'Date Night'

'Date Night' (PG-13) ***1/2

Writer: Josh Klausner
Director: Shawn Levy
Starring: Steve Carell, Tina Fey, Ray Liotta, Mark Wahlberg, Common, Taraji P. Henson, Jimmi Thompson, William Fichtner, James Franco, Mila Kunis, J.B. Smove

Once in a while there comes a comedy duo that creates such perfect chemistry together. Steve Carell and Tina Fey individually are very brilliant and hilarious comic actors. I have deep love for Tina Fey for she is truly an amazing performer. Steve Carell might be more one note in the characters he plays but his comic timing is probably the best on screen now. It will always be hard for Hollywood to come up with a perfect movie for these talents. Sometimes those actors can elevate a minor movie which some critics have said about Fey and Carell in their new movie "Date Night". I actually disagree because I actually think "Date Night" is a brilliant concept made into a hilarious and smart movie. The movie is a lot of fun and I couldn't stop from smiling throughout the whole movie. If it is true that a lot of improvisation went on between this killer cast then Fey and Carell are even more brilliant. This movie could have been a disaster but instead has given us a new comedy team that is even better than Steve Martin and Goldie Hawn. Those two had great chemistry and made a few movies together but they were mostly forgettable, "Date Night" equals Fey and Carell's talents and I am still thinking about all the funny parts days after. This is even funnier than last year's "The Hangover" mainly because you love the characters here. That is due to the awesome chemistry between Fey and Carell. They also add surprisingly tender and subtle moments creating a real married couple, one that we would become friends with.

"Date Night" has a classic set up as married couple Fey and Carell see themselves in quite a rut as they go to the same restaurant and eat the same food every time they go out. Carell decides to take his wife to a fancy restaurant in the city but doesn't make reservations before hand. They decide to steal a reservation when a party of two is a no show. They are confronted by two men with guns and now we have the classic mistaken identity plot. This time though Fey and Carell's reaction to this situation is comic mastery. The story then gets really goofy as they are both pursued across the city by many bad guys looking for a stolen computer disc they think the couple has. What is on the disc does not really matter for the fun of "Date Night" is not the plot but the situations they get into and their reaction to it. The movie also has one of the best casts I have ever seen together in one movie. There is great work from Ray Liotta, Taraji P. Henson. There are two subplots also that are minor classics involving first Mark Wahlberg who is very funny here and blends in with Carell and Fey perfectly. The other involves James Franco and Mila Kunis proving that those two are two of our greatest, youngest actors. The scene between all four actors is hilarious and brilliant. Listen to the dialogue in that scene and you will know what I mean when I say Fey and Carell are brilliant performers. The comic timing and delivery of dialogue is comic gold. There is also one of the best car chases I have seen and it is original, sloppy, weird and laugh out loud funny. There are many more goofy and ridiculous scenes till the end but Fey and Carell make them work. This movie is an offbeat treasure and it is the measure of two great actors that you will follow them anywhere. Carell and Fey should make a movie every few years because now we have a new power couple who are here to stay. "Date Night" along with "The Runaways" and "The Crazies" is one of the best movies of the year so far and easily the best comedy so far.