Review: Date Night

There are few things that are worse for a moviegoer than eagerly anticipating a good movie only to have it ruined by a miscast actor. The screen adaptation of “Hairspray” had the potential to be every bit as fun as the Broadway show, but John Travolta’s awkward turn as the protagonist’s mother, Michelle Pfeiffer’s lack of vocal chops and Christopher Walken’s expressionless performance drag down an otherwise decent film. The brilliance of Jackie Earle Haley and Jeffrey Dean Morgan in “Watchmen” is sometimes overshadowed by the woodenness of Malin Akerman and Matthew Goode. It’s a rare occurrence that the opposite is true – when good performances have the power to turn a lackluster film into an enjoyable experience.

When looked at as a film overall, “Date Night” is a bit of a mess. The latest movie from director Shawn Levy shares many of the same flaws as his “Night at the Museum” series. It’s a film that doesn’t know what it wants to be, but Levy tries to mask it with unbelievable action and a seemingly never-ending stream of stars (the supporting cast includes Mark Wahlberg, Kristen Wiig, Mark Ruffalo, James Franco, Mila Kunis, Taraji P. Henson and Ray Liotta). But while Ben Stiller couldn’t elevate “Night at the Museum” above silly action comedy, Levy was lucky enough to lure two secret weapons to “Date Night” that make it feel like a better movie than it actually is – Steve Carell and Tina Fey.

Carell and Fey have the uncanny ability to be completely charming no matter what they do. Even in the decidedly less funny episodes of “The Office” and “30 Rock,” Carell and Fey dedicate themselves fully to their roles and they sell the material with everything they’ve got. “Date Night” is absurd. Carell and Fey probably knew it was absurd when they read the script. But they are so funny individually and work so well as a pair that they took what should have been a poorly constructed story, a lifeless script and one-note characters and turned it all into a rollicking good time.

Carell and Fey play Phil and Claire Foster, a long-married New Jersey couple growing weary of their mundane lives. When they learn their closest friends (Ruffalo and Wiig) are getting divorced, they’re motivated to breathe life back into their relationship. Phil and Claire leave the kids with a baby-sitter and head to New York for a night on the town. When the upscale restaurant they go to is booked, they take someone else’s reservation, which naturally leads to a case of mistaken identity and a game of cat and mouse with the mob.

There are worse scripts out there. The directing isn’t terrible. The supporting players do a fine job with the material they’re given. But without Carell and Fey, “Date Night” would be completely forgettable. When they’re onscreen (which, thankfully, is the majority of the film’s 90-minute run time), it’s impossible to take your eyes off of them. I kept telling myself the movie is ridiculous and I shouldn’t be enjoying it, but I couldn’t help but laugh at even the cheesiest lines because Carell and Fey delivered them with such charisma. If nothing else, the movie is a testament to their skill as comedians. It makes you wonder what the two of them could do with a fantastically funny script given what they were able to achieve with this mediocre piece of filmmaking.

During the movie’s closing credits, viewers are given the chance to see Carell and Fey in action, improvising hilarious line after hilarious line. It makes you appreciate the fact that Levy gave them the opportunity to add their own special touch. In less capable hands, “Date Night” would have been a disaster. It’s one of those fateful films that leaves you wondering, “How did he get them to do that?”

Academy Awards are handed out every year for stellar performances in stellar films, but sometimes it’s the good performances in bad films that really prove an actor’s worth. I don’t think it’s any coincidence that Meryl Streep received some of the greatest box office success of her career following her performance in “Mamma Mia.” The kitschy musical set to the songs of ABBA should have been a sickly sweet marriage of beach scenery and disco music. But the usually-serious Streep was so funny, so fresh and so magnetic in a way people had never seen her before. The fact that she was able to shine so brightly in such a silly film made her even more impressive of an actress than she already was.

“Date Night” is the definition of mediocre, but Carell’s and Fey’s comedy chops will likely never fall under that category. They have perfect delivery. They know exactly when to restrain themselves and when it’s acceptable to go over the top. They play off of each other like pros, sharing the spotlight rather than stealing it from one another. They’ve got Tracy-Hepburn banter down to a tee (if Tracy and Hepburn had ever been in a film with gangsters and car chases). Despite the film’s flaws, Carell and Fey are so entertaining I would pay to see “Date Night” again. Anyone can act poorly in a bad movie. It may not be easy to give a truly great performance in a truly great movie, but it’s been done many times before. Giving a great performance in a bad movie? Now that takes serious skill.