Review: Date Night

GRACE RIGG: ‘If the sight of Anchorman’s most retarded weatherman and Sarah Palin’s finest impersonator make your eyeballs bleed, this film is not for you.’

Anchorman Steve Carrell The Morgans Tina Fey

Directed by Shawn Levy. 


If you love Tina Fey and Steve Carrell, you will LOL a lot during Date Night. Unfortunately, if the sight of Anchorman’s most retarded weatherman and Sarah Palin’s finest impersonator make your eyeballs bleed, this film is not for you. 

Firstly, I must admit that I missed the first five minutes of this comic caper as I left my car keys at the till. If I had been a character in the film, this mistake would have resulted in a string of ridiculous events culminating in me performing a poor pole dance in a brothel. The plot, however, is the least important part of this film, thank goodness, as it is beyond stupid. The performances of Tina Fey and Steve Carrell are so strong and funny that they detract from the narrative nonsense and are able to carry the oh-so-fashionable plot of depressed, strained married couple bumbling through an improbable adventure, and their double-act feistiness provides the quality that recent rom-com flops Did You Hear About The Morgans? or The Bounty Hunter lacked. Fey (of Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock Fame) is hilarious and her delivery is almost perfect, and sparks fly when she is paired with the loveably awkward Carrell. Despite the silliness and predictability of the film, in these times of stress and worry (I refer both to the economic situation of the nation and our looming examinations) Date Night might just provide some necessary light relief.

As a stolen dinner reservation leads to car chases and police helicopters, Date Night portrays the night out from Hell, and comic turns from Mark Wahlberg and James Franco add an extra zest to an otherwise harmless but inconsequential blockbuster filler.

For a first date I would advise against it, as if he/she doesn’t have a very big funny bone it will be an unbearable 90 minutes. Then again, best to identify all small bones early in the relationship, so as to avoid any future disappointments.

 


httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSV4Y2l7JQg&feature=related