After they steal someone else’s reservation at a swanky new Manhattan restaurant, Phil (Steve Carell) and Claire Foster (Tina Fey) find themselves mistakenly hunted by a pair crooked cops bent on retrieving a flash drive for crime boss Joe Miletto (Ray Liotta). Craziness and hilarity ensue as the New Jersey couple do everything they can to survive the night and get back home to the children in one piece.

CRITIQUE

Here’s what I had to say about Date Night in my three-star review back in April:

“Date Night is overly plotted, extremely silly, way too juvenile, much too pleased with its own absurdity and about as whimsical as a John Tesh record. It is also, at times at least, very funny. Thanks to stars Carell and Fey this latest effort from Night at the Museum maestro Shawn Levy is far more of a good time than it probably has any right to be. The two of them elevate the material to a level it never would have ascended to otherwise, the actors proving that chemistry is king and that two comedians working in complete symmetry one with the other can sometimes make even two-day-old hamburger taste like Filet Mignon.

A bizarre cross between Into the Night, North by Northwest and After Hours the movie is a mish-mash of romantic comedy and mistaken identity clichés that somehow come across pretty darn interesting and fresh must of the way through. There is a somewhat engaging devil-may-care attitude to it all that’s hard to dislike, and at just under 90-minutes Levy never allows the proceedings to drag on to the point they’d become annoying or tiresome.

Not that there is anything new or different going on. Josh Klausner’s (The 4th Floor) script doesn’t rise too far above sitcom level. In fact, considering both Fey and Carell’s television gigs are more inspired and wittily conceived than this film is that comparison might be a little unfair, “The Office” and “30 Rock” packing far more intelligence and hysterical lunacy than this does. When the narrative takes the center of the stage Klausner’s story struggles mightily to come up with a reason to exist, random car chases and shootouts plopped in for no worthwhile reason that I could surmise.

Thankfully the majority of the picture could care less about plot mechanics. Instead, Levy focuses things directly upon Fey and Carell, and to say the two deliver would be a humongous understatement. The majority of their dialogues feel as close unscripted as any I could have hoped for, the two engaging in such glorious syncopation that watching them quickly becomes a totally immersive pleasure. There is a level of unbridled improvisation (whether it actually was or not) that feels fresh and alive making the Fosters as close to flesh and blood as my own next door neighbors, and as silly and asinine as the story around them became thanks to them I found myself willing to suspend disbelief to its breaking point.

There’s plenty else worthy of praise, not the least of which is an awesome cameo from James Franco (and he’s not the only superstar presence here – not by a long shot) that nearly steals the picture, but the simple truth is that without Fey and Carell I wouldn’t be giving Date Night the time of day let alone a recommendation. This movie is dumb, sometimes to the point of annoyance, but because of them I admit to having a semi-rollicking good time, and if these two wanted to become this generation’s Hepburn and Tracy I wouldn’t just be okay with that I’d probably let out a silent cheer in amenable jubilation.”

Watching it again at home I don’t have much to add other than saying three-stars was maybe a half-a-star too kind. This movie really isn’t particularly well written, watching the second time around nowhere near as much fun as it was that first time. While the stars do soar Fey and Carell can only enliven things so much when a person knows what the gags are. Date Night is still enjoyable and all, just not so much so I can be tricked into delivering more in the way of over-praise now that I’ve taken it all again at home watching the Blu-ray.

THE VIDEO

Date Night is presented on a dual-layered 50GB Blu-ray MPEG-4 disc with a 1080p 2.35:1 Widescreen transfer. Very, very nice. The blacks aren’t overpowering (which can happen in hi-def when so much of the picture takes place at night) and the colors look rich and natural.

THE AUDIO

Available audio includes English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital and French 5.1 Dolby Digital tracks with optional English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles. The mix is a little overpowering at times, he screeching and the sound effects occasionally overwhelming the dialogue which is unfortunate as the banter between Few and Carell is the film’s one true amazingly sensational highlight.

THE EXTRAS

The big extra here is arguably the Unrated Extended Edition of the film clocking in at about 12 or so minutes longer than the film’s original 88-minute running time. Whatever you do, do NOT watch this version of Date Night. One of the movie’s main charms is the fact it is so streamlined, paced with such relentless bravado. Adding another ten minutes slows things down considerably, the majority of the extra material nothing special and was excised for good reason in the first place.

The rest of the extra include:

• Audio Commentary with Director Shawn Levy – Only available on the theatrical version, Levy’s commentary is an affable diversion where he basically admits that the screenplay needed a little more work and the reason the film works as well as it does is thanks to the improvisational genius of Fey and Farell.
• Deleted, Alternate and Extended Scenes – Some of these are quite funny, many of them are not worth watching at all.
• Three Featurettes (Directing 301, Disaster Dates, Directing Off-Camera) – None are all that interesting but Disaster Dates has its moments making it the one to watch of the three.
• Steve Carell and Tina Fey Camera Tests – I kind of loved these and could imagine myself watching them again.
• Gag Reel – More of what is seen during the end credits. One of the few gag reels that actually made me laugh. A lot.
• Public Service Announcements – These are awesome!!!! I’m not going to say anything else other than, once again, these are awesome!!
• BD-Live Enabled 

FINAL THOUGHTS

Date Night is a perfect rental fans of Fey and Carell are going to love. It doesn’t hold up as well the second time around but this Blu-ray presentation is still so incredibly strong I can’t help but recommend it all the same, at the very least for a rental.