There’s been a lot of mixed word on this recently released rom-com parody starring roughly half of TVs best comic actors (and Paul Rudd). It’s been popping up on a number of mid-year lists under the conflicting banners of “Best Surprise” and “Biggest Disappointment,” due largely, I imagine, to the potential of the cast, and for being directed by David Wain. The film’s supporters are often those who share an open affection for Wain’s sketch-based style of directing, so the fact that I haven’t seen Wet Hot American Summer, and mostly like his work with more traditional comedies like Role Models and Wanderlust, meant I was largely unsure as to which camp I would fall in.

I can definitely see a strong case for both sides, as while it can be rip-roaringly funny, They Came Together makes its primary target a horse that’s already been thoroughly beaten. The romantic comedy has turned into a wheezing shell of a genre over the last couple decades, and it’s not like its tropes and foibles weren’t incredibly obvious back when the movies they were in were still good. Rudd and Amy Poehler star as a couple recounting their relationship history, introducing it by directly relating it in terms of romantic comedies. They Came Together is looking down on the films it’s lampooning from the first, but considering how cliché making fun of the rom-com genre’s clichés has become, the film can sometimes seem like it’s overly satisfied with how it skewers such low-hanging fruit.    

Self-aware dialogue that explicitly states the beat in the script being shown isn’t really a parody when all you’re doing is foregrounding the subtext the audience is usually aware of when played earnestly in a legitimate rom-com. When going down the parody well, They Came Together is much, much funnier when picking out the smaller recurring elements of the genre, like an overabundance of holiday-themed parties, and the ridiculous financial irresponsibility of those eccentric businesses the female love interest usually works at. Maybe the funniest gag is one that sneaks up so quietly, you might not notice until the third instance, as at least a half-dozen scenes end with a character dramatically saying “shit!” after missing an opportunity to say something.

The limper material is always held aloft by Poehler, Rudd, and too many terrific ringers to count (can someone please give Jason Mantzoukas or Michaela Watkins a feature already?), but the film’s absurdist streak that makes it more familiar of something like, say, Airplane!, instead of an extended Funny-or-Die video, is where the best material is. There’s a Rake Gag that never has to cycle from being funny, to unfunny, to funny again, because each iteration made me laugh harder than the last. And when the movie does set-up a trope that’s well worn even by other parodists, like a dress-up montage, or a snooty waiter, the punchline is often over-the-top enough to take you by surprise. They Came Together may be divisive, but it’s so jam-packed with jokes that it has the makings of a cult classic for those who love it the first time, and may eventually wear down dissenters over the long term.