Buckle up and get ready for a darkly humorous buddy film, ‘The Climb.’ Real life friends Michael Angelo Covino and Kyle Marvin made a movie about the ups and downs of a bromance. We all have that one friend that can screw up everything but for some strange reason we keep them in our lives. The opening scene grabs you. Mike and Kyle are peddling up a steep hill somewhere in the south of France. It’s a long tracking shot. They banter back and forth when suddenly Mike drops a bomb in the middle of the ride. He tells Kyle that he’s been sleeping with his fiancé.
Kyle is not in the best shape. He struggles to catch up to his buddy. “If I catch you, I’m going to kill you.” Mike replies back, “I know that’s why I waited for the hill.” Kyle tells Mike that he isn’t going to be the best man at his wedding. Mike sounds disappointed since he has already written his speech. This kind of original dialogue continues. It’s a balancing act of tragedy and comedy throughout the film. Mike makes it even worse by telling him there is something about Ava (Judith Godreche), like how she’s smart and interesting and how she does this thing with her hips. Kyle screams, “The hip thing? She’s my fiancée. You don’t think I know about the hip thing?”
The next time the two friends meet is at the funeral of Kyle’s fiancée Ava. The twist is that she didn’t marry Kyle. Mike wound up marrying her. That’s how this story flows. All Mike wants to do is place some dirt on her casket when he gets into a fight with two union gravediggers that tell him to put down the shovel. Kyle comes to the aid of his estranged friend. ‘The Climb’ is loaded with these slapstick moments juxtaposed with calamity. It is funny stuff and you cannot help but want to see where this tumultuous friendship goes.
Another vignette shows Kyle at his parent’s house for Christmas dinner. He reunites with his ex-high school girlfriend Marissa (Gayle Rankin). It’s another hilarious moment and expertly shot in long takes throughout the house. Kyle’s parents invite Mike to the festivities without his knowledge. Mike shows up down and out, drunk and a few pounds heavier. They somehow reconnect and Kyle invites him to go skiing. I won’t spoil the scene but Mike always knows how to make their relationship toxic.
Male friendship is a strange dichotomy. No matter how much Mike screws up their friendship, Kyle is always willing to take him back. Mike is a bit of a narcissist while Kyle is that happy go lucky guy that people walk all over. Mike’s cruelty toward Kyle never seems to be intentional. It just seems that his life is so screwed up that it extends to other people. The important thing is the unbreakable bond these two men have for each other. There are no easy answers to their turbulent friendship. It’s up to them to ultimately decide whether it is worth continuing or parting ways.
The adage is truth. Life is like a bicycle: you don’t fall off unless you stop pedaling. ‘The Climb’ makes the case to keep on going. Friendships can be prickly at times but like this buddy comedy, it’s worth pedaling to the top of the hill.
