Line #48 Film/DateNight


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Date-Night-Poster_5838.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:300: Not your usual date, or theirs.]]
3
4	->''"God no, he [[GangstaStyle turned it sideways]]. KILL SHOT! THAT'S A KILL SHOT!"''
5	-->--'''Phil Foster'''
6
7	''Date Night'' is a 2010 romantic/action/comedy film directed by Creator/ShawnLevy and starring Creator/SteveCarell and Creator/TinaFey as a hapless New Jersey couple, who have a [[TitleDrop "date night"]] every week.
8
9	A couple who is friends with them is getting divorced because they have gotten bored with each other. Phil and Claire are told independently that they need to spice up their life. One night, after seeing her dressed up far beyond her usual date night "business casual", Phil decides to take Claire to the exclusive restaurant Claw, but neglects to make reservations in advance. Upon their arrival, Phil decides to take the reservation of a no-show couple, the Triplehorns.
10
11	During dinner, a pair of men arrive and ask to talk to them in the alley outside. Phil and Claire comply, believing them to be restaurant employees who have discovered their dishonesty. They turn out to be thugs working for mobster Joe Miletto, attempting to retrieve a flash drive that the real Triplehorns have stolen. Phil and Claire attempt to explain themselves, but the men threaten them at gunpoint. Phil leads them to Central Park, where he and Claire escape after assaulting the two men.
12
13	After discovering the two men are corrupt police officers, Phil and Claire realize they can't trust the police, since the police must be on Miletto's payroll. With the thugs still after them, they decide to retrieve the flash drive from the real Triplehorns and return it to Miletto so that the men will leave them alone.
14
15	The rest of the film is Phil and Claire's attempt to get through the night without being killed or endangering their family at home. This involves skills, knowledge, and connections they didn't know they had, plus a few that they don't have, and multiple near-disasters.
16
17	It placed second in its box-office clash with the infamous [[TheRemake remake]] of ''Film/{{Clash of the Titans\|2010}}'', but it was well-received, with critics noting the great chemistry between Carell and Fey.
18
19	----
20	!! The movie provides examples of:
21	* ActorAllusion: Of sorts. In the scene where the kids are watching the ''[=SpongeBob=]'' episode ''Karate Choppers'', one of Phil's daughters waves a [[Franchise/DespicableMe Minion]] doll up and down (imitating [=SpongeBob=] trying to karate chop Sandy over the phone). Steve Carell voiced Gru in ''Despicable Me''. Kristen Wiig (Haley) would go on to appear in the ''Despicable Me'' sequels.
22	* AdamWesting: Creator/MarkWahlberg as Holbrooke Grant is likely a nod to his actor MrFanservice and ActionHero roles rolled into a Franchise/JamesBond parody {{expy}}.
23	* AllIsWellThatEndsWell: [[spoiler:Even though the police know they are directly responsible for breaking and entering, information theft, the destruction of a New York City Cab, quite a few parked cars and a substantial number of police cars]], they get off just fine in the end with nary a slap on the wrist. Seems like their HeroInsurance was paid up. Of course, [[spoiler: if they arrest them they then would have to say, in court, it was because they were running from corrupt police officers on the mob's pay roll. That amount of bad PR would be a lot more trouble then just letting them go.]]
24	* AmbiguouslyGay: The Maitre'd at Claw.
25	* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: "We've got you on obstruction of justice, racketeering, conspiracy, and I'm pretty sure prostitution."
26	* BavarianFireDrill: Phil and Claire distracting the hostess away from her podium, and later, when they bluff their way into the bordello.
27	* BeautyIsNeverTarnished: The poster shows the two are alright. In the film, not only are their clothes roughed up, but they get a fair share of bruises.
28	* BecarefulWhatYouWishFor: Phil and Claire are a bit bored of their suburban lives and worry that their marriage might hit the rocks. So, they decide to be spontaneous one night and have a grand night out on the town, only to get caught up in a murderous conspiracy they're really not prepared for.
29	* BigDamnHeroes: [[spoiler:The police storm the rooftop ''right'' on Claire's cue.]]
30	* BlindWithoutEm: Phil wears Claire's glasses when they disguise themselves as a snooty upper class couple, forcing her to get the information they came for by pressing her face right up to the computer screen.
31	* BrickJoke: At the beginning, at home, Claire bangs her shins on drawers someone had left open. Halfway through the movie it happens twice more and it turns out it was Phil's fault each time, since leaving drawers open is a bad habit of his.
32	* BuffySpeak:
33	** Claire on flash drives: "Oh, it's a computer sticky thing? That's... in my office, we call it a computer sticky thing."
34	** Earlier on, Phil refers to risotto as "that rice thing".
35	* CallingYourAttacks: In a meta way. When she is trying to get into the Peppermint Hippo posing as a new prostitute, Claire talks like she has a mouth full of gum. When the bouncer goes to let them in, she says to Phil that she's not really chewing gum. That can be seen as Tina Fey calling out her acting, rather than the audience assuming she really does have gum in her mouth. Also doubles as a CallBack because Phil asked her earlier after he vomited if she had any gum, even though they both ''just'' had all their belongings taken from them.
36	* TheCameo:
37	** Fellow ''Series/TheDailyShowWithJonStewart'' alums Creator/SamanthaBee and Creator/JasonJones appear early on as a couple.
38	** [[Music/TheBlackEyedPeas Will.i.am]] is seen at Claw. "[[IAmNotShazam From Fergie!]]"
39	* ChekhovsGun:
40	** A number of things, but most importantly [[spoiler:Claire's "counting to three" threat]].
41	** Also notable is the [[spoiler:gun]] Phil notices in Holbrook's apartment, which Phil later uses in [[spoiler:Taste's apartment]], and more importantly, [[spoiler:when the cops notice Phil and Claire in the car]].
42	* ChekhovsGunman: [[spoiler:D.A. Frank Crenshaw]] is seen early in the film [[spoiler:giving a speech about cleaning up the streets]]. He turns out to be [[spoiler:the subject of the blackmail material mobster boss Joe Miletto has.]]
43	* ChekhovsNews: An early mention of a local district attorney, an iconic broom, and a clean-up act turns out to play a big part in why the heroes are getting chased down.
44	* ConvenientEscapeBoat: Subverted. When Phil and Claire attempt to escape Collins and Armstrong in Central Park by using one of Loeb Boathouse's boats, they discover the boat has been [[{{Nerf}} nerfed]] by the staff to keep it from going at high speeds.
45	* CountingToThree:
46	** Parodied. Claire uses this effectively on one of her kids in the beginning of the movie. The thugs who confront them at the restaurant threaten to count to three, to which Claire replies that she's not intimidated by it as she plays the counting game with her kids all the time. The villains then pull out guns, to which Claire exclaims, "This is a different version!"
47	** During the MexicanStandoff at the climax of the movie, Claire tells the group she expects them to all put their guns down by the time she counts to three. She begins counting, and the group begins debating whether she's serious.
48	* DataDriveMacGuffin: The plot centers around the antagonists' attempts to retrieve a stolen flash drive, which Claire refers to as a "computer sticky thing".
49	* DepravedBisexual: [[spoiler:William Fichtner's character, the District Attorney.]] When Claire prepares to HoneyTrap him, his bouncer sends Phil in with her, since "he likes you both."
50	* DidntThinkThisThrough: Taste Tripplehorn, who made dinner reservations using the same alias as their blackmail letter.
51	* DirtyCop: Phil and Claire are pursued by two cops moonlighting as enforcers for a mob boss.
52	* EatingTheEyeCandy: Claire can't keep her eyes off Holbrooke's [[WalkingShirtlessScene shirtless chest]], greatly irking Phil.
53	* EroticDream: Claire claims to have a recurring erotic dream where she has sex with three men at once. It actually stresses her out because she "can only think of jobs for two".
54	* EveryoneHasStandards: Parodied. Everybody who hears Phil and Claire's explanation (that they stole the dinner reservations) is disgusted and make clear that they would never do that. That is everybody, including the cops and the people trying to kill them.
55	* {{Expy}}: Holbrooke Grant is one of Franchise/JamesBond, due to being a MrFanservice who is a veteran ActionHero with {{Cool Car}}s, gadgets and hotties by his side.
56	* ExtremelyShortTimespan: A majority of the film takes place over the course of one night.
57	* FakeIdentityBaggage: Phil and Claire steal another couple's dinner reservation at a fancy restaurant. Unfortunately for them, the couple they pose as are involved in a blackmail plot against a local politician which puts Phil and Claire in the crosshairs of two crooked cops working for the blackmailer.
58	* EvenTheGuysWantHim: Phil's weird sex fantasy now involves Holbrooke after meeting him.
59	* FanDisservice: Claire and Phil's awkward striptease.
60	* FanService:
61	** Creator/MarkWahlberg without a shirt. Heavily lampshaded.
62	** Creator/TinaFey. [[LingerieScene In lingerie]]. [[GeekyTurnOn Doing the robot with Steve Carell]], whilst performing erotic dance in a strip club.
63	** Creator/GalGadot (Holbrooke's girlfriend Natanya) in lingerie.
64	* FauxFluency: Holbrooke's few painful words of Hebrew make it clear that there's no way Mark Wahlberg could have actually understood his character's Israeli girlfriend.
65	* FelonyMisdemeanor: Taking someone else's restaurant reservation. Everyone who they explain their story to, from [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEEPcM61wEg#t=22s the thugs]], to the police, to the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHI-qZ7hzx0#t=1m real Triplehorns]], reacts this way.
66	* FunnyForeigner: Holbrooke's Israeli girlfriend, who asks if Claire and Phil want to "making sex" with her and Holbrooke.
67	* GangstaStyle: Phil freaks out less when the goons pull out their guns than when one of them turns it sideways. He later does it himself when he's trying to intimidate Taste.
68	* HeroOfAnotherStory: Claire's client Holbrooke Grant is heavily implied to be an experienced ActionHero, specifically a parody of Franchise/JamesBond, due to his {{Cool Car}}s, gadgets, being a MrFanservice himself and bedding sexy girls. It's even helped by the fact he played by Creator/MarkWahlberg, who is mostly well-known for his leading action genre roles. His role in this film and his later insufferable and exaggerated one in ''Film/TheOtherGuys'' could be a case of Wahlberg AdamWesting.
69	* HilariousOuttakes: These offer us a look at what happens when Carell and Fey's improvisation goes awry.
70	* HilarityEnsues: A suburban couple on a downtown date steals someone else's reservation. As expected, hilarity ensues.
71	* HypocriticalHumor: Whippit calling Claire a "skank".
72	* InnocentInnuendo: Almost all of Claire's dialogue to Holbrooke.
73	* IronicEcho:
74	** After Phil convinces Claire to go through with the stripper act, she repeats his own words to him when [[spoiler:the DA wants them ''[[DepravedBisexual both]]''.]]
75	** Earlier, Phil and Claire come across a couple who've lost their money and [=IDs=]--then thanks to the crooked cops, the exact same thing happens to them.
76	** Played for laughs when Phil and Claire's conversation of what their married life has become is echoed by Taste and Whippit... kind of.
77	* LawyerFriendlyCameo: Strip club Peppermint Hippo stands in for real-life Spearmint Rhino.
78	* MacGuffin: The flash drive -- or rather, the "computer sticky thing".
79	* MexicanStandoff: The climax of the film.
80	* MiseryLit: Parodied in the book Claire reads in book club about a young girl who gets her first period--in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.
81	* TheMomVoice: Claire's mom voice is strong enough to talk down a group of armed gunmen by CountingToThree.
82	-->'''Claire:''' All right! I have had enough! My kids are gonna have me up in 90 minutes, so this shit ends now. I'm gonna count to three, and every one of you boys is gonna put down your guns!
83	* OneCrazyNight: Phil and Claire go out to have a fancy dinner. A bizarre all-night chase with the Mafia, corrupt cops, and shirtless Mark Wahlberg ensues.
84	* PleasePutSomeClothesOn: Phil is not happy with Holbrooke's nature as a WalkingShirtlessScene--especially since [[EatingTheEyeCandy Claire visibly is]].
85	* PrecisionFStrike: Phil finally has enough of Holbrooke when they return to his apartment and he's ''still'' bare-chested.
86	--> '''Phil:''' Will you let us come in... will you let us explain everything... and will you, for the love of god... put on a fucking shirt?!
87	* RunningGag:
88	** Everyone acting shocked that the main characters took the Tripplehorns' reservation.
89	** Claire CountingToThree to make people do things.
90	** Claire walking into the drawers that Phil leaves open.
91	* ScaryBlackMan:
92	** One of the corrupted cops after the Fosters, played by Common no less.
93	** Another one is the bouncer at the Peppermint Hippo, whose voice is insanely deep.
94	* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: The cab driver pops the door open with a casual "That is some bullshit, I'm out, good luck," and throws himself out of the taxi when the brakes fail.
95	* SexyShirtSwitch: Holbrooke's girlfriend comes down his stairs wearing nothing but panties and his shirt.
96	-->'''Phil:''' Oh look, that's where your shirt went...
97	* ShoutOut:
98	** At the beginning, Phil talks to Brad and they bring up Long Duk Dong from ''Film/SixteenCandles''.
99	** The girlfriend of the client says "[[Film/MeanGirls Shut up!]]'' when Phil tells her and her boyfriend that they're getting a tax refund. [[note]]Tina Fey previously portrayed Mrs. Norbury in the film.[[/note]]
100	** "At these prices, the crab had better sing and dance and introduce us to WesternAnimation/{{The Little Mermaid\|1989}}."
101	** In one scene, Phil accidentally calls Will I. Am "[[Literature/GreenEggsAndHam Sam I Am]]".
102	* SpellMyNameWithAThe:
103	-->'''Phil:''' [The flash drive]'s in the park!\
104	'''Corrupt cop:''' Could you be more specific?\
105	'''Phil:''' ...the ''Central'' Park.
106	* ThisIsGonnaSuck: The [[spoiler:Audi-with-a-taxi-stuck-to-it]] chase scene ends with a "BLOOOOW MEEEEE!!" [[spoiler:when Phil and the taxi go (literally) screaming into the East River.]]
107	* UnspokenPlanGuarantee: Seems that all Phil has to do to ensure his plans succeed is to not explain them, either onscreen or to his wife.
108	* ViewerFriendlyInterface: Holbrooke's fancy touchscreen computer, just to emphasize how cool he is. PlayedForLaughs when he makes several extravagant gestures, accompanied by [[BeepingComputers lots of beeps and dings]].
109	* WalkingShirtlessScene: Creator/MarkWahlberg's character Holbrooke, much to Claire's delight and Phil's annoyance.

Context Film / DateNight