They Came Together

Directed by: David Wain

Written by: David Wain and Michael Showalter










I tried to enjoy this movie. I really tried. The movie had a lot of things that I, theoretically, should have enjoyed. And yet, it was almost physically painful to watch this movie from beginning to end.

At multiple points, my wife and I simply looked at each other and said some variation of, "This is stupid."

I'll boil it down: the biggest problem is that the film doesn't know what it wants to be. It tries to spoof the cliche romantic comedy genre, but doesn't have enough bite or satire. It seems like it tries (maybe?) to make the characters likable, but they also exist as caricatures and, as such, lack any real humanity. Some jokes are parody, some are slapstick, and some seem like they were ripped from "Family Guy." In any case, none of these features belong together.

It felt, very simply, like a bunch of funny people got together and decided that it would be really funny to make a movie on this topic. And then they did, with complete impunity from editing or criticism. "They Came Together" would have been much better if boiled down to an extended SNL sketch, but didn't have enough substance to fill an entire movie.

Bridesmaids

Directed by: Paul Feig

Written by: Kristin Wiig, Annie Mumolo

For a movie which came with such high acclaim from several of my friends and relatives, I was sorely disappointed with this movie.

When her best friend Lillian (Rudolph) asks her to be maid-of-honor at her wedding, Annie (Wiig) sets out to help Lillian have the wedding of her dreams. Unfortunately, Lillian's new friends is proving quite a rival for Annie, leading to multiple confrontations as the wedding approaches, putting a strain on the already-teetering relationships between all the bridesmaids. Meanwhile, as a subplot, Annie's love-life is falling apart as she's torn between two very different men.

Melissa McCarthy is outstanding in this film. At no point does she disappoint. I expect to see her at the top of many ballots during the upcoming awards season. She is the high point in this film.

There are a couple of memorable scenes, and the dress-shopping sequence is unforgettable in its grossness (which, to its credit, will be hard to top in terms of nastiness).

Generally, I was let down by this movie. When so many people tell me something is so great, I expect it to be pretty decent. Even if it's not great, I figure it'll be pretty good. I can't even give this movie that much credit.

I just did not see the point. There were too many missed opportunities. For example, the characters of Rita and Becca (McLendon-Covey and Kemper, respectively) had tons of potential, but after their humorous introductions they are basically background decorations. The love-story subplot is stereotypical and thin and really wasted a lot of time considering that it really did not fit with the rest of the movie at all.

I know I'm in the minority here, but I just can't recommend this movie. Sorry folks.