The Climb: Comedic Story of Mad, Enduring Friendship Buoyed by Reality

By Kim Hughes

Rating: B+

Is fiction mimicking fact in The Climb, the dark, slow, and weirdly watchable new dramedy written by real-life actor friends Michael Angelo Covino and Kyle Marvin and starring the pair as… yup… friends who act?

Or maybe frenemies is a more apt description though, judging by the press notes, the drama on-screen between characters Mike and Kyle (yes the characters go by the actors’ real names) is considerably more intense than behind the scenes, which is a very good thing.

The Climb, which played TIFF in 2019, is about long-term friendship and its impact on life; well-explored territory to be sure. Distinguishing this feature is its willingness to get its hands dirty in the exploration with characters that are flawed, profane, self-destructive and sometimes downright mean. But they are also disarmingly loyal and universally unsteady in a world that looks very much like our own.

The film begins with buddies Kyle and Mike cycling uphill (the film’s title is literal in this scene, more figurative elsewhere). Kyle, of the cusp of marriage to Ava, learns that Mike has slept with her (no spoilers here, it’s in the trailer).

The revelation crushes Kyle and his plans with Ava, but subsequent events crush Mike even more. This sets the stage for the deterioration/rejuvenation theme of the pair’s friendship throughout the film. As they toggle back and forth, implicating family and other lovers, lives are examined, lost, and saved. And punches are thrown.

PROUDLY SUPPORTS ORIGINAL-CIN

When the estranged and depressed Mike is invited years later by Kyle’s mom to the family Christmas, and arrives drunk — and also out of shape to Kyle’s slenderness, a telling role reversal from the film’s start when Mike seemed like the man holding the reins — the stage is set for recriminations that propel the rest of the film and inject it with pathos and humour.

Strong performances abound while sly and sometimes slapstick comedy lightens the more intense themes of betrayal and vengeance. Divided into seven chapters, many liberally doused in alcohol, The Climb positions Marvin and Covino — who also directed — as a kind of slouchy, low-fi Damon and Affleck.

The women in The Climb fare worse than any in Good Will Hunting, which is at least a nominal reference point here. Kyle’s first fiancée Ava slept with his best friend, after all. (OK, yes, and he with her). His eventual bride, former high school flame Marissa (Gayle Rankin) is bossy and mean-spirited, intensely disliked by Kyle’s family and, especially, by Mike. It’s no wonder these two are at loggerheads, the message seems to be; look at the shrews they’re dealing with. Or maybe that’s just my read.

The Climb ends on a positive note that, while all but unforeseeable mid-movie, feels authentic and satisfying, sending us on our way with hope restored, if still bruised.

Covino does a great job conjuring claustrophobic vibes, using dimly lit household interiors to underscore the mundane yet pervasive chokehold of lingering anger and resentment. Plus, it’s great to see George Wendt of Cheers fame as a folksy, football-obsessed dad.

The Climb. Directed by Michael Angelo Covino. Written by Michael Angelo Covino and Kyle Marvin. Starring Michael Angelo Covino, Kyle Marvin, Gayle Rankin, Talia Balsam, Todd Barry and George Wendt. Opens in select GTA theatres November 13, November 27 in Montreal and throughout the fall in other cities.