Steve Carell and Tina Fey are two of the best things about TV right now. If you’re not familiar with Carell’s signature antics from The Office, you should probably drop what you’re doing and go rent a few discs, if, like me, you’re a human who happens to enjoy laughing and being entertained. Writer and performer Tina Fey has been a mainstay in television comedy for many years now, first in her SNL days, and currently still on NBC, right after The Office, in the respectably absurdist and engaging 30 Rock.
All that being said, Date Night, the film meant to showcase this pair and their talents, almost feels like it’s missing something in the way of a lead character. Fey and Carell are adept at playing versions of themselves, and deftly pull off comedy beats that utilize their strengths. But they don’t spend much time building new, unique characters that draw you in. That’s why it’s our luck as an audience that Mark Wahlberg steps in and lends his acting chops in a supporting role that really fleshes out the world of this movie. He and a host of other luminous talents in small roles give Date Night much of its character and keep it from feeling too recycled. Watching the film, I was reminded more than once of the Jack Lemmon (and later Steve Martin and Goldie Hawn) throwaway comedy caper The Out-of-Towners. The basic plotline–average suburban marrieds set out on a simple night of R&R out in the Big Apple, end up in way over their heads through a series of missteps, and must pull through together, possibly rekindling their romantic spark in the process–feels almost too familiar. However, along with those cameo/supporting performances from Wahlberg, Mark Ruffalo, Mila Kunis and James Franco, among others, there were zany chase sequences, stunts, and goofy one-liners that kept things feeling fresh. This comedy isn’t going to change any lives, but 88 minutes with a talented comedy pair like Fey and Carell isn’t a bad way to spend an evening. – [DVD] [Blu-Ray]
Comedy/Crime/Romance
Rated PG-13
DVD Release Date: 8/10/10