‘Kyle hates me…’
Another one of those watchlist oddities (I can’t remember adding it, I’ve never heard of any of the actors or the director until today – how does this happen?), The Climb is a film about friendship. And it’s a film about masculinity. Primarily, it’s an authentic look at how even though we may have the best intentions, men just cannot help making terrible, awful decisions. When I think of my own male friendships and the never ending myriad of mistakes that we have made together, it’s difficult to imagine how I have actually made it to this age without suffering a true, life-altering calamity. The Climb treats the bromance at the centre of the story with respect whilst still acknowledging that these men are… for want of a better phrase… fucking idiots.
Mike (Michael Angelo Corvino who also directs) and Kyle (Kyle Marvin) are lifelong friends, despite the fact that they keep sleeping with each others partners. The Climb documents their (many, many) trials and tribulations as they form an uneasy alliance based around drinking, bike riding and bad decisions.
This is not a buddy movie like Role Models or I Love You, Man. No, this is closer to the car crash cinema that was Thunder Road except with two dysfunctional assholes running around the place instead of one. Corvino perfectly captures those moments in which the bad decision is made in real time. The moment when you choose to have a drinking game for two people, or when you arrange to go ice fishing without any prior experience. And happily, Corvino, working from his own script, has produced a film that is funny. Like properly laugh-out-loud funny. It’s not really a broad film (although there are some big comedic set pieces that do land), but when you do catch those little lines of dialogue that really bring out the best in Corvino and Marvin, The Climb reaches almost Coen Brothers levels of humour.
The Climb has a lot of strings to its bow and there is a lot here to enjoy. I can’t remember how it ended up on my watchlist, but I’m definitely glad it did. I’ll be watching Corvino’s career with interest from now on.