They hardly knew each other before making Date Night, but they’re obviously a dream date. The stars talk to this week’s Entertainment Weekly about comedy, kids, kissing, and making a “badass” movie. Over the course of one night in New York City, their characters flee dirty cops, seek help from a pathologically shirtless weapons expert (Mark Wahlberg), and perform a comically inept routine at a strip club. While making the movie, the actors became friends. “Part of what helped was that we speak the same language in terms of how we trained,” says Carell. “I felt like I knew her when we started. So it was easy.”

So how did they come together to make the film? They both liked the premise of the film. “We’re both married, have been with our spouses for a long time, and have kids,” says Fey. “I liked the idea of playing grown people out on this adventure. I definitely relate to the small details of the script, just how worn-out and in a rut you can get when you’re married and working with kids.”

On day 2 of filming, the pair shot a prolonged kiss that plays over the entire closing credits. “It was fun. The hardest part was not laughing, frankly,” says Carell. “It was Tina’s idea to just try to do the longest kiss in history.” Fey responds: “I want to state for my husband’s sake that it was a comedy idea, not an erotic idea. I did pitch: Wouldn’t it be funny if the kiss was as long as the credit sequence? It was fun because we’re both so polite and not only are we both married, but we know each other’s spouses. It was the world’s longest closed-mouth kiss. It was like a tongueless turtle mouth.”

And they did it in one take. “To go for it for, like, five minutes – it was a long time,” says Carell. “I was trying not to laugh because I tend to love things that go on and reach their expiration date as a joke and then become funny again just because you’ve done it for so long.”

Continue Reading…