‘Date Night’ is a good choice for a date night

Editor’s note: Peter Lewis has agreed to use whatever it is you call his writing style to provide some measure of analysis to those folks who still go to a theater to see a movie. Enjoy.

review by Peter Lewis

Steve Carrell and Tina Fey are two of the most successful comedic actors of the past decade. From “The Forty Year Old Virgin” and the American incarnation of “The Office” to “30 Rock” and SNL, Carrell and Fey have left an indelible mark on popular culture.

Both actors are known for utilizing an element of absurd awkwardness. For Fey this humor usually revolves around a bizarre penchant for food and a remarkably deprecatory perception of herself. Yet, men and women alike can easily attach themselves to this personality. She taps into the unspeakable truths that lurk beneath the cover of the glossy shots one sees in magazines: yes, women do love food and they often want to escape from the expectations thrust upon them. Fey boldly wears this honesty and is truly laudable for it.

Carrell, on the other hand, is most notable for his stumbling detachment from reality. While Fey’s connection with audiences is based in a truthful reality, his attachment lies mostly in commiseration and absurdity. We can’t wait to see what oddities spew forth from his mouth, to see his ungainly behavior and see the foreignness. Though we secretly fear that in truth we are all as uncouth and inarticulate in mixed company, the voyeurism of it all is just too damned fun.

Naturally, Fey and Carrell are both more than this sketch, but to audiences they embody these personae. And quite frankly, they are at their best when in these skins. The makers of “Date Night” obviously knew this, as both were pitch-perfect playing the roles of Phil and Claire Foster.

With two small children and careers as a tax accountant and a realtor (my spell check says this should be capitalized, but at the risk of pissing off realtors, I shan’t be capitalizing it), they are suburbia. Fearing that they are falling into a rut, Phil takes action. They make the hour-long trip into the city and attempt to get a table at Claw, a hip restaurant oozing with pretension. Ignored and out of place, Phil is unbowed. On a lark, he pretends to be someone else and takes their reservation. This innocent decision is what drives the action of “Date Night.” The Fosters are mistaken for those they purport to be and are thrust into the dangerous netherworld of New York City crime.

Despite the somewhat outlandish premise, the movie truly works. The characters are real and easily identifiable — Who hasn’t been in a relationship rut? Who doesn’t know the dreary nature of responsibility? Escapism is just as much a part of daily life as your to-do list, but what truly holds the movie together is the utter reality of the characters.

It is great fun to pretend as if one could be like John McClane or Bruce Wayne, but it’s far from genuine.  Even with their ho-hum characters thrust into inexplicable scenarios, the movie never delves off into the fantasy of possibility. It stays firmly rooted in the reality of suburbia. There is nervousness and naivety; there are freak outs and miscues. The staid world view of a middle-aged married couple holds throughout the film. As Taste (James Franco) asserts in the middle of the film, they are truly a long way from home.

It is this Innocents Abroad arena of humor that makes the film so endearingly funny. Phil doesn’t quite know how to talk trash or be fierce, while Claire doesn’t quite understand the difference between getting “whacked” and getting “whacked off.” As the credits roll and the blooper reel appears, one thing is for certain: both Fey and Carrell know how to make an audience laugh, that they can be so winningly identifiable in the process is what separates them from the cinematic pack.

Do yourself a favor and check it out. Date Night is a winner.

• Date Night is playing at the Carmike 14 and the Malco Cinema 12 in Fort Smith, and the Malco Van Buren Cinema. Link here for time and ticket info.

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