Blurbs Gone Wrong: Date Night

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Netflix's original blurb:
Who knew simple dinner reservations under a different name could turn one New Jersey couple's date night so terribly upside-down? Claire (Tina Fey) and Phil (Steve Carell) Foster leave their kids with the sitter (Leighton Meester) and head out for a night on the town -- as the Tripplehorns. Shawn Levy (Just Married, Night at the Museum) directs this action-comedy; Mark Wahlberg and James Franco co-star.

Analysis:
The first sentence of this blurb isn't quite inaccurate, but it does create the impression that the Fosters made their reservation under another name. This idea is reinforced by the next line, which states that the couple intentionally assumes the identities of the Tripplehorns for the rest of the movie. That's the way I read Netflix's description, anyway. If the only thing you knew about this movie came from the trailer, you would clearly understand this is not the case -- the Fosters steal another couple's reservation but maintain their real identities throughout most of the film.

A big problem with this blurb is that it obscures the main reason behind the New Jersey couple's visit to Manhattan, where the events of the movie unfold. The trailer pretty much explains it all: the long-married couple is in a rut. That is the key point that explains why the couple would do something spontaneous in the first place. Not only does the blurb ignore the root cause of the conflict, it does not explain what the film's main source of conflict is: a case of mistaken identity runs the couple afoul of a gangster.

Inexplicably, the blurb mentions the babysitter, a clearly unimportant detail, and even goes so far as to credit the actress who played her. I'm sorry Ms. Meester, but you should not get top billing over other, bigger names who also appeared in this film, such as Mila Kunis, Ray Liotta, or even Will i Am. At least the writers of the blurb saw fit to mention Wahlberg and Franco. Unless a director is Scorsese, Kubrik, or someone of their ilk, I see no reason why a director of Hollywood fluff should be mentioned at all. Maybe other people really care about contemporary crafters of date movie fare, but not me.

New Blurb:
Tina Fey and Steve Carell are a long-married couple who suspect they are stuck in rut. Determined to jazz up their weekly date night, Phil Foster (Carell) takes his wife Claire (Fey) to an exclusive restaurant in Manhattan. Lacking reservations, the Fosters assume the identities of a no-show couple, and soon find themselves afoul of a gangster in a case of mistaken identity. Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, and Ray Liotta co-star in this action-comedy.