By Joanna Orland
Paul Rudd is the Tom Hanks and Amy Poehler is the Meg Ryan in the ultimate rom-com film, They Came Together. Imagine if Mel Brooks wrote When Harry Met Sally, or if The Naked Gun hijacked any pre-McConaissance Matthew McConaughey film. Now you can imagine They Came Together.
David Wain is no Mel Brooks, Paul Rudd is no Leslie Nielsen, but David Wain is David Wain and Paul Rudd is Paul Rudd in one of his best comedic performances to date. Amy Poehler on the other hand IS Leslie Nielsen, or at least channeling his spirit. While both lead actors are performing ingenious slapstick throughout the film, Poehler more overt in her physical comedy and deadpan reactions.
They Came Together is a silly slapstick parody of the romantic film genre and all of its tropes. You have the guy Joel (Paul Rudd), the girl Molly (Amy Poehler), and New York City as the third central character. There is nothing deep, meaningful, or complicated about this film, it is just outright hilarious. The first half of the film had me in physical tears of laughter, so much so that I could barely see what was going on. The second half did wane a bit, but only because I had tired myself out from laughing so much in the first half.
There are excellent cameos including Jack McBrayer and Ken Marino as two of Joel’s basketball-playing friends — Swish! Ken Marino practically steals this whole movie with one of his scenes. Practically, but not absolutely, because of one particular scene between Paul Rudd and a bartender.
David Wain was at Sundance London for the post-screening Q&A of the film, where he discussed a few alternate outcomes for this epic bar scene. The end result which you see in the film was actually achieved during the editing process, and tested on audiences before being kept in for as long as it plays out on screen. To avoid spoiling too much of the joke, I won’t tell you about it.
This film is for fans of silly American slapstick comedy and the country’s most prominent comedic actors. Perhaps it is tailored for more of an American audience than a British one, but anyone with a sense of humour should be able to appreciate its hilarious moments, even if the film itself does at times meld into what it is parodying.
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They Came Together
Directed by David Wain
Starring Amy Poehler, Paul Rudd, Ed Helms, Bill Hader, Cobie Smulders, and many funny cameos
In UK cinemas September 5th, 2014
Watch on iTunes
