Year of Release: 2010
Director: Shawn Levy
Starring: Steve Carell, Tina Fey, Mark Wahlberg, Taraji P. Henson, Jimmi Simpson, Common, William Fichtner, Ray Liotta, Leighton Meester, J.B. Smoove, Kristen Wiig, Mark Ruffalo, James Franco, Mila Kunis, Bill Burr, Nick Kroll, Olivia Munn, Gal Gadot, Jon Bernthal, Ari Graynor, Lauren Weedman
Genre: Action, Adventure, Thriller
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 3
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Synopsis and Review:
Following his work on "Night at the Museum" franchise, producer/director Shawn Levy tackled a script from Josh Klausner, well known for his long working relationship with the Farrelly brothers. The film follows the misadventures of a married couple, comprised of Phil and Claire Foster. Phil is a tax lawyer, and Claire is a realtor, and they both lead quite busy lives, which are also further intensified with the fact they have two children to take care of. Following the news that their best friends are separating, they decide to spice their romantic life, and on their date night they decide to go to Manhattan. The trendy restaurant they're aiming for, is sadly completely booked, but hot on the heels of their improvisational stance, they decide to pretend be someone else, someone who has indeed booked a table beforehand. While they're eating they're approached by two men, who assumes they are indeed the Tripplehorns, and ask them for a compromising flash drive. When Phil and Claire explain what they did, the two men don't believe them, and under threat, Phil lies and tells them the flash drive is in a boathouse, in Central Park. What follows is a night of sleuthing and figuring out how they can get out of the situation alive.
The premise behind "Date Night" is one that has been used quite often: suburban couple or hapless every day person, gets mistaken for a spy, and have/has to thwart a colossal conspiracy. Alfred Hitchcock had his take on this premise with "The Man Who Knew too Much", and since then many other films have tackled similar topics, including the Coen brothers with "Burn After Reading" for instance. While this premise is always ripe for a series of equivocal situations and fish out of water premises, in this case, the director fails to take advantage of the great cast he has to work with. For the most part, the film is very illustrative and also reductive, in the sense that Phil and Claire are barely defined as characters. There isn't much of an understanding of who they actually are, beyond their jobs and their tasks. The supporting characters also appear and disappear without much emphasis on the narrative or for that matter exhibit much personality (and being shirtless doesn't count for personality). For all the over the top action and comedy that the premise of this film suggests, there simply isn't much substance (or laughs for that matter) to it. What is indeed left, is the ability provided by Steve Carell and Tina Fey to bring these characters to life, and take advantage of their palpable chemistry. In their defense, do they manage to convey and portray a couple who has been together for a while, who while loving each other, are simply overwhelmed by life itself. Their presence renders the film barely watchable. The cinematography from the always great Dean Semler is solid, but aside from that, this is a forgettable endeavor.
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