here. Mark Walberg merely plays off his predictable pretty-boy image. William Fichtner, who plays a DA, has a hard time acting around the poor lines he's given.

As much as I liked the couple, I just wished they did something more innovative or new with the script. There are occasional moments with a serious tone that I think could've been explored more, and in those moments, Fey and Carell bring a lot of heart, but after a while, the film falls back into comedic predictability.

The progress of the story is predictable if you've seen many thrillers. There are crooked cops, politicians, and some secret disk. The thriller aspect, well, isn't suspenseful at all--a problem with the whole comedy-thriller genre itself. It's a balance of opposites, and except in rare cases, you usually lose one or the other. There are some moments here that took me out of the film that would only work in a comedy and not in real life, which brought down the whole "suspense" element. In essence, no one would worry that these two would be in any real danger. The film is generally a comedy, with some action thrown in. It's kind of like Steve Carell's Get Smart, minus the gadgets.

Overall, one can enjoy this film simply for watching Steve Carell and Tina Fey having fun and being themselves. The script isn't innovative—the plot is a throwaway, and there are other similar films that I've liked that I'd prefer over this film, but there are some fun, if cliché, moments here. The film didn't bring any complex ideas about life or marriage in general, but it still makes for a fun-enough date night. ** ½ out of **** stars.

Release Date: 9 April 2010 (USA)