Date Night

Meet the Fosters. Claire (Tina Fey) and Phil (Steve Carell) play a typical married couple with 2 children. They both work, and after driving the kids around, cooking, cleaning, making lunches and all that goes into running a household, they both come home exhausted at the end of the evening. Phil participates in Claire’s all women book club. Once a week, they go on date night to the same restaurant and order the same food. When friends share with Claire and Phil they are divorcing due to boredom, both worry that maybe they are in headed in the same direction. They decide to do something a little different for date night.

Claire dresses up in a special dress and when Phil sees her, he decides to take her into the city for dinner. They arrive at the “Claw,” the new “need to make reservations a month before” restaurant. Of course, there is no way they will be seated without reservations, but Phil decides to pose as another couple and take their reservations. They become the Tripplehorns for the night. It turns out thugs are willing to kill to get a flash drive that the real Tripplehorns have stolen. The rest of their date night entails running from the police and thugs, and trying to find the Tripplehorns and recover the flash drive.

God’s name is taken in vain numerous times. There are many references to sexual situations, anal sex, sex with multiple people, body parts, nipple clamps, comments about where to have sex, etc. The f-word is said. Also, “mother f-er” and “f you” is spoken. Many other crude and profane words are said.

There is a scene in a strip club. Several times during the movie, women are shown scantily clad. Claire dresses as a stripper, and both Claire and Phil perform around a stripper pole. The dialogue they have during the stripper scene includes discussing whether they will have sex in front of the people present. Phil grinds against the floor and his wife.

“Sometimes you do stuff that you don’t want to do” is given as the explanation for why Phil is in a book study with his wife. While being chased, Claire tells Phil, “I don’t want the kids to live with your mother”. Phil and Claire break the law numerous times (breaking into a building, stealing a car, running from the police, etc.).

If you are offended by crude language and sexual suggestions, please do not see this movie.

Phil and Claire care enough about their marriage to try to work at maintaining it. You see a couple who truly cares about one another. Phil tells Claire, he would do it all over again—marriage, kids, her.

While the divorce rate (even among Christians) is high, studies have shown that among couples who pray together (only 5 minutes a day) the divorce rate drops to around 5%. You could “save” your marriage by taking that one simple step. Place your marriage in the hands of God and pray together daily.

What makes this movie work is exactly the thing many people may find offensive. An ordinary “boring” married couple finds themselves in a situation that is so far from their reality. They continue to interact with one another as an ordinary married couple through most of their encounters. One scene I found particularly funny was when Claire described her fantasy—being alone, eating alone and not being touched.

For most married couples, things become very routine, and that includes date night. I think that is mostly due to the fact that if you are paying a babysitter, you want to have a nice meal, good conversation, etc. My husband and I usually spend our date night in the same restaurant, ordering the same food, having almost the same conversation every time we go out. Many couples will identify with Claire and Phil.

I do cautiously recommend this movie, but only for adults, for which this film is aimed. On a moral scale, it is offensive, and many people will be upset by my recommendation. However, the shocking difference between a normal suburban couple and the seedy life of underworld figures is what makes Phil and Claire appreciate their “boring” life, and this is what makes this movie work. There were many teens in the theater that thought this was a funny movie, and laughed at the sexual humor. However, as my husband said to me, “they don’t even get most of this movie.” In the end, what most couples will find is that their “boring life” is pretty good after all.

Violence: Moderate / Profanity: Heavy / Sex/Nudity: Heavy

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