Who’s in it? Tina Fey (30 Rock), Steve Carell (The Office), Mark (Abs of Steel) Wahlberg  and Tariji P. Henson (I Can Do Bad All By Myself ) What’s it about?  Suburban couple tries to spice up their humdrum marriage with a trip to the big city, which ends up in all sorts of hijinks and dangerous scenarios.

This is all you need to know about the Hollywood comedy Date Night: I was watching previews at another film when the trailer for Carell/Fey's Date Night, showing 15 minutes later, came on.  I took one look at my companion and we bolted next door.

I cannot remember the last time I laughed at a movie so hard I jumped out of my seat in hysterics, but Date Night sure put an end to that drought.  Claire (Tina Fey) and Phil (Steve Carell) are brilliant as a suburban New Jersey couple desperate to regain the excitement of their marriage, which is at an all-time “sparkle” low courtesy of bratty kids, carpools, boring jobs and a nonexistent sex life.

In a brave move - for this couple anyway - they hire a babysitter and head off into the big scary city of Manhattan to try and salvage their mojo.  But in an off-the-cuff instant, both are mistaken for a blackmailing husband and wife team the Tripplehorns, and end up in all kinds of bizarre antics, involving Holbrooke “the shirtless wonder” underplayed by Mark Wahlberg, a really, really expensive Audi, an unexpected encounter with a NYC taxi driver, and a rowboat to nowhere.
Clue after clue leads them to the real Tripplehorns (aka James Franco and Mila Kunis) in a hilarious scene which serves as the catalyst to the evening's escapades.

The only downside - the movie started promisingly with what can only be described as every parent's wake-up call nightmare, but then settled into a gentle unfurling of the storyline.  So the pacing was a tad uneven at the start, but the final two-thirds of the movie hit the jackpot and the payoff was definitely

Date Night is rated PG-13 and showing now at the Deluxe Cinemas, High and Market Sts. Call 462-2188 for showtimes.
4.5 stars out of 5