Hijinks Movie Reviews: Date Night

I honestly never really knew anything about Date Night prior to watching it, the only thing I knew was Steve Carell and Tina Fey were starring in a movie together, that alone was enough to make me want to see it. I was of the impression that the movie was about two single people going on the worst date ever, that’s not at all what the movie is about.

Date Night was released in theaters on April 9, 2010 and on DVD and Blu-ray August 10, 2010. While it definitely isn’t anything you haven’t seen before, I think it’s the quality of the actors in the movie helped to make it a fun ride, from the 2 stars down to appearances by Mark Wahlberg and James Franco in a couple of hilarious scenes, Date Night does a good job of delivering the laughs. We’ll get into the movie a bit more after the jump.First of all, is it just me or does Tina Fey look better and better the older she gets? Alright, maybe that was a bit off topic, I just wanted to put that out there, now that I’ve got that out of the way…

Date Night is a very simple premise, per Wikipedia (spoiler warning!):

Phil and Claire Foster (Steve Carell and Tina Fey) are a married couple from New Jersey with two children whose domestic life has become routine. Phil is a tax lawyer while Claire is a realtor. They learn that their best friends, Brad (Mark Ruffalo) and Haley (Kristen Wiig), are getting a divorce due to experiencing the same problems.

To reignite their romance, Phil takes Claire to a trendy Manhattan restaurant, but they cannot get a table. Phil takes a reservation from a no-show couple, the Tripplehorns, despite Claire’s misgivings.

Of course, after taking this table, 2 menacing dudes show up and, thinking they are the Tripplehorns, proceed to take them out behind the restaurant and demand a flash drive. Of course, the Foster’s have no clue what this is about, but proceed to go down this road and, out of fear, tell lie after lie to appease their captors. After a daring ‘high speed’ escape in a boat (which was a great scene by the way), Phil and Claire decide to get to the bottom of this and try to solve this problem. Of course, this takes them into a world they’ve never been in and in the process remember why they fell in love in the first place, and appreciate the life they’ve made together.

So like I said from the outset, you’ve seen this movie a number of times, but this edition is done very well, and with a really great group of characters. You’ll get a few good laughs amidst all the shenanigans.

Dave’s Quick Hits: Even though the movie was nothing like I expected, it was much funnier than I thought it would be, it’s your typical ‘everything that could possibly go wrong does’ type of movie but it’s stars deliver the laughs, 8 out of 10.
Thoughts From The Better Half: I enjoyed this movie, it was really funny! It’s not really a family movie (language) but definitely good for the adults, 8 out of 10
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 67% – An uneasy blend of action and comedy, Date Night doesn’t quite live up to the talents of its two leads, but Steve Carell and Tina Fey still manage to shine through most of the movie’s flaws.