JAM Reviews Date Night from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

Date Night: Blu-Ray/Digital Combo: Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment
Review by JAM

Sometimes life slows down and you feel like you are in the same rut day after day. In a marriage this can be a real problem as two people whose lives are intertwined can find themselves feeling trapped. Throw kids into the equation and as Fred Jones from Scooby Doo Mystery Incorporated would say “That’s a really good trap!”

Remember though, marriage is not the trap, the humdrums of everyday life is. And like any trap, there is always an escape…

Meet Phil Foster (Steve Carell) and his wife Claire (Tine Fey), a married couple from New Jersey with two kids, separate careers, a mortgage, a book club, and a once a week date night. Sounds like your typical American family in a lot of ways but without any spontaneity. Date night is a chore for our heroes until after a frank discussion with their divorcing friends (Paul Rudd and Kristen Wiig), they both decide to throw caution to the winds and go for broke, heading to the city on in impromptu excursion. Little did they know what was in store.

Phil snaking a table reservation from an unknowing couple turns into a night filled with petty squabbling, mistaken identities, crooked cops, dirty politicians, shirtless security consultants, and a second chance to spice up their lives. All it takes is a little first step (even if it may be the wrong one) to change a life and Phil and Claire’s lives will never be the same.

Director Shawn Levy (Night at the Museum) controls the tempo and the cast as Phil and Claire are joined by a hodge-podge of interesting characters. Common (rapper and star of Just Wright) and Jimmi Simpson (Lyle the Intern from The David Letterman Show) join the movie as two cops with a secret that intersects Phil and Claire’s night out, Mark Wahlberg (The Other Guys) helps out as a security consultant who has long been on Claire’s mind, and Leighton Meester (Gossip Girl) steals her few scenes as an enterprising babysitter. Throw in James Franco, Mila Kunis, Mark Ruffalo, and more and you’ve got a funny romp through the city while out on your Date Night.

JAMS Ink on Date Night

I am a little confused, though in a good way. When I first started watching Date Night, I figured I was in for a slight escape from reality with a few laughs, some interesting dilemmas, and some slapstick comedy. Instead, I feel like I learned something…

That’s right, I learned something important from a slapstick vaudeville type of escape comedy and it is actually a really important lesson. SOMETIMES YOU JUST HAVE TO GET UP AND TRY. Sorry, I figured I would use all caps to emphasize my point, but it really hit me. Steve Carell plays a man who finally decides that he has to try to save his marriage and do something completely out of his comfort zone. And everything he does goes wrong, and his wife reminds him of it again and again, but he still tries. And then Tina Fey’s Claire buys into it and tries to do anything to save the man she loves. Marriage, work, life… Whatever you want to connect this to makes the above statement worthwhile. I mean, I screw up more than enough times whether it be at home, work, or wherever and more than often things work out (after I hit the speedbumps that life throws in the way). So TRY something new.

Alright, the deep existential thought is out of the way so let’s talk about this comedy itself. It was fun and the casting choices worked well. Date Night was never meant to be an award winner but it is a perfect date night movie. Steve Carell and Tina Fey come off as a believable married copy who have hit the rut and are both afraid of losing and/or settling for what they have. Taking chances to make the other happy, each of them discovers happiness is something that’s not always just there, sometimes it’s the hardest thing to work on. And boy do they work on it with maniacal driving, breaking and entering, and pole dancing. Throw in Steve and Tina with strait-laced acting during comedic moments and it actually enhances the funniness of the movie. Check it out, you’ll have a bunch of laughs and maybe learn a little something.

Mark Wahlberg has a running gag throughout the movie where his shirt seems to have been lost. For you women, enjoy it. For me, the muscles actually did not annoy me too much mainly because the character was cool/mysterious in that Jason Bourne sort of way. But women, please try not to drool too much. Did anyone ever think that an 80’s pop icon would ever become the actor he is today? I never would have believed it, but he is good and seems to pick really good roles most of the time. I have even enjoyed the less successful movies like Shooter and Max Payne. Maybe check them out if you get the chance.

EXTRAS

Blu-ray With Digital Copy Special Features:
● Gag reel
● Extended Car Chase
● Directing Off Camera
● Date Night PSAs (three versions)
● Directing 301 with Shawn Levy
● Audio Commentary with Shawn Levy
● Deleted Scenes
● Extended Scenes
● Disaster Dates with the Cast
● Steve and Tina Camera Tests
● Live Lookup
● Digital Copy

Single-Disc DVD Special Features
● Gag reel
● Extended Car Chase
● Directing Off Camera
● Date Night PSAs (three versions)
● Directing 301 with Shawn Levy
● Audio Commentary with Shawn Levy

Blu-ray versions of movies these days are so much more fun. They typically are much of much finer quality with the digital transition and often include a host more of the extras that I look for in a fun release like this one. This probably the first Blu-ray copy that I would not recommend for the film quality, though I would still recommend it on the strength of the provided extras and the portable digital copy that comes with it. I think the movie is actually the problem with the Blu-ray disappointment rather than technology. The majority of the movie takes place in grainy, seedy darkness so that a clearer picture would definitely not evoke the same feelings that this fun comedy does. I mean, a clear picture of Steve and Tina’s pole dancing scene? Um, no…

The extended edition (and digital copy) includes a number of deleted scenes to bring the original theatrical release up to a fun 101 minutes. It is actually a good choice as the scenes included fit the movie well and never detract from it. The other deleted scenes included on the Blu-ray do not really contribute anything that the movie really misses. The Gag Rell, Alt City, and the PSAs included are really the best aspects of the extras. Alternate versions of improvisations (many of the restaurant return scenes are included during the credits) and physical comedy involving the glass doors kept me laughing continuously. The rest of the extras include commentary, a Directing 101 vignette, and bad date discussions that may catch your attention or may not.

Date Night from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment crashes onto store shelves on August 10, 2010 so grab a copy and enjoy a “date night” with your significant other..

DATE NIGHT
Street Date: August 10, 2010
Screen Format: Widescreen: 2.35:1
Audio: 5.1 Dolby Digital / Spanish and French Dolby Surround
Subtitles: English, French & Spanish
U.S. Rating: PG-13
Run Time: 88 minutes
Closed Captioned: Yes

Remember check out this review and more from JAM at www.hollywoodteenzine.com for teens and tweens, and at http://jammoviereviews.blogspot.com for movies of all genres and ages.