X
- 2020
- R
- Sony Pictures Classics
- 1 h 38 m
- 2020
- R
- Sony Pictures Classics
- 1 h 38 m
Summary Kyle and Mike are best friends who share a close bond — until Mike sleeps with Kyle's fiancée. The Climb is about a tumultuous but enduring relationship between two men across many years of laughter, heartbreak and rage. It is also the story of real-life best friends who turn their profound connection into a rich, humane and frequently u...
Directed By: Michael Angelo Covino
Written By: Kyle Marvin, Michael Angelo Covino
- 2020
- R
- Sony Pictures Classics
- 1 h 38 m
- 2020
- R
- Sony Pictures Classics
- 1 h 38 m
The Climb
7.0
Where to Watch
Summary Kyle and Mike are best friends who share a close bond — until Mike sleeps with Kyle's fiancée. The Climb is about a tumultuous but enduring relationship between two men across many years of laughter, heartbreak and rage. It is also the story of real-life best friends who turn their profound connection into a rich, humane and frequently u...
Directed By: Michael Angelo Covino
Written By: Kyle Marvin, Michael Angelo Covino
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 26 Critic Reviews
82
96% Positive
25 Reviews
25 Reviews
4% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 26 Critic Reviews
82
96% Positive
25 Reviews
25 Reviews
4% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Utterly original and utterly excellent, the modern bromance The Climb is a thrilling ride, an unconventional and idiosyncratic American film that acts like a old-school arty European one.
Covino’s film is an exhilarating anomaly, if not a wake-up call for the visual potential of heartfelt comedy.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 21 User Ratings
7.0
67% Positive
14 Ratings
14 Ratings
33% Mixed
7 Ratings
7 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 21 User Ratings
7.0
67% Positive
14 Ratings
14 Ratings
33% Mixed
7 Ratings
7 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
It’s smart, engaging and explores a bromance other movies have yet to develop. The artistic outdoor shots can be distracting at times, but it keeps the audience wanting more. There is many elements to unpack and think about.
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Friendship can be a beautiful thing. Sometimes it can be painfully exasperating. And some other times it can be both, as this offbeat indie comedy shows in its exploration of a seemingly mismatched duo of longtime pals. Admittedly, this quirky exercise can sometimes be a little too analytical for its own good, resulting in some uneven pacing and overly talky sequences. However, when its inventive humor works, it's truly inspired, unlike anything viewers have probably ever seen. I just wish there were more of it. When writers Michael Angelo Covino and Kyle Marvin come up with ways to make a cycling trip, a funeral and an ice fishing expedition funny, you know these guys are onto something. It would have been great if they could have sustained such inventive lunacy more consistently, but I'll gladly take what they have given us, given that their bits brought out bigger laughs from me than from virtually any other comedy I have seen in some time. This duo is off to a great start with their debut feature, and I look forward to whatever they come up with next.
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This sharp two-hander veers from caustic to sweet with acrobatic filmmaking to spare.
The movie sometimes feels a little caught up in its own virtuosity. But the actors, Covino and Marvin — a sentient grenade and spineless but loving worm, respectively — keep it lively and make it meaningful. If the movie succeeds in surpassing the exercise it easily could have been, it’s because of them.
Covino’s brilliant comedy is original and smartly entertaining: a celebration of male friendship in all its ups and downs.
The Climb invites us along for the ride and keeps our interest, whether or not love or bromance, as they say, finds a way.
Rather than ascending to new heights of bromance, The Climb coasts down into the barren flatlands of masculine self-pity.
The first scene features 2 best friends on an extended bike ride up a hill. Then the opening credits cite them as co-writers (and one as director). I was expecting a self-indulgent talkfest. It is, but it’s develops into more. Kyle Marvin and Michael Angelo Covino (also directed) play the duo, who go thru a number of episodes where their friendship is tested. Both of them and the rest of the cast inhabit their characters, perhaps because they’re playing versions of themselves. One unique aspect of the direction is the minutes-long continuous takes that are technically showy, but also impressive in their elaborate staging. There are also a few arty musical interludes that add nothing but time. Even though it’s billed as a comedy, there’s scant humor and some of the scenes seem forced. By the end, the twists over time turn into a quietly affecting indie bromance.
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Production Company
Topic Studios,
Watch This Ready,
Adastra Films,
Memento Films International
Release Date Nov 13, 2020
Duration 1 h 38 m
Rating R
Awards
Cannes Film Festival
• 1 Win & 3 Nominations
Deauville Film Festival
• 1 Win & 2 Nominations
National Board of Review, USA
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
