R | 1h 44m | Comedy, Farce, Romance | 2025
“Splitsville” is the follow-up to “The Climb” (2019), each co-produced, co-written, and co-starring Michael Angelo Covino and Kyle Marvin. Covino directed both movies. “The Climb” is a seven-part anthology project about two friends who have a shared love of bicycling and at least one woman.
Containing many of the same themes found in “The Climb,” “Splitsville” also has a great deal in common with “Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice” (1969), “The Ice Storm” (1997), and “Closer” (2004).
Ostensibly, all of the above titles address various forms of partner swapping, yet each of them (semi-spoiler ahead) end up decrying the practice or clearly pointing out the many crippling downsides, emotional and otherwise.
Brilliant Setup
The story opens with Ashley (Adria Arjona, “Hit Man”) asking her husband Carey (Marvin) for a divorce. Carey doesn’t take the news well. This event leads to Carey making a wound-licking visit with his friends Julie (Dakota Johnson) and her husband Paul (Covino).
Both Julie and Paul are beyond laid-back. They are quite proud that their marriage is “open,” meaning they are committed to each other but can sleep with other people. A contradiction if there ever was one; “open” and “committed,” in terms of matrimony, makes no sense. It’s a bastardization of the institution of marriage. To the filmmaker’s credit, this point is made clear almost immediately.
Once Carey hears Julie describe the nuts and bolts of the “open” thing, his fears of divorce and abandonment quickly dissipate, or, at least, subside. In addition to thinking he has a chance of bedding Julie, he (correctly) assumes this will force Ashley to reconsider her position. What’s the lyric from the Joni Mitchell song “Big Yellow Taxi”? “You don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone.”
This is the principal message of the movie. Be careful what you ask for; you just might get it.
Major Plot Reveal
It would be next to impossible to proceed further without revealing a major, not so much twist, but plot detail taking place in the middle of the first act. Carey and Julie do have sex and, based on what he was told earlier, Carey mentions this to Paul, rightfully assuming it won’t bother him. Carey was wrong in a big way.
What follows is one of the best movie fight scenes I’ve ever witnessed. With relatively few cuts and no fancy-schmancy editing, Covino and his cinematographer Adam Newport-Berra stage an extended sequence between Carey and Paul that defies virtually every movie norm.
The characters have at each other in a mostly clumsy manner, and apparently without the use of stunt doubles. They flip and throw each other into furniture in multiple rooms and, at one point, have to pause their battle in order to save tropical fish that inhabit a tank; the tank has been destroyed by a hurled bowling ball missing its mark.
Awkward and Embarrassing
It is not because of, but rather in spite of, lacking the finesse, overly choreographed, well-polished look of high-dollar mainstream productions (think the “John Wick” franchise or any boxing movie) that this sequence works so well. A fight between friends isn’t meant to be a slick ballet. It’s supposed to be an awkward and frequently embarrassing brawl.
From this point and moving forward, the tit-for-tat escapades only escalate. After hearing of the Carey and Julie coupling, both Ashley and Paul go to extremes in attempts to shame, one-up, and win back their spouses—and all of it goes askew in some form or fashion.
“Splitsville” is a well-constructed commentary on marriage and why it shouldn’t be treated so lightly and with flippant disregard and disposability. The movie shows how easy it is to figuratively twist the understanding of what a legal union means and all that might entail.
“Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice,” “The Ice Storm,” and “Closer” did these same things, mostly via dramatic means. While they struck chords and made great points, each resulted in a bitter after-taste.
No one wishes to be preached to and “Splitsville” never does so. The film takes a most serious subject and infuses it with pointed, wry, and farcical humor which stings like a bullwhip.
The movie points out the painfully obvious. If you know who you want to be with for the rest of your life, marry them. If not, don’t. It’s not rocket science. It’s infinitely more difficult.
The film is now playing in theaters.
‘Splitsville’
Director: Michael Angelo Covino
Starring: Dakota Johnson, Adria Arjona, Michael Angelo Covino, Kyle Marvin
Running Time: 1 hour, 44 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Release Date: Sept. 5, 2025
Rating: 4 1/2 stars out of 5
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