Carell and Fey (thankfully not repeating her accent from Muppets Most Wanted, which we'd rewatched on Sunday) play the Fosters, Phil and Claire, a married professional couple with two children. When their best friends (played by Mark Ruffalo and Kristen Wiig, the first - but by no means the last - of many top flight actors who will be making a flying visit to this film) confide that they are separating due to the romance in their marriage deteriorating to the point that they are 'excellent room mates', the Fosters decide to be spontaneous and replace their usual movie and dinner date night with a trip to the city, where they steal an unclaimed reservation in order to eat at an exclusive restaurant.
This one act of dishonesty leads to a mistaken identity and a madcap chase across the city as corrupt cops and gangsters try to reclaim a flash drive that they believe the couple has stolen. At the same time, the Fosters rekindle their relationship and end up doing all the things they thought they'd left behind.
The story is unashamedly silly, and the film's life comes from the performances - mostly Carell and Fey, but also the unexpectedly prominent supporting cast, which includes Ray Liotta, Mark Wahlberg, James Franco and Mila Kunis, as well as a silent will.i.am as himself - and from a surprisingly adept action set piece featuring two cars joined at the front bumper. The gag reel in the credits reveals that a number of routines in the film were improvised by Carell and Fey from a broad premise, and the strength of the partnership tells in the end results.
All in all, Date Night was a lot of fun.
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