"Shut Your Hole" and Go See Date Night

As the Spring weather gets prettier and prettier it's harder and harder to justify spending an evening inside a movie theatre. But Steve Carell and Tina Fey's romantic adventure comedy Date Night is well worth the sacrifice.

Director Shawn Levy has presided over a true winner. The film has all the necessary components of the perfect screwball romp. Fey and Carell are a match made in comic heaven as Phil and Claire Foster, a New Jersey couple looking to spice up their weekly date night with a trip to a trendy Manhattan eatery. The pair unknowingly put themselves in the middle of a blackmail scheme by "taking the reservation" *gasp* of the no-show Tripplehorns. A case of mistaken identity ensues and provides the central plot for the rest of the film. Surrounded by a terrific cast of supporting characters, the Fosters fumble their way through a hilariously manic date night.  As the evenings events get more and more ridiculous, the couple finds time to fall deeper in love.

It's rare to see a love story on screen involving a married couple in love with one another. Date Night invites the viewer into the "ever after" portion of the Foster's relationship and by the film's end gives us a glimpse at a "happily" moment. When not involved in high speed car chases through the streets of Manhattan, the Fosters seem to be living in a "real" marriage.  The film asks the question, is it enough to "settle" for a marriage that includes breathe right strips, comfortable restaurant routines and baby-sitters that charge more than whatever they enable a couple to do?  Carell and Fey comically answer the question without too much smaltz and sap and with plenty of laughter along the way.  It was joy to watch a film ultimately celebrating the ups and downs of "ever after."