A romantic comedy parody movie starring Paul Rudd and Amy Poehler? Oh, boy! From the guy who brought you Wet Hot American Summer and Wunderlust, then, comes They Came Together, a fresh and funny spoof of everything rom-com, which also happens to feature pretty much everyone in Hollywood who can deliver a funny line reading. This movie failed to make much of an impact upon release, and though it occasionally feels a little hit and miss (not to mention that there are a few questionable moments of "wackiness"), They Came Together mines familiar territory well. So the concept itself isn't exactly "original," but the purposely cliched plot - which has Rudd and Poehler poised as a couple who find themselves recounting their cutesy love story over dinner one night - manages to find new places to take the material. Most of the jokes play on established stereotypes within the genre (and on the rom-com characters that you seem to find in every movie of this well-worn genre) to hilarious effect. If it overstays its welcome by 20 minutes, who cares? This under-seen little gem deserves 84 minutes of your time, regardless. Rudd! Poehler! Yes!
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
