Review of They Came Together (2014) by Ashley D — 04 Oct 2014

"They Came Together" aims to be a spoof of romantic comedies, and it succeeds, more or less. The clever rom-com genre ("Friends with Benefits", "Clueless") is normally the best we have when it comes to poking fun at competition, but "They Came Together" sticks to its goal. Every joke is in the same pun-laden category as "Airplane!", whether they be visual or verbal. When the jokes work, they really work. But any time there is even a moment of seriousness or a piece of humor that falls flat (which isn't often), the film goes from engagingly funny to slightly humdrum.

The second Molly (Amy Poehler) and Joel (Paul Rudd) first lay eyes on each other, it's disgust at first sight: he is an executive at a powerful candy company while Molly is a fledgling small business owner who just so happens to own a candy shop. A shop that, unfortunately, Joel's company has set their sights on to destroy. But somehow, Molly is able to overlook Joel's background and Joel is momentarily able to get over his sexy ex-girlfriend (Cobie Smulders). But when they break-up, will Molly and Joel be able to repair the damages made to their relationship?

For the first hour (which luckily isn't much shorter than the entire film), "They Came Together" is hugely funny. It's as if David Wain sat down, wrote every single romantic comedy cliché ever, and made it his goal to make fun of every single one of them. For instance: Molly is the clumsy but quirky girl who can't seem to find love; New York is defined as "another character"; there is a montage in which Molly is forced to find the "perfect outfit" for a date; and Joel's ex is so cold it hurts. I did everything from smirk to laugh until my stomach hurt.

"They Came Together" is a like a series of "Saturday Night Live" sketches, which is sometimes helpful and other times hurtful. It's helpful in that every single idea is covered with pun-filled joy, but hurtful because it makes the film feel inconsequential, making everything eventually run out of steam. But the cast is so good, the writing is so sharp, and the jokes are so (mostly) terrifically executed that for the most part, "They Came Together" is a successful romantic comedy spoof.