MOVIE REVIEW - Date Night

The new comedy Date Night with Steve Carell and Tina Fey is new at the box office this weekend.

This much hyped comedy has a lot to live up to. Two big stars, a big advertising budget, and a bunch of anticipation. This really should be a great night at the movies. But overall it come up short. Date Night can't decide what kind of movie it really wants to be. And that's the trouble here. Is it a comedy? Is it an action movie? Actually it's both, and kind of half baked on both fronts.

Date Night is the story of The Fosters. They are a suburban married couple with a two great kids. They live in New Jersey, and and in order to put a bit a bit of spark back into their quiet lives, they venture off to New York City for a "date." Going to a swanky restaurant they don't have reservations for, they pretend to be another couple that doesn't show, and get a table. Turns out these no-shows are involved in some organized crime situation. The "muscle" shows up and basically kidnap The Fosters and want to know about their "extortion plan." That of course doesn't exist. After a while that same night they make an escape, are pursued, and the laughs are on.

This is a very strange movie in looking at how people react to it. In a full theater on it's opening night, I expected big laughs from an eager audience. That never happened. There are some funny moments here. Carell is starting to really get painted into a corner. He's really kind of the same guy in every movie now, and his humor is hit-or-miss with many. Tina Fey is the real prize here. She is funny, original, talented and beautiful at the same time. She is responsible for many of the big laughs here.

Kudos too to Mark Wahlberg who has a very small role as a shirtless hunk that tries to help the Fosters in their time of need. It's a funny bit that he is this guy who is connected to the deepest part of our nations intelligence, all from the comfort of this swinging bachelor pad. Plus he never wears a shirt. It's actually pretty funny. His part is small but he is effective.

The trouble with Date Night is basic. It's a good idea that really never takes off. There are some very funny moments, but many that are designed for big laughs fell short. Some of the movies signature scenes are way too long, and lose their effectiveness. Plus, this movie is packaged as a safe, light and breezy movie. And it really is much more raw than that. PG-13, for sure. Sadly. there were some young kids there with parents, and that's not good. It's for a group much older than that.

Date Night. It's not a total bust. But, there should be some real thought put into plopping down hard earned dough on this one. A future rental, on-demand, or TNT is a couple of years is probably not a bad call either. This is not a must-see.