Date Night

Last night we had a date night.  We went to dinner and actually got to see a movie for a change.  We went to Palomino for dinner, mostly because it is the one place you rarely have to wait long to get a table.  Don't get me wrong, we like the food, but we go there so much with the kids (they eat free on Monday night!), that to us it feels more like a family place than a date place. 

Usually, we eat dinner and then are tired and don't want to wait until 9:30 to see a movie because we know that means we won't get home until midnight and the kids will be up quite early, and it's just not worth it.  Last night though, the stars aligned or something (ha ha) and it actually worked out. 

What movie, you ask?  Date Night of course!  In case you haven't heard of it, it has Steve Carrell and Tina Fey in it, and they play Phil and Claire Foster, a married couple who, stuck in a rut, decided to try something different for their date night.  They go to a nice restaurant in New York, but can't get a table.  So, when "Tripplehorn, party of two" doesn't show, they take their reservation and pretend that they are the Tripplehorns.  Unfortunately, the real Tripplehorns were involved in some shady dealings, and the Fosters are now involved too, since the bad guys think that they really are the Tripplehorns. 

Much chaos and hilarity ensues from that point.  The whole movie is pretty hilarious.  I can't really remember when I laughed so hard through an entire movie.  There is a lot of sexual innuendo, although I have to say that since I've been married that doesn't bother me as much.  And there is a scene at a strip club, whch doesn't show nudity (it is PG-13 after all) but obviously has a lot of scantily clad ladies and sexual implications.  I think for an adult, it would be fine, but for teenagers, maybe you'd want to wait til it comes out on video and can skip the strip club part.

We had a really great time, and when I got home my face hurt from laughing so much. 

Blog Post

"I would even call to say I'm not calling."

That's about how I feel right now.  I can't quite think of a good blog, so I feel like I'm writing this to say I'm not writing.

It's a line from the movie Dan in Real Life, by the way.  I would have to say that it's becoming one of my favorite movies, because I enjoy it more every time I watch it.  It's one of those movies that whenever it's on, I just can't stop watching, even if I just saw it not that long ago.

I have to wonder what it is that I like so much about it.  It's funny, for one thing.  Steve Carrell is playing a widower with three daughters, one of whom is very melodramatic.  I think it's hilarous when she calls him a "murderer of love" for making her boyfriend go back home after sneaking to see her while they are at a family reunion.

I also like the picture of family that is portrayed.  Family is awkward, and often dysfunctional, but it can also be fun.  I really enjoy watching the parts when the whole family is having a crossword puzzle race, and when they have the talent show together.  I like seeing the comraderie between them, probably because that what I hope to see among my children someday.  I hope we can do those kind of things. 

Another part I like is at the very end, when Dan (a newspaper columnist) writes to his readers that they should "plan to be surprised", which I think is very good advice.  Life doesn't always go they way we expect it to, but that isn't a bad thing necessarily.  Sometimes what we get is better than what we thought we wanted.

If you haven't seen it, go see it!  If you have seen it, go see it again!  If you saw it and you didn't think it was that great because you were thinking Steve Carrell would be playing a character like Michael of The Office, give it another shot.  I guarantee, it will be better the second time around.