A different way of telling a story

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Boy, what a surprise! I was expecting something lighthearted from the guys behind "Wet Hot American Summer." Something funny and stupid. Heck, even a bunch of the same actors are in this. Instead I found this movie to be very serious, and to quite obviously take itself very seriously. This film even crosses over perhaps into "mega-serious." Sure, it was likely nominated for a couple of big Oscars, but it could really have benefited from a little levity, in this humble reviewer's opinion. I will say this though: the screenplay was very original. If I had to say it bore any similarity to any pieces of cinema I've seen I would call it maybe, in my mind, kind of like a mix of "The English Patient," that one movie where the one guy likes to blow stuff up and the other guy has a job where he stops bombs from blowing up and he tries to stop the one guy from blowing stuff up, and that Richard Gere/Julia Roberts movie where Roberts is a bride who wears tennis shoes or something. And also sort of that Robin Williams movie in which he's a robot who becomes human ("Millennium Man" I wanna say), because - if I remember correctly - Poehler's character dies at the end and is replaced by a six foot-seven titanium robot that the Rudd character falls even more madly in love with (and has a lot of (hot) sex with). In any event, if you are in the mood for a dry downer of a film that kind of drags on, is mainly only worth watching for the person-robot sex scenes in the final act, and stars two probable Canadians (Rudd and Poehler), then I would Highly recommend this title: an oddly super serious film by the makers of and performers in "Wet Hot American Summer" and its sequels/spinoff, "Wetter, Hotter American Summer," "Wet, Lukewarm Russian Summer," and "Wet Hot American Summer: The TV Series."

I am sorry to have to write a review of a bomb starring two of my favorite comic actors, Paul Rudd and Amy Poehler. However, I feel I owe this to humanity. Perhaps I can prevent someone else from wasting one precious minute of their lives on this movie. Even on Netflix.If this was meant as farce, it failed epically. Farce entails an overblown portrayal of real situations and people. Unfortunately, the characters in this picture are all too real in today's Manhattan. And they are not funny in a country where the rich are richer at the expense of the not-rich. Manhattan and chic Brooklyn are not funny. They represent what is increasingly wrong with the country. This just makes this movie seem callously ignorant.So, I would group this film with bad comedies about Germany in the 1930s. Yes, it is that bad. Bad writing, uncomfortable acting and plastic staging. If the actors were embarrassed, it would be to their credit. Basically, this movie could be fixed up and marketed as a horror version of "Sex In The City".

The humor is classic David Wain ridiculousness, so I imagine the film has such a poor rating because plenty of people stumbled upon this movie for its cast and not its writer/director. I don't feel like wasting time writing an IMDb review people won't read, so I'll sum up: this comedy does a hilarious job poking fun at romantic comedies. This satirical success is akin to "Not Another Teen Movie," but laced with more insane moments that, if you embrace, will have you hurting at the sides from laughter. Just go into the movie with the mindset that this film is ridiculous. Maybe watch something David Wain wrote before going in, in order to give yourself an idea of what's to come.

I wasn't sure what to expect going into this movie. It seemed like it was going to poke fun at romcoms while still maintaining a grounded story and genuine romance. Yeah, that's not the case at all.They Came Together is the epitome of meta comedy. It never takes itself seriously for a second and continues to barrage you with joke after joke after joke, spoofing the same romantic comedy tropes we've seen a billion times. It may sound repetitive, and it can be at times (some scenes go on for too long) but it's also the most refreshing satire I've seen in a long time. There is no point where you should be analyzing the plot to this movie. If you do, you're an idiot. Simple as that. The movie is one long joke - if you want some artistic integrity in your comedies then this movie is not for you. If you love to laugh at the expense of cheesy romcoms, then you're in for a real treat.The acting in this movie is superb, if the all-star cast didn't already give that away. Paul Rudd and Amy Poehler are ace in their roles as lead caricatures, and even during the dumber moments they still give believable performances. Let me clarify: you don't believe anything the characters are doing are real, but they're convincing enough in their roles that you understand exactly what it is they're making fun of and it works wonders. Christopher Meloni is another highlight - he plays a Don Draper-esque boss that all the corporate drones follow blindly (with Paul Rudd's character being the obvious exception). I never viewed him as a comedic figure but he absolutely owns this role; the only other actor I can see doing this role justice is Jon Hamm himself. Other standouts include Jason Mantzoukas as Bob, the friendly awkward coworker, and Ed Helms playing the cliché douchebag that the girl falls for even though he's clearly wrong for her. The best part about They Came Together is that it's wholly self-aware. It breaks the fourth wall more than a few times, and it doesn't take you out of the movie because you're never really in the movie to begin with. It's like watching an 80 minute long sketch comedy held together by a flimsy love plot. Another positive is that the movie never gets boring. It's so short and so eccentric you don't have time to get bored. Again, it's joke after joke after joke - most of them are cheesy, some are crude, but they're all so relatable as romantic comedy jabs that you can't help but laugh at the stupidity. They Came Together is definitely not for everyone - if you're looking for substance, go somewhere else. This movie is pure satire from beginning to end. Nothing is believable, and none of it should be. It's a spoof movie at its core, standing head-and-shoulders above other spoofs due to great writing and a brilliant cast. Why this has such a low score on IMDb I will never know. I got everything I wanted from this movie and more. Throw in a few surprise cameos and you have yourself a winner.