It is extremely fortunate that the makers of Date Night decided to employ the comedic talents of Steve Carell and Tina Fey for their film, rather than the more typical romcom stalwarts; Hugh Grant and Jennifer Aniston, say. Between them Carell and Fey manage to carry this ever-so-slightly weak script, where lesser talents would fall. Phil (Carell) and Claire (Fey) are a boring, married couple from New Jersey with two small children. He is a tax accountant, she is in real estate. Yawn. Once a week they go out for date night, to the same tavern, for the same supper (salmon and potato skins) where they discuss the same things (the children). But spurred by the separation of a couple of married friends, Phil wants to liven things up and whisks Claire to Manhattan one evening to a hip, new fish restaurant. But they're simple folk who haven't booked and there are no tables available. So when one couple (the Tripplehorns) fail to show, they simply pretend to be them and steal the reservation. The trouble is, the Tripplehorns are wanted by a couple of dodgy criminals, and so this innocent table-stealing sets in motion a night of action, including, but not limited to, a boat chase, a car crash, a couple of breaking and entering scenes, a bout of pole-dancing and the appearance of Ray Liotta as the mafia warlord Joey Miletto, and Mark Wahlberg as a muscled spy. It is amusing in a way that will have you chuckling, if not actively rolling around on the floor. But Fey and Carell are superb; improvising and bouncing off one another. More of this pairing please.
