From Must-See TV to Must-Rent DVD

Date Night

**1/2 out of ****

Directed by: Shawn Levy

Starring: Steve Carell, Tina Fey, Mark Wahlberg, Taraji P. Henson and James Franco

Running time: 88 minutes

There’s an old saying that goes: “Comics say funny things. Comic actors say things funny.” This sentiment mirrors my thoughts on Date Night, a DOA comedy that is defibrillated with gusto by its headliners and a terrific ensemble cast

The film doesn't have a lot of laughs going for it, with its hackneyed premise and stale jokes. But NBC darlings Steve Carell and Tina Fey, alongside the richest pickings off the character-actor tree, manage to pack some juicy laughs even when they’re unwarranted.

John Klausner, the screenwriter, isn't much of a comic talent, but thankfully his excellent comic actors do their best to rescue his efforts.

Carell and Fey are Phil and Claire Foster, two affable but boring New Jersey suburbanites (who should not be confused with Phil and Claire Dunphy, the sweetheart couple on ABC's Modern Family).

When their close friends (Mark Ruffalo and Kristen Wiig) decide to split up, the two begin to question the legitimacy of their own marriage. Are any sparks of romance still there in their humdrum, routine life?

Phil thinks so and decides to take Claire to a snazzy seafood restaurant on their monthly date night. When they arrive late and cannot get a table, Phil decides to steal a reservation from an absent couple, the Tripplehorns.

Before the Fosters can finish their red wine and risotto, however, they are approached by two armed men (Jimmi Simpson and Common) who believe they are the Tripplehorns. The men accuse the Fosters of stealing a flash drive from their boss, a wise-guy mobster (Ray Liotta).

Cue the mistaken-identity mayhem, screwball-style, featuring appearances from Mark Wahlberg as a security expert that struts around shirtless, Taraji P. Henson as a sassy NYPD detective and William Fichtner as a whiskeyed-up district attorney.

But this is the Carell-Fey show. They successfully shed their small screen alter egos to inhabit regular, grounded characters. You never expect Carell to insert a "That's What She Said" punchline at any point throughout.

The film is best and the laughs come hardest when their dull, ordinary personalities have to interact with the manic situations that they keep getting dragged into.

Still, Carell and Fey try gunning for laughs too much in certain moments, such as in a strip-club debacle. Moreover, their characters act a little beyond what we'd normally expect (for ordinary folk, the Fosters have a knack for breaking and entering).

Regardless, the best and most enduring scene in the movie is when the Fosters discuss the trials of their parenthood. It seems like a real conversation between a husband and wife, far away from the snappy banter you’d likely witness on NBC on Thursday nights.

We grow to love the Fosters more when they behave like real people than as props to move the story forward.

Carell and Fey have the likability to keep us enamored with them for a scant 88 minutes, which is a saving grace given the pathetic material offered.

Klausner and director Shawn Levy (Night at the Museum) set up the jokes and manic situations predictably, and waste our time with running gags that don’t work too well the first time (we know: it's near criminal to take someone else’s reservations).

Thankfully, the talented performers know how to twist a familiar comic set-up into something funny and charming – and more than what it’s worth. One only wonders how the events would’ve turned out if Fey, who led the Saturday Night Live writing team for a short while, had penned the feature.

Date Night will make a great date night once it hits DVD shelves this fall. Then again, isn't the small screen the best place to catch Steve and Tina at their finest?