Date Night

Starring: Steve Carell, Tina Fey, Mark Wahlberg, Taraji P. Henson, Jimmi Simpson, Common, William Fichtner, Leighton Meester, Kristen Wiig, Mark Ruffalo, James Franco, Mila Kunis, Olivia Munn, Will.i.Am, Ray Liotta
Directed by: Shawn Levy
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy
2010

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A boring couple (Steve Carell, Tina Fey) are caught in a situation over their heads when they are mistaken for another couple and are hunted by a couple of thugs (Jimmi Simpson, Common).

Review:

Tim: Whoever came up with the idea to put Steve Carell and Tina Fey together was a genius. Carell and Fey are two of the funniest actors in Hollywood today, and seeing them on screen together is terrific. This is the single greatest aspect of this movie, and I am thankful it was made. Sometimes you just want to see two actors on screen together, and this is an example of that.

Luckily, director Shawn Levy gives us much more than that. This is actually a legitimately funny, entertaining movie. I am oftentimes hard on comedies, and sometimes I wonder if I am biased. However, once in a while, a truly funny comes along that reminds me I shouldn't lower my expectations just because so many people can't fiure out how to make a good one. Date Night is a ver funny film, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

The cast is truly one of the most impressive in recent memory. Steve Carell and Tina Fey are legitimately funny, and they work well together. I didn't always buy that they had been together for years, but they did have a certain degree of comfortableness and chemistry which helped greatly. They were both funny in this film- together, but also seperately. The writing certainly helped, as did the ability of funny people to ad lib.

The supporting cast was great, although is often the case, they had too little time on screen. I love that Mark Ruffalo was in this film, but his 30 seconds of screen time isn't enough. Mark Wahlberg had a few funny moments, but most of his performance required standing around without a shirt looking confused. I wasn't overly impressed. James Franco and Mila Kunis were actually hilarious together. I loved them as a couple, and they had some of the funniest moments of the entire film. I smell a spinoff between these two (please!?!?). I also liked the uncredited performance of Ray Liotta as a stereotypical gangster. While the supporting cast was diverse, I wish they each had more screen time. Still, it was entertaining and unexpected to see so many famous people in this film, and it kept the excitement at a high level.

As I mentioned, this is a funny movie. There are so many funny moments (although, I have to admit, only a few truly laugh-out-loud moments). My favorite line is probably "I have to go home now and fart in a shoebox" The car chase scene is pretty spectacular, too. While the humor is there (and needed to be), the film works because we actually care about the characters. They are realistic, multidimensional ones that seem like true people. We care about their plight, so we root for them. This is hard to pull off, but critical for comedies to succeed.

I don't think this is necessarily a great comedy. It certainly could have been funnier, as it didn't really have any of those instantly classic moments. Still, it was entertaining throughout, and proved that very good comedies can certainly be made. In a tough year for movies, this one certainly stands out.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



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