Michael Angelo Covino's "The Climb"

TONIGHT’S FILM.

Michael Angelo Covino's "The Climb"

WHAT IT IS.

A spoiler-free description of the movie.

A lifelong friendship is complicated over the years.

IF YOU LIKE.

If you like these things, then you’ll like the film.

▶ Vignettes, transitions. One bigger story told through several smaller, interconnected stories featuring the same main characters. Unexpectedly creative scene transitions.

▶ Male friendships. They’ve long been a goldmine for comedy and drama in film.

▶ Tension and humor. Comedy that isn’t shy about mixing in with tense, dramatic circumstances.

MY TAKE.

What I liked about it.

Paul Rudd in “The Worst Best Man”. Paul Rudd in “The Getaway Guy”. Paul Rudd in “What Happens In Vermont”. Paul Rudd in “What Happens In Vermont 2”.

Once in a long while, a comedy film wields a premise so inventive that it breaks away from the parade of generic, white dude friendship comedies (illustrated above in my half-baked, fake list of Paul Rudd movies).

By the way, Paul is a personal friend; he won’t mind me poking fun at his filmography. And yes, I’m telling the truth. I’ve known him since I was six-years-old.²

Michael Angelo Covino’s “The Climb” doesn’t read like a film that will break free from the aforementioned parade. Another generic comedy, centered around the friendship of another pair of middle-aged white guys.

Yet, it breaks away from its peers due to the smart, distinct, and honest direction of Michael Angelo Covino.

The story is delivered through a series of vignettes. A bike ride. A funeral. A holiday party. With these self-contained stories, Covino deftly moves the narrative away from the more trite, familiar beats you might expect from a comedy like this.

Vignettes allow the narrative to span years without feeling forced, making room for characters to grow quickly; or, more often, remain hilariously stuck in spite of the time that’s passed.

Much of these stories are made up of long, one-take scenes (“oners”). A surprisingly valuable asset in the brand of comedy “The Climb” trades in. Comedy grounded in tension, timing. In the physicality of its characters.

More than most comedies, “The Climb” pays mind to the environment surrounding its primary characters. Give the film your close attention and you’ll be rewarded with laughs delivered by secondary characters, behind the main action of the narrative.

Perhaps because Covino has such a good grasp of how to create tension in “The Climb”, the dramatic notes feel appropriately potent when they hit. The affectionate, silly truth of the story; one about the strength of a male friendship challenged to survive itself, feels well-earned by the end of the short runtime.

Much of the music in the film is aggressively French; no doubt inspired by Covino’s own experience discovering French culture.³ On a few occasions, vignettes conclude with musical interludes from unnamed characters.

Does this all sound like some generic comedy about male friendship? For me, “The Climb” is a reminder. That judging a film solely on a genre, premise, or trailer. It’s not useless, but it often fails to tell the whole story. Many films that appear commonplace for one reason or another are actually anything but.

Enjoy the film.

OH, NEAT.

A fact or two about the production that makes you say “oh, neat”.

▶ “The Climb” is made up of only 12 individual takes. That’s it. Kyle Marvin, co-writer and lead actor, says: “They all had their own particular challenges, but the opening scene especially, that was almost four miles of bike riding in a single take.”⁴

▶ The film premiered at Cannes 2018. It was scheduled for release in March 2020 until COVID struck. After several delays, it was released in November 2020. In Covino’s words at the time: “We’re releasing the film, and people aren’t going to movie theaters, really, but we can hope for the best and that the movie finds an audience if not right away, then down the road.”⁵

THE QUOTE.

One great line of dialogue from the film.