First Hit: This is a funny film and the actors work well together.
Tina Fey and Steve Carell work very well together. The energy between them and their relative sense of humor make them well matched as a couple in this unbelievable story of a "Date Night".
Phil (Carell) and Claire (Fey) Foster play a married couple that is very much into their family routines and roles. He works as a tax accountant and she a real estate agent and they have two children who like to wake their parents up early in the morning.
They have regularly scheduled date nights which lack excitement as the go to the same restaurant, eat the same food and return early for, maybe, some sex. Fearing they might be losing the fun aspect of their relationship, they decide to go to the city and have dinner at a hot new restaurant.
Without a reservation they are shoved off to the bar to wait for an open table by a sarcastic maître-de. When the “Tripplehorn’s” don’t show up for their reservation Phil decides to say “we’re the Tripplehorn’s" and get seated. Some gangster types usher them outside and before they know it, the Foster’s are caught up in a extortion ring.
Carell is good as the husband that feels a little controlled by his more than competent wife. Fey is very strong as Carell’s wife and has a way of creating wonderful humorous situations without making it look pressed. Her glances, reactions, and physical actions are in sync and gives her acting the appearance of being easy. Mark Wahlberg plays a studly, unshirted former client of Fey’s who assists the Fosters in their plight. His demeanor and smooth acting were perfect for the part. And an uncredited Ray Liotta as Joe Miletto the bad ass gangster is good. Shawn Levy is very good at bringing out the natural comedic flair of both Fey and Carell.
Overall: This was a funny film although the premise was unrealistic.