Quick Review: Date Night

Steve Carell and Tina Fey are anchors of NBC's Thursday night lineup...let's rephrase that. After all, when it comes to NBC, anchors are what their lousy ratings must be attached to. So let's just say they're key components of NBC's lineup, and they star in "Date Night" as Phil and Claire Foster, a married couple from New Jersey with two kids and a pretty dull life. After they find out that their friends, a similarly bored couple, plan to divorce, Phil and Claire decide to put some excitement back into their relationship. Instead of the local run-of-the-mill place they normally eat at on their nights out, they head for Manhattan and a hot new seafood restaurant. Without reservations and having no hope of getting seated, Phil claims the reservation of a couple who didn't show up, the Tripplehorns. They get more than they bargained for when a pair of hoods shows up looking for the Tripplehorns. The ensuing action is mostly fast-paced and the comedy flows throughout, including a fun turn by Mark Wahlberg as an acquaintance of Claire's who provides some help to the couple while remaining shirtless throughout. Carell and Fey are excellent together. "Date Night" is a great date movie, and is still great even if you don't have a date and have to go to a morning show for the matinee ticket price to save money...not that I ever have to do that...why are you looking at me with that quizzical look? My grade: A-minus.