In the opening scene of Michael Angelo Covino\u2019s 2020 friendship dramedy \u201cThe Climb,\u201d Kyle Marvin\u2019s character, Kyle, has his relationship implode during an arduous journey \u2014 on bicycles \u2014 when his best friend Mike (Covino) confesses that he slept with Kyle\u2019s fiancee. Covino\u2019s follow-up to \u201cThe Climb,\u201d the comedic marriage farce \u201cSplitsville,\u201d opens with Marvin\u2019s character, Carey, seeing his relationship implode during another journey \u2014 by car \u2014 when his new wife Ashley (Adria Arjona) announces she wants a divorce.<\/p>\n
Both trips start out as joyous adventures before turning suddenly harrowing, emotionally and physically, but in \u201cSplitsville,\u201d the comedy is bigger and broader, the scope larger. It\u2019s an appropriate heightening for the sophomore feature from the creative team of Covino and Marvin, who co-wrote and co-star in both \u201cThe Climb\u201d and \u201cSplitsville,\u201d with Covino directing.<\/p>\n
\u201cSplitsville\u201d cements the filmmaking duo as the heirs apparent to Paul Mazursky, the New Hollywood bard of marriage, divorce and everything in between. The story of two couples experimenting with extramarital sexual relationships to varying degrees of success, \u201cSplitsville\u201d is their version of Mazursky\u2019s 1969 film \u201cBob & Carol & Ted & Alice,\u201d a \u201cCarey & Ashley & Paul & Julie\u201d for the sexual politics of 2025, which are just as convoluted and perhaps not as evolved as the concerned parties would like to believe.<\/p>\n
When Ashley (Adria Arjona) dumps Carey and he flees their vehicle on foot, he seeks solace with his best friend Paul (Covino) and Paul\u2019s wife Julie (Dakota Johnson), and is floored to discover that they\u2019ve opened their marriage. Paul and Julie \u201cmake the bad thing not bad,\u201d as they smugly declare, and seem utterly at peace with it.<\/p>\n
Of course, things are never as easy as they seem, from Paul and Julie\u2019s oh-so-modern approach to sex and marriage, to their luxe lifestyle of modernist beach homes and her vanity ceramics hobby. Carey, a golden retriever of a man filled with trusting enthusiasm, bumbles right into trouble with their open relationship, and finds himself just trying to keep up \u2014 with the dramatic roller coaster that Paul and Julie\u2019s marriage reveals itself to be, and Ashley\u2019s rotating roster of new, exciting boyfriends that Carey ends up taking under his wing. This all might seem exciting and fresh, but Carey just wants a traditional marriage: monogamy, commitment, kids. Is that too much to ask in this day and age?<\/p>\n
Covino\u2019s filmmaking is tremendously appealing, buoyant and playful, and in \u201cSplitsville,\u201d he dials everything up from \u201cThe Climb,\u201d especially the comedy. \u201cThe Climb\u201d had a more melancholy tone, about the ups and downs of a friendship set over the course of many years, and \u201cSplitsville\u201d is a lot sillier, while still tackling serious marital issues. Covino deploys some of his favorite tricks, like observing domestic chaos or bliss from the outside looking in (or reverse), and characters performing unexpected songs in order to win over a lover.<\/p>\n
He favors dazzling long takes, sharply punctuated with violence and humor, expertly lensed by cinematographer Adam Newport-Berra, who was also behind the camera for the dizzyingly long oners of Apple TV\u2019s \u201cThe Studio.\u201d Covino juxtaposes the action with retro musical cues that bop from classic rock to global funk, creating an infectiously charming world that you just want to live inside, despite the emotional turbulence.<\/p>\n
As actors, Covino and Marvin are also a study in contrasts. Covino is brooding and intense as the obsessive, jealous Paul, Marvin sunny and upbeat as Carey, who catches every curveball tossed his way. Both \u201cThe Climb\u201d and \u201cSplitsville\u201d are two-handers (well, a four-hander with Johnson and Arjona), but this one feels like it\u2019s Marvin\u2019s movie as Carey becomes the unwitting center of this melee.<\/p>\n
Covino\u2019s facility with his ensemble is to draw out their inherent screen qualities, from Marvin\u2019s ebullience, to Arjona\u2019s energetic feistiness, to Johnson\u2019s unflappable cool. Every actor works within a range that\u2019s believable to them as performers, even Covino\u2019s hangdog shiftiness as Paul, and Covino, as director, doesn\u2019t push them outside of their comfort zone. He puts it all to excellent use in scrambling who wants what and why and when, so that it\u2019s never obvious how this all will shake out in the end.
After all the hilarious, sad, sexy madness that Covino and Marvin unspool in \u201cSplitsville,\u201d any combination of where these lovers land would be a bit of a disappointment. You may throw a sidelong glance at who ends up with whom in the end, but nothing\u2019s perfect after all, not even \u201cSplitsville,\u201d though it comes damn near close.<\/p>\n
Katie Walsh is a critic for Tribune Content Agency.<\/p>\n
\u201cSplitsville\u201d \u2014 3.5 stars (out of 4)<\/strong><\/p>\n MPA rating: R (for language throughout, sexual content and graphic nudity)<\/p>\n Running time: 1:40<\/p>\n How to watch: In limited theatrical release Aug. 22, wide release Sept. 5<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In the opening scene of Michael Angelo Covino\u2019s 2020 friendship dramedy \u201cThe Climb,\u201d Kyle Marvin\u2019s character, Kyle, has…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":166560,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[171,1370,53,1072,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-166559","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-movies","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-latest-headlines","10":"tag-movies","11":"tag-things-to-do","12":"tag-united-states","13":"tag-unitedstates","14":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115072629795542173","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166559","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=166559"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166559\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/166560"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=166559"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=166559"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=166559"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}