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They Came Together (2014)
Dir. David Wain
Minor spoilers below.
And I laughed alone. For like 30 minutes. Love the Stella guys going back to The State. From what I heard of this one, I was sure it was going to be hilarious and it ended up living up to that in the beginning. Then, it was just kind of okay. Then, it became torturous. Christ, could this movie be any more one-note?
The entire concept behind the flick satirically plays with the cliche and tried-and-true methods behind most romantic comedy movies. But, then forgets to do anything else with it. Ultimately resulting in "Remember when they did this in that one movie?", for 90 minutes. I hate to say it, but I think something like this would've best been formatted for digital content like YouTube or a short Web Series.
They Came Together tells the story of Joel (Paul Rudd) and Molly (Amy Poehler) recounting how they met and how similar the events are to that of a typical Romantic Comedy during a dinner outing with their friends Kyle (Bill Hader) and Karen (Ellie Kemper). Kicking off on somewhat of a high note, there are some genuine funny moments early on mainly provided by Bill Hader and Christopher Meloni in a surprisingly bizarre role. But no amount of meta-comedy, goofy faces or scenes intentionally allowed to go on five minutes after they should've ended can mask the fact that there really isn't much going on outside of, as I've said, playing that one note.
The second act just fizzles out and dies like a balloon that hasn't been tied off and by the time you get to the third act, who even cares? Scene after scene of the same thing. I'm reminded of the smug people on that San Francisco episode of South Park. Where they sniff their own sh*t and all speak with the same inflection. "Thaaaaanks." That's what this movie feels like after a while. I'm not defending the absolute trash heap full of romantic comedies that deserve to be ripped apart. I'm simply saying there are funnier ways to do so. Especially with such a great cast. Even Michael Ian Black's performance in this is weak.
It's a little low-budget comedy. I know. I wasn't expecting Othello here. But it sucks to feel like people who are so talented and creative like Michael Showalter and David Wain can just kind of crap one out without really presenting any new ideas or memorable moments. The joke just flat out wears thin and I think you have to be really enamored with the concept behind the movie, parodying romantic comedies, to find immense enjoyment or even satisfaction. A radical midpoint shake up or shift in tone could've saved this one from being forgettable.
Consisting of only a handful of true laugh out loud moments and relying on goofy cameos towards the end to hold your attention, They Came Together ends up being as lousy as the films it puts down.
FINAL VERDICT: Only worth a watch if you're a big fan of the Stella crew. Otherwise, pass.
Dir. David Wain
Minor spoilers below.
And I laughed alone. For like 30 minutes. Love the Stella guys going back to The State. From what I heard of this one, I was sure it was going to be hilarious and it ended up living up to that in the beginning. Then, it was just kind of okay. Then, it became torturous. Christ, could this movie be any more one-note?
The entire concept behind the flick satirically plays with the cliche and tried-and-true methods behind most romantic comedy movies. But, then forgets to do anything else with it. Ultimately resulting in "Remember when they did this in that one movie?", for 90 minutes. I hate to say it, but I think something like this would've best been formatted for digital content like YouTube or a short Web Series.
They Came Together tells the story of Joel (Paul Rudd) and Molly (Amy Poehler) recounting how they met and how similar the events are to that of a typical Romantic Comedy during a dinner outing with their friends Kyle (Bill Hader) and Karen (Ellie Kemper). Kicking off on somewhat of a high note, there are some genuine funny moments early on mainly provided by Bill Hader and Christopher Meloni in a surprisingly bizarre role. But no amount of meta-comedy, goofy faces or scenes intentionally allowed to go on five minutes after they should've ended can mask the fact that there really isn't much going on outside of, as I've said, playing that one note.
The second act just fizzles out and dies like a balloon that hasn't been tied off and by the time you get to the third act, who even cares? Scene after scene of the same thing. I'm reminded of the smug people on that San Francisco episode of South Park. Where they sniff their own sh*t and all speak with the same inflection. "Thaaaaanks." That's what this movie feels like after a while. I'm not defending the absolute trash heap full of romantic comedies that deserve to be ripped apart. I'm simply saying there are funnier ways to do so. Especially with such a great cast. Even Michael Ian Black's performance in this is weak.
It's a little low-budget comedy. I know. I wasn't expecting Othello here. But it sucks to feel like people who are so talented and creative like Michael Showalter and David Wain can just kind of crap one out without really presenting any new ideas or memorable moments. The joke just flat out wears thin and I think you have to be really enamored with the concept behind the movie, parodying romantic comedies, to find immense enjoyment or even satisfaction. A radical midpoint shake up or shift in tone could've saved this one from being forgettable.
Consisting of only a handful of true laugh out loud moments and relying on goofy cameos towards the end to hold your attention, They Came Together ends up being as lousy as the films it puts down.
FINAL VERDICT: Only worth a watch if you're a big fan of the Stella crew. Otherwise, pass.