Date Night PosterDate Night falls perfectly in line with the rest of Steve Carrell’s cinematic efforts post 40-Year-Old Virgin and Little Miss Sunshine: this could have been so much better. This near-debacle could never find its own cadence because the screenplay could never stay on one track. Is it a comedy? Then why have we gone eight minutes without a single joke, save the “he turned the gun sideways” line that is recycled a half-dozen times? I have a feeling they imagined a True Lies of sorts, but ended up lacking in the fun department.
It is interesting to me that its quite easy to distinguish between a Judd Apatow comedy, and all the rest. His films effortlessly find that blend of crude humor and sap. Unfortunately Date Night falls in with the rest crap we have seen in the last couple years that don’t tout Apatow as a producer. Films like Hot Tub Time Machine, Grown-ups, The Other-Guys, and Cop-Out, all over-promise and under-deliver, just like Date Night.