Independent comedies are often made under tough conditions. Splitsville, the new film from Michael Angelo Covino and Kyle Marvin, proves that challenge can also lead to comedy. At one point, the crew had to film a roller coaster scene with bags of goldfish, a 35mm camera, and little time to spare. They could not do a second take. For days, they did not even know if the shot had worked. It is that mix of risk and absurdity that runs through the whole film.
Michael and Kyle are not new to this style. Their earlier film The Climb was about male friendship and had the same mix of humour and chaos. In Splitsville, they turn their focus to relationships. The story begins when Ashley, played by Adria Arjona, tells her husband Carey, played by Kyle, that she has been unfaithful and wants a divorce. Shocked, Carey goes to see his friends Paul and Julie, played by Michael and Dakota Johnson. To his surprise, they are in an open marriage. What follows is a messy chain of affairs, arguments and bad decisions.
The film does not ask viewers to pick sides. Nobody here is perfect. Characters lie, cheat and hurt each other, but they also remain recognisably human. That is where the humour lies. As Michael and Kyle show, flawed people can be far more entertaining than the polished versions we often see in Hollywood romcoms.
The film also benefits from the presence of Dakota and Adria. Their star power makes the story sharper. There is even some self-deprecating humour about why these women would choose men like Carey and Paul. Johnson, in particular, holds the screen in a way that allows the film to breathe.
Tonally, Splitsville mixes slapstick with smart dialogue. It is as happy to reference classic European cinema as it is to borrow from broad American comedies. The filmmakers admit they sometimes worry a joke is too silly, but that balance of high and low humour is what makes their work distinct.
Splitsville may not change how we see relationships, but it shows a relationship comedy that is both smart and properly funny. Sometimes, when you give a character goldfish, the only answer is to put him on a roller coaster.
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