Date Night

Director: Shawn Levy
Starring: Tina Fey, Steve Carell
Viewed: At the cinema

I love Tina Fey. I mean, who doesn't? Mean Girls, 30 Rock and her infamous Palin impression have made Fey the thinking man's Megan Fox and the champion of the thinking woman.
So pairing her up with the ever-lovable Steve Carell? Genius. The two play married couple Phil and Claire Foster, who, in a bid to save their tepid marriage, go on an extra-special date night in one of NYC's trendiest eateries. They do not, however, have a reservation. Desperate for a table, Phil rashly decides to claim the table of another couple, the Tripplehorns, who have failed to show up. After indulging in a little food, wine and product placement for will.i.am, the Fosters are confronted by two thugs convinced that they are the Tripplehorns, who happen to be in possession of some important information. Hi-jinks, penis jokes and awkward dancing ensues.

There are some laughs to be had here, although if you like your comedy razor sharp, Date Night is not really your thing. If over-40s cussin' and pole-dancin' (both in an uncomfortable fashion) is the height of hilarity for you, then Date Night will have you in hysterics. Upon viewing Date Night, I was much perplexed- surely this could not have been written by the same Tina Fey who created the oh-so-clever 30 Rock? The same Tina Fey who wrote the biting teen movie Mean Girls? And surely it was not- Date Night was in fact written by Josh Klausner, screenwriter for Shrek the Third (gag). Ah. That explains it.

Thanks to my currently low maturity levels, Date Night did provide some mild amusement, despite its lack of Fey as a screenwriter. Amongst the giggles, however, there are some genuinely touching moments between the two Fosters. This is largely due to the believablilty of the two stars as a couple. Now, I don't know much about parenthood or marriage, but it seemed to me that there is a lot of truth to Date Night's commentary on mature relationships which really gave this some much-needed charm.

Mr Levy, director of the rather unexciting Night at the Museum franchise and the unashamedly silly Pink Panther franchise (he's got a thing for franchises, doesn't he?) seems to be trying extra hard to work against the talented duo. OK, so the weak plot is forgiveable but this has to feature some of the worst direction and camerawork I have ever witnessed in a motion picture. The plot is fuzzy, characters are not adequately identified ("Is that guy the DA or the gangster?") the camera seems to have difficulty following the action, and the car chase, thought great in concept, is executed clumsily. Date Night was filmed on a digital camera system (more often used in television than film) which gave the whole thing a distinctly artificial look that I found distracting and disconcerting. As a result, Date Night never quite works as action or comedy. Normally I don't give a toss about poor cinematography, but here I found it so distracting that it pulled a point or two off my rating.

It also didn't help that the supporting cast are all fairly flat and uninteresting, with the exception of the perpetually topless and very buff Mark Wahlberg. James Franco and Mila Kunis as the real Tripplehorns come across as irritating and shrill, mostly thanks to their inane dialogue. Taraji P Henson and Joe Pesci are both quite dull as a policewoman and gangster, respectively, and seem uncomfortable with attempting comedy.
In the end, Date Night isn't entirely hilarious and it's action elements are not as exciting as they should be. It's all a bit awkward despite the major appeal of the two leads. It's a shame: I wanted so much for this to be great, and was left at the end of this with disappointment. If your expectations aren't as high as mine, Date Night will probably still be a fun if forgettable night at the movies.

Rating: 5

Verdict: Carell and Fey are given plenty of occasions to show off their charisma and wit (largely through improvisation, I think) in the mess that is the plot and script, and, ultimately, they are really the only sparkly attractions in an otherwise unattractive film. I, for one, would be happy to see them pair off in another film, maybe next time with a script penned by Fey herself.

Faithful blog-readers, feel free to let me know your opinions on Date Night in the comments below. Was I spot on? Did I miss the point completely? Let it all out.