They Came Together - B

Rated R, 83 minutes

Poehler and Rudd make for the perfect anti rom com team in "They Came Together"

Paul Rudd and Amy Poehler

The new romantic comedy "They Came Together" is absolutely nothing new, and you can probably figure it out just by looking at the synopsis on paper. But it's well-written and features two funny leads (not to mention a stellar supporting cast) you'll fall in love in instantly. When Joel (Paul Rudd) and Molly (Amy Poehler) meet, it's hate at first sight: his big Corporate Candy Company threatens to shut down her quirky indie candy shop. Plus, Joel is hung up on his sexy ex (Cobie Smulders). But amazingly, they fall in love, until they break up about two thirds of the way through, and Molly starts dating her accountant (Ed Helms). It's amazing these two forty-somethings ever get together. "They Came Together," in spite of its predictable "You Got Mail"-esque premise, is the anti-rom com and often does a terrific job of skewering the genre itself while at the same time embracing it. It's helps that it's directed and co-written by David Wain, who's directed Rudd before in "Role Models" and "Wanderlust," and Wain's co-writer is Michael Showalter of "Wet Hot American," another Rudd vehicle. In addition, Rudd and Poehler are the two most likable leads this side of Kate Hudson, and well-supported by a terrific supporting cast including Smulders, Helms, Christopher Meloni, Bill Hader, Kenan Thompson, and Ellie Kemper, among many others. There are some fun scenes, including the costume party section and other rom com cliches (New York City, breakups, coffee shops, montages, wistful songs, bookstores, etc) that are well-incorporated and satirized at the same time - you'll laugh out loud when Poehler places her order in the coffee shop and Rudd gets it right or when Rudd meets Poehler's screen parents. "They Came Together" is enjoyably short and sweet and if it weren't so darn likable and tongue-in-cheek, would be just another predictable, bland rom com. The difference is it's a sharply funny, well-written and predictable rom com.

Wes's Grade: B