Date Night (2010)

Directed by: Shawn Levy | 88 minutes | action, comedy, romance | Actors: Steve Carell, Tina Fey, Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, Mark Ruffalo, James Franco, Olivia Munn, Leighton Meester, Kristen Wiig, Ray Liotta, Taraji P. Henson, Jimmi Simpson, Savannah Paige Rae, Gal Gadot, Common, JB Smoove, Nick Kroll

American TV comedy stars Steve Carell (“The Office”) and Tina “Sarah Palin” Fey (“30 Rock”, “Saturday Night Live”) team up in a comedy film. That must almost be hilarious. However? Carell and Fey play Phil and Claire Foster; a bourgeois, dull, dozed, but contented couple. With two children and both busy jobs, it is not easy to have quality time for each other. They do their best by means of a weekly night out: ‘date night’. Always to the same tent, always the same conversation piece (“home” or “work”) and always the same game when they get through it: guess what stage of the relationship other couples in the restaurant are at.

After the Fosters are told by their best friends (Mark Ruffalo and Kristen Wiig) that they are divorcing after a seemingly successful marriage for many years, panic breaks out. Their friends turn out to be perfect housemates, but where have the sparks gone? Similar to the situation of Phil and Claire so… The same thing will soon be waiting for them! Phil and Claire therefore decide to approach the weekly night out differently. They dress up and go into town to eat at the hippest place there. But no table without a reservation… When they then notice that another couple who had made a reservation did not show up, they seize their chance and pretend to be those people. But let those people just now be wanted by a gang of crooks! A special night out will indeed be very special…

Put ordinary people in an unusual situation and it will soon be labeled as comical. This is also the case in this film by director Shawn Levy (‘Cheaper by the Dozen’ (2003) and ‘Just Married’ (2003)). It soon becomes apparent, however, that the laughter here is not to be found in the story itself, but rather in the performances of Carell and – especially – Fey. Together a great couple, but once again it is proven that you are as good as the story allows. And there it pinches the shoe. The story borders on the ridiculous. There is so much stupidity on display that it is annoying. While we are clearly supposed to find everything hilarious, preferably also at the third repetition of a joke. Not a thoughtful or subtle comment anywhere; no, everyone should be able to laugh continuously and preferably in the superlative. Like, for example, during the really embarrassing flight with a stolen car. Hysterical is a better description of what is being shown at such a moment.

Still, Carell and Fey know how to keep your attention and there are certainly some funny scenes in it. Being nice in a TV series or parody is of course also different than spending an hour and a half on the silver screen. Tina Fey clearly knows how to dose better here than Steve Carell, who has a tendency to quickly go along with the hysteria of the story. A form of humor that generally does better in America than in the sober Netherlands. Maybe that’s why it’s so popular there..? The flat supporting roles seem to come straight out of a comic strip, but are filled in by a variety of celebs, such as Mila Kunis, James Franco, Mark Wahlberg and William Fichtner. The music industry also contributes with Will.I.Am, Leighton Meester and Common. If the film had had to do without the two cracks, it would undoubtedly have been different. Now it’s a nice addition. No, ‘Date Night’ brings Sarah Palin… er I’m sorry, Tina Fey and Steve Carell together and can only be called a special film for that reason. Cheers for that. Without them, this hysterical film would undoubtedly have disappeared into anonymity. It’s a shame that the makers didn’t offer them the stage on which they could excel. Because the nonsense that they now have to maneuver through the viewer regularly gets the substitute shame on their jaws.