Date Night (2010)

Can a silly movie with a retread plot (OUT OF TOWNERS born out of NORTH BY NORTHWEST with a touch of AFTER HOURS) be laugh out loud funny. Well, yes even though it doesn't take full advantage of its premise. It’s a disposable movie to be sure, the kind of movie whose dumb jokes you laugh at but can barely remember a week later. Still, I went to it looking for some laughs and I got them so I’m not complaining. A boring married couple from New Jersey (Tina Fey, Steve Carell) go to the big city for a “date night” to spice up their marriage. They get more than they bargained for when in a case of mistaken identity, they are mistaken for blackmailing thieves. Their life in peril, they spent the next 12 hours trying to escape their killers and stay alive. Directed by Shawn Levy (A NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM which I’ve somehow managed to avoid), the film is fortunate to have the inventive Fey and Carell at its center who work overtime to get their laughs. The large supporting cast up for the fun include Mark Ruffalo, Mark Wahlberg, Kristen Wiig, James Franco, Ray Liotta, Taraji P. Henson, William Fichtner and Mila Kunis.