Phil (Steve Carell) and Claire Foster (Tina Fey), parents of 2 young children, live in suburbia, and are in a romantic rut when it comes their their weekly outing known as "date night". Then one night Claire gets some advice and gets all gussied up, prompting Phil to make a special effort to take them into the city for a dinner at "Claw", a popular hot spot of a restaurant, without a reservation. They are quickly relegated to the bar, but decide to poach someone else's reservation (The Tripplehorns) and that's when the mistaken identities land the Fosters in for a wild and crazy night of running for their lives from would-be bad guys who are looking for the Tripplehorns.
There is some decent chemistry between Carell and Fey, and funny action comedy during a car chase, and some husband-wife jealousy humor, and stiltedly bad "tough guy" dialogue from Phil in stressful situations, and thankfully they didn't show us all the funny bits in the trailer. It's a breezy movie to pass 90 minutes, though it has a dead spot or two, but mainly because it's about Phil and Claire talking out their marital and family life issues in the midst of trying to stay alive. The "danger" aspect of this case of mistaken identity is probably underwritten, even for a comedy, but at least the pacing is good. But given the comedic pedigree of the lead actors, the script could have been funnier, I think.
I give it 2.75 stars, or a grade of B-.
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