My parents are in town. We’re trying to keep them busy. After all they could watch MSNBC and sit on the couch without leaving Florida! Helaine’s suggestion was we go to the movies.
For the past few weeks Helaine has wanted to see Date Night starring Steve Carrell and Tina Fey. I resisted because of some pretty awful reviews. Haven’t I learned by now to forget everything I read? Helaine always picks the right movie. She certainly did today.
Carrell and Fey are a married couple with two children from suburban New Jersey. A guilt induced ‘date night’ leads to a fib which leads to mistaken identity which leads to a mad chase through New York City. The story is far fetched but Carrell and Fey are charming with very good chemistry. Sometimes that’s enough.
Helaine and my mom were very favorably impressed by a shirtless Mark Wahlberg. As Steve Carrell’s character points out, Wahlberg has muscles on his shoulders… like I couldn’t if I really wanted to.
Among the funnier supporting players was stand-up comedian J. B. Smoove as a New York cabbie who by virtue of a head-on crash and locked bumpers gets involved. Someone must have asked for a younger, safer Jimmie Walker and lucked out. This guy is very funny in scenes where heavyweight mugging is required.
The same goes for James Franco and Mila Kunis as Taste and Whippet–the people Carrell and Fey have been mistaken for. They’re great as a couple arguing while being held at gunpoint!
Like I said, parts of the story were a little beyond belief. A long sequence at a sex club late in the movie could have been shortened or even removed. Have you ever noticed no one ever asks for a movie to be longer?
Bottom line, the critics were wrong. Go see it, but don’t worry if you miss it. This movie is destined to play a few hundred times on TBS. You know the type.
Over the last 32 years I have moved back and forth as a fan of Saturday Night Live. Over time the show has been both brilliant and horrendous.