It's difficult to satirize something that's already pretty much a parody of itself. So this slight romantic comedy would need not to just recreate rom-com conventions but to find clever spins on them. Alas, it rarely does. So the two leads meet cute (literally bumping into each other on the way to a costume party! it's hate at first sight!). He works for a candy conglomerate, while she runs a small candy shop in a Nora Ephron-cute version of New York City. They date, they bicker, they break up. The on-and-off romantic couple are played by Amy Poehler, who is uncharacteristically subdued, and Paul Rudd, who gives a perfectly modulated performance that provides "They Came Together" with what little heart it has. They and a few other actors are veterans of 2001's "Wet Hot American Summer," which, like "They Came Together," was directed by David Wain and written by Wain and Michael Showalter. Best among the cast: a go-for-broke Christopher Meloni as a hard-nosed boss, and Ed Helms as a nerdy suitor.

- KRISTINA DORSEY