Hollywood can be downright cheesy at the best of times; with it's overzealous plot lines, unfathomable stunts, nauseating romantic connections and serendipitous coincidences. Some rom-com's can be so overdone and picture perfect it's almost enough to make you go settle down on the couch with a pint of Ben & Jerry's and hate real life. Luckily we as an audience have come to see these fanfares of fiction for what they really are, and director David Wain's new comedy encompasses all that we've come to despise in current rom-com cinema - but he makes us love it again.
"They Came Together" is a romantic comedy done in the style of "The Naked Gun". It's full of cheesy cliches, ridiculous slapstick, a ton of cringe-worthy moments, and just about every new school American comedian you can think of. Joel (Paul Rudd) and Molly (Amy Poehler) are set up by their friends after disastrous endings to their respective relationships. Though they despise each other at first, romance soon blossoms, despite the fact that Molly owns her own little candy store - Upper Sweet Side - which Joel's much larger and more evil candy corporation is trying to run out of business. Special mention must go to Christopher Meloni of "Law & Order" fame (and his amazing hair piece), who portrays the role of the evil corporate head honcho with hilarious vigor.
This movie literally has it all, and I mean literally. Every scenario from every movie you can ever think of is in this film - New York skyline aerial shots, outfit-choosing montages, Central Park jogging scenes, bros getting bromantic on the basketball courts (possibly the best scene in the film), good guy vs bad guy for 'the' corporate account, bad guy trying to steal good guys girlfriend, couples breaking up then getting back together only to realize they're with the wrong person, absolutely ludicrous sex scenes - and so on and so forth. It is a monumental homage to every tried, tested and overused Hollywood storyline, and it is hilarious.
Cameos abound from comedic talent - Ed Helms, Cobie Smulders, Max Greenfield, Jason Mantzoukas, and the list goes on. It's hard to go wrong with a cast like that, and though at times it gets a little too much and strays toward the less desirable 'Scary Movie' kind of funny, the talent holds strong and pulls it back from the edge of uncertain comedic death. Your sides will indeed be split.
