Date Night is a film that I didn’t see at the cinema because little
about it appealed to me. The premise seemed weak and having yet to discover 30 Rock, I was unaware of female lead
Tina Fey. Having recently watched it when it was on television though, I was
pleasantly surprised by a film which is much funnier than I had anticipated.
Phil and Claire Foster (Steve Carell
and Tina Fey) are your typical middle aged, middle income family, living in
suburban America.
Their lives are driven by their children and slight financial difficulty which
is imposed by the recent recession. Tired of their usual, hastily organised
date nights, the couple decide to head into New York City with the hope of snagging a
highly sort after table in a swanky Tribeca restaurant. Unable to book under
their own name, Phil takes the reservations of another couple who fail to show
and their mistaken identity leads them down a path of deception and danger when
they discover that a gangster is out for blood.
Date Night is driven by some likeable leads, delivering highly
improvised and very funny dialogue around the conceit of a story which is
fairly basic but something I haven’t seen before. The movie occasionally runs
out of steam and relies on silly action set pieces to reinvigorate the plot but
there’s also a lot in the film which is relatable to people who are in long
term relationships.
