What Do The Critics Say?

"The movie bounces along at a solid clip. One-liners hit their marks, and visual gags involving a not so speedy boat or an historic revolver earn big laughs. A long stunt sequence involving two cars locked at the grills isn’t just competent: It’s excellent. Here's hoping enough couples chose it as their date night fodder so the naturally entertaining Carell and Fey get to do it all over again. And soon." Sean O'Connell HOLLYWOOD NEWS "One of the better comedies in recent years. Reminiscent of the very funny 1970 movie "The Out of Towners" with Jack Lemmon and Sandy Dennis, "Date Night" is one of those little gems that, 20 years from now, you'll stumble across on late night TV and relish all over again." David Kaplan KAPLAN vs KAPLAN Although played strictly for laughs, this entertaining comedy also boasts plenty of action, thrills and suspense." Betty Jo Tucker REELTALK MOVIE REVIEWS "Carell and Fey really are like Fred and Ginger, so smooth and sure-footed in their comic grace(lessness) and timing." Tom Maurstad DALLAS MORNING NEWS "In a world of two hour and thirty-minute films comes a funny, action-packed 87 minute flick that packs a great entertaining punch. Fey, Carell and Wahlberg are hilarious." Kevin McCarthy BDK REVIEWS "The restaurant exit scene is a hoot and wait until you see Carell and Fey as pole-dancers doing a sex robot routine at a sleazy club. The key roles are perfectly cast with Mark Wahlberg scrumptious as the bare-chested, sexy security expert, Ray Liotta type-cast as the bad-ass Mafia boss and James Franco and Mila Kunis wonderful as the heavily tattooed couple Taste and Whippit. We find ourselves spinning with delight into an adventure escape filled with laughs but grounded firmly in a truth-filled reality that is all too familiar." Louise Keller URBAN CINEFILE

"Carell and Fey are Phil and Claire Foster, a normal suburban New Jersey couple caught up in a crazy Manhattan adventure that mixes "North by Northwest" with Martin Scorsese's "After Hours." Like Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore on "The Dick Van Dyke Show," Carell and Fey are witty together, sexy together and most important of all, believable together. They make it look easy, but it's not." Jeffrey Westhoff NORTHWEST HERALD "What makes this action comedy work so well is Phil and Claire's sensible, mundane quality. Some of the best comedies involve average folks careening through a series of loopy misadventures. This is the rare screwball comedy that is superbly paced, cleverly plotted and hilarious from start to finish." Claudia Puig USA TODAY "It's cast, down to the smallest role, with genuinely funny performers, people who understand how to time a joke, deliver a setup, underplay a deadpan glance." Dana Stevens SLATE "Somehow, in an act of sheer alchemy, this silly, preposterous, absurd story has been turned into one of the funniest movies I've seen in many months." Mike McGranaghan AISLE SEAT "Fey and Carell were meant to work together; they make quite the perfect comedic couple. And although this film may not be the funniest action comedy ever penned, it does deliver a boatload of laughs. There is no doubt that Fey and Carell have unbelievable comic timing. They play off one another so well that they really seem married." Jean Kaplan KAPLAN vs KAPLAN "There is some nice comedy milked from New York's restaurant snobbery, as Phil and Claire battle for a table at an expensive eatery. But Levy keeps the pace up and nothing is laboured. Tina Fey sparkles and bounces off Steve Carell's deadpan performance. There is tension in both the action and the relationship departments. Great camera work from Aussie Dean Semler." Andrew L Urban URBAN CINEFILE

The Inside Story on Date Night The ritual 'date night' dinner is something all too familiar to most married couples: even directors of blockbuster movies. "I was in the process of making the second Night at the Museum film," recalls Gemini Award winning filmmaker Shawn Levy ("The Famous Jett Jackson"), "and, as is kind of our ritual, once a week, my wife and I go out to dinner." At one such dinner, the Levys found themselves sitting at the restaurant they frequented, ordering the same food, talking about the kids, what’s coming up that weekend, who’s going to buy the gift for which birthday party, etc, etc. In the middle of all that Levy said to his wife Serena, "Wouldn’t it be cool to do a movie about a date night, where you just did one thing differently? And, from there, you have an unraveling of everything, to the point of it threatening your life and your marriage, with all kinds of crazy stuff going on. But, in the midst of all that crazy stuff, you end up recapturing the vitality that date night was invented in the first place to preserve." The next morning, Levy came in to his production company office and told his staff, "Okay, we’re going to do a movie called "Date Night", and here’s what it’s about, and let’s get a writer. Let’s go." Levy’s search for a writer didn’t take very long. "I had written a small, quirky film, called '(Saint) Peter', which Shawn had read and fell in love with," recalls screenwriter Josh Klausner. "Shawn was determined to find something for us to work on together. He very graciously took a big chance and had me fly out, and we started brainstorming." Levy and Klausner met at Levy’s bungalow on the Fox lot, where they quickly broke the story. "We are both in the same stage of life," Klausner ("Shrek Forever After") says. "We both have children and go out on date nights, knowing what they’re supposed to be, but realizing they never end up being that anymore because there are so many other things that get in the way. So we started talking about those experiences." "We talked about our marriages," Levy ("Big Fat Liar") added. "And we found that there are certain commonalities in trying to sustain a vibrant, romantic relationship," and not simply becoming roommates. "It’s the question of in the midst of grownup life, how do you keep couple-hood fresh?" "Date Movie" was originally conceived as more of a suburban story centered around a parent-teacher conference night, but quickly evolved into, as Klausner calls it, "the perfect 'North by Northwest' setup" of mistaken identity. For Levy, "Date Night" is a change from the family-friendly hits he’s helmed, like "Cheaper by the Dozen", "Pink Panther" and "Night at the Museum". Levy points out "Date Night" is more of "an adult-skewing comedy. In a way, it’s the other side of the movies I’ve done, which have been focused on the child-parent relationships. "Date Night" is focused on the marriage side: what happens after the children go to sleep." Levy was keen to keep the emotional side of the story intact through the mayhem experienced by the characters. "If you’re making a movie about relationships and being a married couple, it must be more than just funny, because life doesn’t work that way," the director explained. "This movie has some surprising moments of poignancy." When Levy learned that Steve Carell and Tina Fey were hoping to find a project on which they could work together, he knew he had found his "Date Night" duo. "We got an early draft of the screenplay to Tina and Steve, who always struck me as the dream pairing for a movie about marriage," Levy notes. While Levy usually takes a break between completing one feature and beginning the next, he found himself prepping the film while editing "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian". "Steve’s and Tina’s series commitments (on, respectively, "The Office" and "30 Rock") provides only a limited window for feature film work," Levy explains. "They told us, 'Look, we want to do this, but we’re free now, and we’re not going to be free in six months: what do we do?' I said, 'Well, we make the movie right now!' I didn’t get a break between films, but I got a comedy with Steve Carell and Tina Fey, who are two of the most intelligent, interesting people working in comedy today. So a lot of my job was to come up with the idea, get the two perfect actors for the movie, and then get the hell out of the way." While slight alterations to the script were made to match the stars’ comedic voices, the film was essentially tailor-made for the pair. "It felt like the film was written for them," says Klausner. "Three minutes into this movie, you buy Steve and Tina as a married couple. They have a powerful chemistry together. They clicked completely on screen," Levy said. Phil, says Carell, "feels underappreciated by his friends and family, but he sort of keeps that feeling close to his chest. He’s a very loving guy, but he and Claire have reached a plateau in their relationship. He needs to snap himself out of it, if possible. And the night that he and Claire experience together is a defibrillator for their marriage." Carell's comedic skills, along with his ability to stir audiences’ hearts, made him the perfect choice for the role. Levy notes, "Steve is super funny, and his chops as an actor are fantastic. He not only carries entire comedy sequences on his back, but three scenes later, he’s moving you to an emotional place with such sincerity and nuance. There’s no end to what he can do." Carell says his own date nights, like Phil Foster’s (and Levy’s and Klausner’s), leave much to be desired. "Sometimes the worst part of date night is actually leaving for the date: when you see your babysitter sitting down, getting all cozy, turning on the TV. That sometimes seems much better than the night that lies ahead." Fey describes her character Claire as "a working mom of two kids, who, like almost everyone I know, is just a little worn out by the day-to-day life of raising your kids, getting them out the door, getting them to school, having a job, keeping a house clean. She’s a good person who is just kind of worn into the ground a little bit. I certainly identify with how just physically tiring it is to be a parent and have a job: sometimes it feels like a real effort to just be present for your spouse." So which would be scarier; being in a boring marriage or being chased by the mob (both of which the Fosters experience in the film)? "I would say that being married to a person in the mob would be the scariest," Fey joked. Along their night-from-hell journey, Phil and Claire encounter a cavalcade of characters on both sides of the law. Levy’s casting choices for these roles was sometimes unexpected and always spot-on. His intent was to provide the story with a "Wizard of Oz" like experience. "You’re with your heroes, but along the way, they’re being affected and changed by the people they meet, and I just thought wouldn’t it be fun if at every turn of the road, you’re surprised all over again by who has suddenly appeared in this movie. And the cast members fit the roles perfectly." "I read the script," says Fey ("Baby Mama"), "and I thought, 'Oh, these are really good parts for somebody.' I never thought we would get this lucky to have that caliber of people in all these different parts." Having what otherwise would have appeared to be small roles portrayed by big name actors only helps bring them alive, Carell notes. "When you see them acted out, they’re even better than they were on the page." And getting high-powered stars to join the "Date Night" team wasn’t just a matter of coincidence. "So many people were so keen to find a way to work with Steve and Tina – they just found a way to make it work," says Levy. 2006 NBR Award winner Mark Wahlberg ("The Departed") portrays a former real estate client of Claire’s the pair turns to in the middle of the night."I play a guy named Holbrooke Grant, who is a security expert who Claire and Phil come to for help," Wahlberg explained. "They just catch Holbrooke at a bad time; he’s with his beautiful Israeli girlfriend." The pair ends up turning Holbrooke’s night upside down, as well. Wahlberg had the simplest costume in the entire cast. "There is no wardrobe, just a pair of silk genie pants," he recalls, noting that he regularly found himself freezing on the air-conditioned set. "Mark was shirtless for three or four days," Fey says. It prompted a noticeable increase in the number of women who suddenly had additional tasks to address on set on the days he was on the job. Two time Golden Globe winner Fey ("30 Rock") had friends texting her, "Can I get on the Fox lot and visit you today?" Also coming to the aid of the beleaguered couple is Taraji P. Henson ("The Curious Case of Benjamin Button") who plays NYPD Detective Arroyo. Henson says her character is "sort of a hero". Playing thugs Collins and Armstrong, who are after the Fosters are Common and Jimmi Simpson. Common is a familiar face to audiences for his role as a murderous cop in "Street Kings" and for his work as a musical artists whose hits include: "Love of My Life" and "Testify". Simpson will be familiar to fans of "The Late Show with David Letterman" on which he has made occasional appearances as Lyle the Intern. Common describes the duo as "one of the many catalysts to get this mundane couple out of their comfort zone; mainly by shooting guns at them." Collins and Armstrong’s formidable boss is gangster Joe Miletto, from whom the Tripplehorns have apparently stolen something of importance that he wants back. The casting of acclaimed 2005 Emmy Award winning actor Ray Liotta ("ER") as Miletto delighted Carell and Fey. "We were shooting a scene with Ray one night," Carell recalls, "and Tina looked over and said, 'I feel like I am in a 3D version of "Goodfellas". Ray Liotta is actually walking up and talking to me.' It was like a ride at a theme park." Playing a heavy in a comedy, particularly for actors used to appearing in dramatic films, requires a special knack, one which the films group of tough guys embraced with gusto. "It’s really in the writing, so it’s dependent on your commitment to it," Liotta explained. "If the situation’s just a little more heightened, you’re going to laugh." "Shawn expressed to us from the beginning, you’ve got to keep it real. The more real it becomes," notes 2003 Black Reel award winner Common ("Brown Sugar"), "because you’re playing off Steve and Tina; the funnier it becomes." 2002 Golden Globe winner James Franco ("James Dean") and two time YoungStar Award winner Mila Kunis ("That '70s Show") play the real Tripplehorns. Kunis ("The Book Of Eli") describes her character Whippit as a "psycho, who is very up and down." Franco who plays Taste revealed his character was rewritten, "but the name stuck." Kristen Wiig and Mark Ruffalo play the Fosters friends, Haley and Brad Sullivan, who are splitting up. Also taking on key roles are Leighton Meester (TV'S "Gossip Girl") as the Fosters’ babysitter Katy, and William Fichtner ("The Dark Knight") as district attorney Frank Crenshaw. As for the film's director, all the cast members appreciated Levy's ability to balance the action and the comedy. What's It All About?

Phil and Claire Foster are a sensible, loving couple with two kids, a house in suburban New Jersey and a weekly 'date night out' at the local Teaneck Tavern. Their conversations quickly drift from barely-date talk to the same chore-chat they have at the dinner table at home. Exhausted from their jobs and kids, their dates rarely end in fore- or any other kind of play, let alone romance. In an attempt to take date night off auto-pilot, and hopefully inject a little spice into their lives, Phil decides a change of plans is in order: take Claire into Manhattan to the city’s hottest new restaurant. The Fosters, however, don’t have reservations. Hoping to be seated sometime before the clock strikes twelve, they steal a no-show couple’s reservations. What's the harm? The Fosters are now the Tripplehorns. The real Tripplehorns, however, are a thieving couple who are being hunted down by a pair of corrupt cops.

The Verdict "If you're in the mood for a good laugh, then look no further than "Date Night" starring Tina Fey ("The Invention Of Lying") and Steve Carell ("Get Smart"). The laughs come thick and fast throughout what is a solid rom/com, action/drama that moves along at a crackin' pace. Most married couples have a 'special' night set aside so that they can spend some quality time together on their own. I know I did when my kids were growing up. We'd call in the babbysitter and then go out to either our favourite eatery (Sizzlers or the Red Apple Restaurant in those days) or we'd take in a movie. It was the great escape. In the case of the Foster's, that great escape comes with a twist. Bored with their regular routine, Phil decides to surprise wife Claire by taking her to a swank Manhattan restaurant. What should have been a great night out on the town, ends up as a night on the run, when, having failed to make a booking, they masquerade as the Tripplehorns and swipe their table. What they don't know is, the Tripplehorns have the mob after them. It's a simple case of mistaken identity with a catch. The bad guys don't believe them. With their lives in jeopardy, the Foster's are on the run, with the bad guys hot in pursuit. Features a sensational car chase. One of the funniest 'date' movies in years. 4 1/2 STARS." The Production Team

Director Writer Producers Original Music D.O.P Film Editor Casting Production Design Art Direction Set Decoration Costume Design

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Shawn Levy Josh Klausner Shawn Levy & Tom McNulty Christophe Beck Dean Semler Dean Zimmerman Donna Isaacson David Gropman Dan Webster Jay Hart Marlene Stewart

Who Is Playing Who?

Steve Carell Tina Fey Mark Wahlberg Taraji P Henson Jimmi Simpson Common Leighton Meester Jonathan Morgan Heit Savannah Argenti Kristen Wiig Mark Ruffalo James Franco Mila Kunis Bill Burr Nick Kroll Olivia Munn William Fichtner Gal Gadot Will.i.am

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Phil Foster Claire Foster Holbrooke Detective Arroyo Armstrong Collins Katy Oliver Foster Charlotte Foster Haley Sullivan Brad Sullivan Taste Whippit Detective Walsh Claw Maitre D' Claw Hostess DA Frank Crenshaw Natanya Himself

Run Time 88 minutes Rated M [AUST] Copyright ©2010 - 20TH Century Fox Films - All Rights Reserved ©1999-2010 The Movie Pages & impact Internet Services. All Rights Reserved. Protected by Australian and International Copyright. Trademark Laws and Intellectual Property Rights apply.