Whatever happened to parody movies? While parody is alive and well with internet sketches like Honest Trailers and Pitch Meetings, it's rare that we still see full-on parody feature films.
They Came Together practices this throughout, taking moments seen in every romantic comedy, calling attention to them, and heightening them to absurdity. When Rudd and Poehler meet for the second time after a disastrous first meeting and realize they have something more in common than they thought, they nearly hook up that moment in public, and what specific thing do they bond over that means they're meant to be? Fiction books.
There is a fine line with these types of movies because if they become too unrecognizable the audience loses the grasp on it. Fortunately, Wain, Rudd, and Poehler keep it just grounded enough. All have experience making movies similar or close to straightforward romantic comedies allowing them to capture the format and rhythm of a romantic comedy while subverting it throughout.