Date Night -- What I thought....

Cute, but something's not right.

I am a huge fan Steve Carell (from Anchorman to 40 Year Old Virgin to The Office, etc.) and Tina Fey (SNL and 30 Rock) and I thought this mash-up of comedic geniuses was...well...genius.  I thought the combo was cute and funny in their own natural ways.  They have such subtle ways to make people laugh sometimes.  Outrageous often, but humbly charming more often.  I feel like the world was waiting for this combo to come together for the longest time.

So why wasn't it good?

Was it too much of a good thing?  Was the plot a little too ridiculous to be taken semi-serious?  Did it lack the star power it needed to pull off a silly comedy like this?  I think the answer lies in the writer and director.  (Sorry guys.)  The fact that a movie starring Steve Carell and Tina Fey AND Mark Wahlberg could be so disappointing is just too much of a bummer to stand.  The director is Shawn Levy and his most successful movies have been: The Night at the Museum (s), The Pink Panther, Cheaper By the Dozen, and Just Married.  Does anyone see a trend here?  These movies, while mostly cute and funny, are not great movies.  I think Peter Hedges' Dan in Real Life was leaps and bounds better than Date Night.  And the writer!  The writer's name is Josh Klausner and he is best known for writing these movies: Shrek 3, Shrek: Forever After, The Fourth Floor (no idea about this movie), and lastly, Date Night.  That's it.  I think it's fairly apparent that Steve and Tina had their way with ad-libbing and improv throughout the movie.

No offense to Shawn and Josh, but I would've thought their skills and past works would have nothing to do with a grown-up comedy like this one.  I'm sorry if it's cold and/or offensive, but it must be said.  A comedy with this cast and with this much potential is just too valuable to screw up into a weird, awkward kid movie that they made for grown-ups.  It just doesn't cut it.

But good will come from this sad disappointment.  Certain scenes of the movie will continue to make me laugh randomly throughout this week.  The head-on collision with Grant Holbrooke's nice Audi into the trashy NYC taxi and their rants and screams, and the movie's constant, purely-funny conversations.  The dancing in a strip club with Steve and Tina!  Too good!

The movie was funny.  How could it not be funny?  But it lacked some very important pieces which would have elevated this movie to one of the funniest date night movies ever.  But instead, it got sloppy.

Nerd Art of 30 Rock

This picture is made entirely of Nerds candy.  Yes, I agree.  This is totally awesome.  (Thanks Kendal)

How Much Does Tina Fey Make?

Find out right here. It might surprise you.

http://www.portfolio.com/interactive-features/2008/09/Tina-Fey-By-the-Numbers?TID=st092007ab

So let's say after this next season of 30 Rock (at least $1.5 mil), she stars in at least one movie in 2009 (at least $10 mil - This Side of the Truth) and writes at least one movie in 2009 (average of $15 mil - Curly Oxide and Vic Thrill). And then let's say she keeps this American Express deal and brings a low-balling $1 mil again. That means, after low-balling this estimate, she would rake in $27.5 mil in 2009.

I'm ok with that. Go Tina Fey!

Tina Fey Does Such a Good Sarah Palin

So Excited: Tags

So Excited

30 Rock...rocks!

I just finished the first season of Tina Fey's 30 Rock. And I loved it.

The first 3-4 episodes had me worried I had wasted my money, but after seeing episode 5 "Jack-tor," I had fallen in love. With writer/actress Tina Fey, can you go wrong? Then you have Alec Baldwin, who comes across as an aging, dirty man who you would never hang out with in real life, but plays a perfect high-power, corporate boss. He is absolutely hilarious in this series. Next is Tracy Morgan, who ironically plays Tracy Jordan in the show. I don't know Tracy personally, but if I had to guess, Tracy is just playing himself on 30 Rock. I'm just being honest.

DVD Verdict's Facts of the Case:

"NBC has been nursing along Liz Lemon's (Tina Fey) quaint Friday night sketch comedy series, 'The Girlie Show,' but when a power shift takes place upstairs, life is about to get…interesting…for everyone. Jack Donaghy (Alex Baldwin), has just been promoted to the head of Network and Microwave Programming for parent company General Electric, which makes him Liz's new boss…and the bane of her existence. The show, now dubbed 'TGS,' gets a makeover courtesy of new featured player Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan), the mentally ill, multi-million dollar movie star. Jack is looking for ratings from the most valuable demographics; Tracy is looking to get his career back on track after a nervous breakdown; and Liz is looking to maintain her sanity. It's a threesome made in comedy hell. As Jack says, 'This television stuff is just one unpredictable ass ache. Blurg!'"

What I find really funny about the show is its progressive randomness and its gradually decreasing focus on TGS. As the show progressed through the season, the situations and problems that arose became more and more random and ridiculous. It was amazing! 30 Rock is about a crew that works on a show called TGS. In the first half of the season, all the issues in the episodes revolved around issues directly tied to TGS. Toward the end of the season, you almost forget they were working on TGS. It's brilliant.

30 Rock has some of the most brilliant writers and actors in sketch comedy of this generation. It's always on its toes and will always make you laugh. Watch some episodes at the end of season one if you don't believe me. Let me know what you think of 30 Rock.



30 Rock (Wikipedia)
30 Rock (IMDB.com)