'They Came Together' A Review

They Came Together is a romantic comedy parody co-written and directed by David Wain. The film opens on a couples dinner where Joel(Paul Rudd) and Molly(Amy Poehler) tell the story of how they met. The plot unfolds almost whole cloth as a spoof of You've Got Mail with liberal appropriations of romcom troupes. Poehler is a small candy shop owner in NYC, Rudd works for a large candy corporation. They are both on the rebound to varying degrees, get set up at a mutual friends Halloween party, at first hate each other then a push-and-pull relationship develops.

There is no question the film is funny. With more jokes per minute than any comedy made in the past five years it certainly exceeds its mirth quotient. What it lacks however is any semblance of reality or heart. There is no actual story the film invests no time in creating characters it exists solely to poke fun at its genre. The performances are amusing and work best when they move from parody to the bizarre but ultimately the film is too limited, to confined by the genre it is spoofing.

The main problem is that the film proposes to be a love story and isn't. Poehler and Rudd are given no time to develop any chemistry and to actually fall in love, they are given no opportunity to exude the effortless charm and charisma both of them have, they are marginalized to the same soulless formula that is the subject of their ridicule.

A ludicrous lampoon with no substance.

Rent It.