Super Frat

Date Night stars Steve Carrel and Tina Fey as a normal New Jersey couple that get mistaken for hoods in New York City on a night out. The movie peaks around the end of the first act and is complicated where it should be simple and simple where it should be complicated.

Tina Fey brings her A-game, but Steve Carrel seems to be pulling his punches here. Rather than do one of his over-the-top clumsy guys or weird guys, he tries to be realistic. But the plot is so unrealistic his character just comes off as too calm. Maybe there were some script problems, I don’t know.

There’s a bit about Carrel’s character leaving drawers open for Fey to stumble into, but rather than getting bigger each time, the third time is a flop. Marky Mark Walhberg plays one of Fey’s former clients that helps the couple when they’re in trouble. But they keep going back to him and his skills could or should completely solve their problem. Instead, you get some medium solution that just leads to another “wacky” situation.

Sadly, events like that permeate the movie. The appearance of Mila Kunis and James Franco is almost as long as their appearance in the trailer. Ray Liotta plays a mob boss, but he doesn’t get to do much either. The ending felt like it just kind of lazy and uninspired.

Date Night is barely a DVD rental, bros. Sorry. I really wanted to like it. The premise is simple, but the execution is kind of a mess. I give it 3 out of 10 keggers.