Two movies that just kind of go too far: Date Night and Taking of Pelham 123

How's THAT for a double feature?

I recently watched a couple movies that, while enjoyable experiences overall, just went a little too far.

Take Shawn Levy's comedy "Date Night," starring Tina Fey and Steve Carrell. Mrs. Shark and I sat down one night and enjoyed this, and not just because we could identify somewhat with the difficulties of integrating romantic spontaneity into domestic family life. More important for "Date Night's" comic effectiveness is that the leads are funny people who share good chemistry and make a believable and likable screen couple.

Really, all we need in "Date Night" is to see this man and wife get into a some mixups based on the initial misstep of taking someone's dinner reservation. We expect some chuckles, some embarrassment, and maybe a deepening of their love. That's all fine, and we do get that. But we also get a huge over-the-top car chase. It's like Levy, or possibly someone above him, doesn't think audiences will sit still for "just" comedy if it isn't accompanied by high-octane action.

Maybe the teenyboppers would get restless, but think about it: The audience that can identify with this movie is possibly on a date night itself. These people will sit still and enjoy the movie, or at least try very hard, because they're out of the house. What, they're gonna waste a sitter? (Granted, I saw this on home video, but it's not like I was going anywhere.)

"Date Night" is funny, but it would be a better movie if it concentrated on delivering what's there and what the audience wants instead of trying to make something a "thrill ride" akin to Levy's "Night at the Museum."

I also enjoyed "The Taking of Pelham 123," Tony Scott's remake of the 1974 thriller. I won't discuss the similarities and differences because it's been too long since I saw the original, but I will say that for much of its running time, "Pelham" makes good use of ITS best asset: the fine casting of John Travolta and Denzel Washington.

Really, the main reason to even do this is to pit Travolta, in exuberant bad guy mode, against D-Wash and let the sparks fly. Though they don't physically share the same space, the two develop their own chemistry, and it's a lot of fun seeing John's deranged subway hijacker's verbal exchanges with Denzel's demoted metro employee. James Gandolfini as the mayor does good work here, too, and you'll never see me complain about the presence of Luis Guzman in a movie, but the real show is the two stars.

Tony Scott does a nice job of keeping them apart but maintaining tension, until he doesn't. I don't want to venture too far into spoiler territory, but at a certain point, the tension we have been feeling apparently isn't enough, and the story gets into some action movie business. Tony Scott is actually more subtle than one might expect, and it's not like this train totally derails (I sincerely apologize), but this change in tone takes away whatever uniqueness of the film has.

I understand why things play out the way they do, but I can't help but think this screenplay could have unfolded differently. As it is, "Pelham" is a surprisingly effective thriller that loses a little something when it tries to take it up a notch.