For fans of NBC’s Thursday night lineup, Date Night is the first film to combine the comedic stylings of two of the most consistently rewarding comedy personalities the station has to offer. It’s a move so obvious it’s surprising it hasn’t been done yet: SNL’s biggest contribution to comedy in the Aughts, and the other Steve from “The Daily Show” who not only stole the show from Jim Carrey in Bruce Almighty, but later stole the leading role as well. So what is a movie with these two off-kilter wits like?
Exactly what you’d expect, pretty much. Fey and Carell play the Fosters, a boring married couple whose 2.3 kids and white collar jobs leave little room for living amidst their never-ending daily routines. As a result, even the nights they set aside for their relationship have become a series of half-hearted exertions and scheduled and rescheduled “cuddle time.” In a clichéd attempt to un-cliché their marriage, Mr. Foster decides to take Mrs. Foster out for a night on the town. When they impersonate reservation no-shows at the fancy new fish place, their night takes many an improbable turn, resulting in just the kind of mistaken-identity, life lesson-filled adventure that is sure to cure them of their suburban despair for good!
Carell and Fey work just as well together as you’d expect, each toning down a little to let the other have equal chuckle time, and their relationship (dilemmas and all) is quite believable. The script by relative newb John Klausner (Shrek the 3rd) can be politely described as restrained. The funny is funny, but not hilarious. The serious is serious, but not poignant. And the scenarios, both ridiculous and expected, are rarely pushed to the extreme. This fish-out-of-water, action-spy/comedy coasts mainly on the laurels of its leads, which works well, but it suffers for missed opportunities from a supporting cast whose talents are misused playing straight men to the comedic force that is Stevena, or Tineve, or StevTiCaFeyrell. Why cast a funny actor like “It’s Always Sunny’s” Jimmi Simpson for a serious role . . . in a comedy?!
It is the StevTiCaFeyrell show after all, and as such, Date Night is exceptionally adequate.
