The Climb (2020)
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The Climb Movie Review
The Climb is a 2020 dramedy film directed by and starring Michael Angelo Covino. It is one of the best films of the year.
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“I’m the only one who likes you,
and I don’t know why because you’re fucking toxic“
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The movie follows a friendship between two guys that spans over many years. It really surprised me. It’s a smaller film that hasn’t been receiving nearly enough attention as it deserves, but it’s truly terrific and one of a kind in its characters and approach. Basically, it’s a bromance comedy, but also grounded in reality drama that paints its characters so believably.
Mike is this alpha male type who is undeniably fun to be around, but he is very toxic and just a bad friend altogether. Kyle is this very submissive man who lacks confidence and charisma. The two prove that friendships can be similar to romantic relationships in that the case of opposites attract can also be true here.
It was just really fascinating following their very complicated relationship and their fun dynamic. The two have their periods of separation throughout the movie, but ultimately they always reconnect. Mike continually trying to ruin Kyle’s marriages just so that he can stay with him more was surprisingly amusing, though clearly psychotic behavior. The fact that he repeated it in the movie was somehow both hilarious and disturbing.
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The film is all about the importance of friendships and that even a bad, toxic friend may be good for you at the end of the day. It’s a weird message that is entirely opposite from all other films featuring toxic relationships, but here it brought that question of whether or not it is worth it to remain friends with somebody like that to the fore, and I was very intrigued.
Michael Angelo Covino directed the movie and he did a terrific job, one of the year’s best as the movie flows so well and it’s structured beautifully – it’s cut in chapters that made it episodic, but each episode was important and different enough that this structure ultimately worked. He also performed as Mike and he’s quite memorable in the role. Kyle Marvin is pretty good too and all of their scenes were scene-stealing. The female characters are definitely well developed and aren’t brushed aside too much, but still this is all about the core friendship and this is where the focus lies.
The Climb has a plethora of unforgettable sequences that will remain in my mind long after seeing them. The first one that instantly springs to mind is the biking sequence that opened the movie so forcefully and it remains the best of the bunch. It was both uncomfortable and very original in that it features these two men arguing while biking. The scenery there was stunning and the cinematography was remarkable.
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I also loved the scene on the ice, that was beautifully filmed and very memorable as well. The wedding sequence was just hilarious in its awkward, absurdist humor. That brings me to the film’s comedic elements. They are amazing. The movie is both a moving, complicated drama and a hilarious comedy that is even surreal in quality as the situations can become quite absurd. The only parts that I did not like were those strange singing scenes, but other than those, the movie is tremendously well edited, paced and shot.
