In marriage, it would do the couple well to keep the love alive, or at the very least, keep the relationship spiced up. Because when it starts getting run-of-the-mill predictable, chances are it would be more hazardous to jump-start the romance. Just ask Steve Carell (“The 40 Year Old Virgin” and TV’s “The Office”) and Tina Fey (“Saturday Night Live,” “30 Rock”).

“Date Night” is the result of Carell and Fey’s long-standing desire to work on a project together. As such, director Shawn Levy considers this a dream pairing in which he is able to work with “two of the most intelligent, interesting people working in comedy today.”

“We got an early draft of the screenplay to Tina and Steve,” Levy says.  “They said, ‘Yeah, we relate to this.’ So they said they were in.”

In a case of art imitating life, the movie’s plot resonates with countless married couples these days who are buried in the endless rut of all-work, very-little-play. Playing Phil and Claire Foster, Carell and Fey brought believability to the characters, more than any mismatched Hollywood pairing could.

Carell describes his character as someone who “feels underappreciated by his friends and family, but he sort of keeps that feeling close to his chest.” As he and his wife, Claire, reach a plateau in their relationship, Carell knew he has to portray the role with the sensitivity of a good guy, and the panache of an actor with impeccable comedic timing.

Fey, meanwhile, describes Claire as “a working mom of two kids, who, like almost everyone I know, is just a little worn out by the day-to-day life of raising your kids, getting them out the door, getting them to school, having a job, keeping a house clean.”

According to Fey, Claire is a good person who is overwhelmed by her responsibilities in life.  “I certainly identify with how just physically tiring it is to be a parent and have a job – sometimes it feels like a real effort to just be present for your spouse,” she says.

An adult-skew comedy opening in local theaters on April 9, “Date Night” is, according to Levy, made “in the spirit of action comedies I remember fondly, like ‘Beverly Hills Cop’ or ‘48 Hrs’.” So while it is first and foremost a comedy, it also includes a hefty dose of action, but with a lot of heart.

“Sometimes the worst part of date night is actually leaving for the date,” Carell waxes thoughtful about the dating thing. “When you see your babysitter sitting down, getting all cozy, turning on the TV… That sometimes seems much better than the night that lies ahead.”

“But the night that Phil and Claire experience together is a defibrillator for their marriage,” Carell explains. And despite the madness that they had to go through, it proved a bit of a good thing.

And without missing a beat, Fey offers up a little piece of relationship advice: “Go on a date night and see ‘Date Night’.”

It certainly isn’t doctor prescribed, but a night of laughs may be just what some relationships need.