Kernel Rating (out of 5): 
MPAA Rating: R Length: 83 minutes
Age Appropriate For: 17+. Although this film is a satire of romantic comedies, which are largely rated PG-13, this film has an R rating, and it’s deserved in how it clearly spells out what isn’t being shown in the genre. There’s cursing, bathroom humor, some random violence (a swordfight and a man getting shot by police), and a good amount of sexual talk and both implied and shown sex scenes, which (because of the improv comedy nature of the film) can veer into the bizarre and distasteful.
David Wain made an underground comedy classic with the film ‘Wet Hot American Summer,’ which has gathered a cult following in the years since. Although he brings together a number of very funny people in his romantic comedy satire ‘They Came Together,’ he doesn’t strike lightning twice.
By Roxana Hadadi
It’s the very nature of comedy that anything goes, and so in that way, David Wain’s latest film, “They Came Together,” is a success. A satire of the romantic-comedy genre, the film starring Paul Rudd and Amy Poehler leaves no cinematic cliche untouched. But the film doesn’t do anything but rely on those tropes, so while it’s a clever idea, it stops seeming so clever after the first 20 minutes or so—which doesn’t bode well for the next 60.
