Date Night DVD

DVD Review by Kam Williams

Headline: Delightful Screwball Comedy Co-Starring Carell and Fey Comes to DVD

Steve Carell and Tina Fey prove to be the perfect foils for each other’s brand of humor (slapstick and tongue-in-cheek, respectively) for the duration of this rollicking road flick which keeps the pair relentlessly on the run virtually from beginning to end. The two also manage to generate just enough chemistry along the way to convince you that they’re really a jaded, New Jersey couple whose marriage has gone stale.
At the point of departure, we learn that between raising two kids and draining careers Phil and Claire Foster have come to feel more like roommates than lovers. And after hearing that their good friends Brad (Mark Ruffalo) and Haley (Kristen Wiig) are divorcing, they decide to spice up their relationship by having dinner at Claw, a very-trendy Manhattan restaurant.
So, they hire a babysitter (Leighton Meester) and travel all the way into the city only to be told by the dismissive maitre d’ (Nick Kroll) that they won’t be seated without a reservation. But when no responds to the hostess’ (Olivia Munn) repeated calls for “The Tripplehorns,” they decide to pretend to be the absentee party of two.
However, the Fosters have no idea that “Tripplehorn” is the alias employed by a blackmailer (James Franco) in possession of an incriminating flash drive besought by both a mob family and some crooked police officers. Soon, cops and robbers trail the clueless impersonators in a case of mistaken identity which can’t easily be explained. The ensuing madcap adventure takes the Fosters all over New York City, culminating in a hilarious car chase scene with an Oscar-quality cameo by J.B. Smoove guaranteed to have you howling out loud.
A delightful screwball comedy that has sequel written all over it!

Excellent (4 stars)
Rated PG-13 for profanity, sexuality, violence, a drug reference and pervasive crude humor.
Running time: 88 Minutes
Studio: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
DVD Extras: Extended version, gag reel, alternate scenes, director’s commentary, PSAs plus a couple of featurettes.