Poehler, Rudd visit BAM to premiere ‘They Came Together’
“A nice rule to stick to is to put funny people in comedies,” actress Amy Poehler told an audience at Brooklyn Academy of Music’s (BAM) Harvey Theater Monday night. Hundreds packed the theater to see Poehler, actor Paul Rudd and director David Wain speak about their new movie “They Came Together,” immediately following its New York premiere as part of BAMcinematek’s BAMcinemaFest 2014 series.
Poehler was as comedic in her post-film conversation as she is in her numerous film and TV roles. “I hate my face, so I enjoy being behind the camera,” she joked when asked to compare her experience acting with that of producing and directing.
Wain, known for his cult summer camp spoof “Wet Hot American Summer” (2001), co-wrote “They Came Together” — a spoof on romantic comedies — with Michael Showalter. After the screening, he told the audience it was “great to be in Brooklyn,” and revealed that most of the “low-budget” movie, which had only 23 shooting days, was filmed within walking distance of the BAM theater. In fact, the Brooklyn Promenade figures prominently in the uproarious film, serving as the backdrop for the story’s climax.
The move is a send-up of some of the best-known rom-coms, among them “You’ve Got Mail.” Molly (Poehler) manages “Upper Sweet Side,” a small, quirky candy shop on the Upper West Side, while Joel (Rudd) works at the big candy conglomerate that’s opening across the street.