"Date Night" falls short

"Date Night," the new comedy starring Steve Carell and Tina Fey, is another film on a growing list of movies that have no idea what they are trying to be. At various points, the film attempts to be a comedy, an action film and a thoughtful exploration of a relationship growing stale after marriage, and ends up being none of them.

Carell and Fey star as Phil and Claire Foster, a successful husband and wife who are doing their best to raise their children in New York. Though they have a successful household, their relationship has grown stale, with the only romance coming from a by-rote "date night," where they sit at the same table, at the same restaurant, on the same night every week.

In an attempt to break this cycle, they opt to move their date night to an exclusive seafood restaurant, where, upon learning that there is little to no chance of getting in anytime that month, Phil steals an unclaimed reservation to get a table. A case of mistaken identity during the meal kicks off the high jinks.

I normally don't harp on the implausibility of movie plots, but I found myself openly questioning many of the twists and turns of "Date Night." There are several points in the movie where a common-sense decision would have ended the entire conflict immediately, but the main characters are either too dim-witted or shortsighted to see them.

Also, many of the action scenes are brought to a screeching halt so that the Fosters can have an extended discussion about their marriage. I'm sure this is intended to represent marriage arguments breaking out at bad times over nothing, but guys, aren't you currently being shot at?

All this would be forgivable if the movie was funny, but it really isn't. Fey and Carell do their best with the material they're given, but there are only a few giggle-worthy moments scattered through the film, most of which have already been spoiled by the trailer. In a testament to how unfunny "Date Night" is, the funniest thing in the movie is Carell repeatedly telling Mark Wahlberg to put a shirt on, and the gag reel played over the end credits is the most hilarious thing in the film by miles.

It seems that this movie is intended for a very specific demographic: married couples. It is a movie all about getting older, raising children and keeping the spark alive after sleeping in the same bed with someone for 15 years. As a result, a lot of what I assume is supposed to be humor breezed right past me. I know we're supposed to laugh that Claire keeps slamming her knees on drawers that Steve keeps leaving open, but I kept trying to keep it in the bigger picture of the story (they were breaking into a building at the time), the kind of critical examination the movie clearly does not want.

The bottom line is, if a movie wants to include "serious" elements like gunfights and car chases, it is going to have to try a little harder to make the comedy make sense in that context. "Date Night" seems like a thrown-together collection of scenes that must have seemed clever in the writing room, but don't come close to making a good movie. Here's hoping that Steve Carell and Tina Fey can get a better picture to star in next time.