DATE NIGHT (2010 - Cert 15)

More often than not, I have a hunch about a film before I watch it. Sometimes as I'm putting a DVD in the player, or am rushing from work to get to the cinema in time, I make a little bet with myself that I am going to enjoy a movie, just like when I bought my ticket for Shaun of the Dead at Kingston Odeon all those years ago. I just had a feeling. It's a double-edged sword though, because there are other occasions when I just know that something is going to offend me and really try my patience. The Holiday is the ultimate example of that. I just knew. I'm not saying that these hunches are always right, I thought I was going to love Sucker Punch and I was convinced that I was going to hate Notting Hill. It's this unpredictability that makes going to the flicks still a nugget of excitement. Having said this though, I don't think I've ever predicted a feeling of complete and utter indifference. That is until I decided to watch Date Night on Sky Movies. I didn't think I was going to like it particularly, but equally, I didn't think it would repulse me.....

At it turns out, my gut instinct was spot on.



It's a nice little idea. A married couple (Steve Carell and Tina Fey), constantly exhausted and frustrated with their lives working and looking after kids, try to keep the romance going and the spark alive by arranging date nights - a night when they go out, just the two of them, to remind themselves that there is a relationship in there somewhere. Only on this occasion, when struggling to get into a restaurant, they take someone else's reservation. Then through mistaken identity they are taken on an adventure involving the mafia, flashdrives, bribery, security experts, bent cops and criminals.

The first thing to say is how well it starts off. The 15 - 20 minute introduction to the Carell and Fey characters and their marriage is really well handled. There's some nice comedy as they are woken up at stupid o clock in the morning by rampaging kids when all they want is a day of kip. Then for them to get home and have to rouse themselves for date night is a super human feat in itself. Part of the appeal is that the couple seem so down to earth, all of us have got home from a meal with the girlfriend and felt a bit too 'gassy' for any nookie, but a lot of the credit goes to Carell and Fay themselves. Both are instantly likeable and inherently amusing, even when working with the subtle material provided to them at the beginning of the film. It's great to watch the two of them exchanging patter about other couples while sat eating dinner. However, this connection with the two leads is quickly lost when the film descends into the madness. The script attempts to go back to the stability of the relationship a couple of times during all of the action, and they should be commended for trying to keep the heart of the film there, but the truth is it feels tacked on and gets lost in the frenetic film that it is.

So, as we get teased with the promise of a decent study of married life, only to have it snatched away and morphed into an action/buddy movie, what is the rest of it like? Passable. No more than that I'm afraid. I never really bought the whole set-up, and if you haven't got that suspension of disbelief in place then we're in trouble. One second they're drunk over dinner, the next they're breaking into buildings and getting into car chases. Despite my issues with it, I must admit that the set pieces are well put together and the studio have obviously chucked a bit of cash at the film which does show. The car chase being a good example of a comedic action scene.

I just wish that I could say the same for the comedy set pieces. More often than not they miss the spot. For example, a scene where both Carell and Fey have to perform a pole dance is an attempt at slap stick comedy but doesn't come close. It was more awkward to watch, which through The Office we know is a type of comedy in itself, but I don't think that's what the intention was though. It was all a bit of a tumbleweed moment.

Cameo appearances are lobbed in there in an attempt to keep things fresh, Mark Wahlberg is his good old deadpan self, James Franco and Mila Kunis tickle but no more than that as a criminal couple, Mark Ruffalo has one scene, which involves proper acting, through which his quality shines. We also have Ray Liotta (who says he's type cast?) as the mafia boss and William Fichtner as the DA of New York City, both hamming it up as the roles require.

So, in short, there's some good stuff there (mostly in the first 15 minutes), there's some bad stuff there, and some ok stuff thrown in for good measure. All put together though, it doesn't really have any cohesion and is probably only just good enough to pass the time for an hour and a half. If you're trying to impress a girl on a date by putting on a DVD though, this is not the one.