They Came Together (2014)

Very disappointing...

Sick Product of a Sick System

Sadly Over-hyped

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

This is.... surprisingly weak. You have both Paul Rudd and Amy Poehler, and none of them are particularly funny in this movie. That said, Rudd is more like a funny straight man more than most comedians, but he can shine, "slap-a-da-bass" anyone? The jokes in here are pretty dim too, and when Americans try to create surreal humour, they seem to always fail miserably. And then we have a lot of predictable scenes, where you can see the joke coming many, many seconds away. If only they were funny, you could forgive (some) of it. But no. You're much better off watching Parks and Recreation again, where any five minutes of any episode, is much better than this entire movie.

Annoyingly smug and self-satisfied.Make fun of romantic comedies all you want - God knows that some of them deserve it... but when you explain everything over and over, to make sure we get the 'joke', that makes you just as bad. Irony doesn't save you.The vast majority of the humour drags insufferably... but then the one joke that does actually work on some weird level is edited so tightly as to deny us any reaction. It's a constant and perhaps even deliberate rejection of tone, and it had me off balance from the beginning, never to get back on side... Perhaps that was the intention, but if you want to destroy convention, then make it an inside job, and do it with engaging characters.It's not as if I have a fundamental objection to David Wain's style of comedy, either, because I loved "Wanderlust"... Oh well.

A film attempting to mock all romantic comedies, ever made!.Was it good at meeting this aim? I'd say so, it mocked multiple clichés from the clumsy damsel in distress, to the 'afraid of commitment' male lead....For me, the film was quite off putting, hence the three stars, I felt that because it had to include all the stupid clichés-in order to mock them- the film was too predictable. This film was like a bad Shakespeare play- just like him, this film mocked love at first sight, 'the rivalry to love' story, how everything always worked itself out. The unhappy ending surprise, near the end, was a welcome one. A break from all the predictability.As a piece of satire, the film wasn't bad. But because I adore so many romantic comedies, this film was like a slap in the face. A piece which serves to ridicule, and reveal the irony and stupidity behind rom-coms. Everything presented was a sort of reminder that you've seen it all before. Even if the characters were charming. Though, as much as I disliked certain aspects, I do think this was clever- and entertaining, the dialogue was brilliant. Particularly when Joel receives a promotion for the most ridiculous, least inspiring, speech of all time. And he says something along the lines of 'I wasn't expecting that at all'. When, it was more than clear that he would receive it, a play on the idea of everything always working out.While I wouldn't recommend this film to committed rom-com fans, I will recommend to those who call themselves 'anti-romantics'. Though, I'm sure anyone will appreciate most of the humour, but I can't promise you'll laugh all the way through.

This is a movie you have to "get" to appreciate, and if you miss the foundation of it (or simply don't find it funny), you are going to suffer watching it. It is jam packed with dead on, often subtle (although usually not) clichés of the ham fisted acting, trite screenplay lines, and tired plot points that are so commonplace in American films that you may mistake the film itself for being clichéd, ham fisted, trite, and tired.But make no mistake - this is not a "stupid" movie. Instead, it is asking a lot from its audience, maybe more than they can give. I'm not sure if anyone who is under thirty, or has not experienced the hours upon hours of sitcoms, television and film dramas, and of course, romantic comedies that this film draws from, can be in on the joke.Personally, I howled with laughter throughout.