Date Night (Rhoades)

“Date Night” Delivers A Funny Night Out
Reviewed by Shirrel Rhoades

What an odd concept when you think about it, married couples going out on date nights. Don’t tell my wife about it.

A new comedy of that name – “Date Night” – is currently playing at the Tropic Cinema.

For a suburban couple named Claire and Phil Foster (Tina Fey and Steve Carell), even their special nights out have become routine. What do you do to put a little spice back in your humdrum married existence?

Well, Claire and Phil decide to dine at a very trendy New York café, see how the city’s upper crust enjoys life. Unfortunately, they don’t have a reservation and lines are long. So they fib and claim a no-show reservation as if it’s their own. Bad move.

Seems this innocent identity theft has put them in the gunsights of some very tough customers.

Claire: “Honey, if I’m gonna get whacked off, I …”
Phil: (snickers)
Claire: “What are you smiling about?”
Phil: “No, no, we might get bumped off. We’re not going to get whacked off.”
Claire: “I think we are!”

This name mix-up sends them on the run from a couple of corrupt cops, a mob boss, and a crazy cabdriver. So they turn to one of Claire’s acquaintances, a handsome security guard (Mark Wahlberg) who might help protect them. Good luck with that!

This date night-mare is peopled by a bad guy (Ray Liotta), a petty conman (James Franco), the conman’s wife (Mila Kunis), Phil’s best friend (Mark Ruffalo), Clair’s best friend (Kristen Wiig), the killer cops (Common and Jimmi Simpson), the cabbie (JB Smoove), and a determined DA
(William Frichtner). A great supporting cast.

Even so, it’s the Fosters who play hardest on your funny bone. Steve Carell (TV’s “The Office,” “The 40 Year Old Virgin) and Tina Fey (TV’s “30 Rock” and Saturday Night Live’s Sarah Palin look-alike) are two of the funniest people you’ll ever meet on a date night.

While theirs doesn’t turn out as smoothly as they’d hoped, your own date night at the movies will surely be a great one.

srhoades@aol.com
[from Solares Hill]