Date Night at Date Night

So its not everyday that my girlfriend and I get to go on a date. Living and going to school’s eight hours apart makes it somewhat difficult. Because of this, we usually have plenty of time to plan out what we are going to do when we do see each other. When I first saw the trailer for Date Night, I knew it would be one that we would go see. I would be in Athens the weekend it premiered, and Emily and I have been systematically catching up on all episodes of The Office (just finished Season 5!) so we are both big Steve Carell fans. So this past weekend we embarked on the most common of dates, dinner and a movie.

The movie centers around a couple (Carell and Tina Fey) tired of the everyday mundane. They decide they are going to have a special night for just the two of them at a chic restaurant in Manhattan. This is when everything goes wrong. After they take someone’s reservation at the restaurant, they are mistaken for another couple that has a beef with a major mob boss. The rest of the movie is an attempt to resolve this big misunderstanding. As a rule, plots that center around ‘big misunderstanding’s’ drive me nuts. I am the type that is always trying to find a logical way that the issue could be resolved, and of course that never happens. So if the movie was any longer than its short 90 minutes, I may have pulled my hair out.

Date Night addresses true love from a different angle than is typical for Hollywood. It makes it real. Love is more about a dedication to the other person. It recognizes the fact that it is not all roses and fireworks. From that point, I found the realness of the plot refreshing. Its not Romeo and Juliet, its just your average couple trying to navigate the day-to-day.

The movie has some funny parts. Fey and Carell do not disappoint. One of my biggest worries was that Carell would play his same Micahel character from the Office. However, he does a great job of changing it up and his part is not marked by extreme awkwardness and silliness. Much of the comedy revolves around typical middle-aged disconnect from pop culture between the couple. I can say with certainty that had any other people been cast for the main roles, the movie would have flopped miserably. The gag reel at the end shows that the two had a blast working together and that they were given a lot of room to ad lib. A cameo by James Franco is also a high part of the film.

All in all, the movie is just ok. As I said, the main plot conflict is weak and does not lead to any of the comical parts of the film. Mark Wahlberg’s entire part is weak and seems out of sync with the rest of the movie. There are a few unnecessarily crude parts and an F bomb that is forced at best. It seems that the movie wasn’t as fun to watch as it was to make. Leaves you wondering what a good story would have done when paired with two of the funniest people in the business.


2.5 stars out of 5