2019’s cycling comedy The Climb (review here) was one of the funniest movies of that year, earning a spot in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes. It’s taken far too long to learn of director/co-writer Michael Angelo Covino’s next film, but now we know it’ll be Splitsville, and it’ll star Dakota Johnson and Adria Arjona.
Covino reunites with The Climb co-writer Kyle Marvin on Splitsville, which will also feature both in starring roles. The story centers on a bad break-up and the complications caused by an open marriage. Ashley (Arjona) asks for a divorce, watching as her good-natured ex-hubby Carey (Marvin) runs to his friends, Julie (Johnson) and Paul (Covino), for support. He’s shocked to discover that the secret to their happiness is an open marriage; that is, until Carey crosses the line and throws all of their relationships into chaos.
The film is set up at NEON and Topic Studios, previous collaborators on Infinity Pool.
Johnson recently starred with Sean Penn in Daddio, and the unfortunate Madame Web. Arjona is riding a hot streak right now with roles in Hit Man and Blink Twice, the latter in theaters now.
Splitsville already has a ton of promise. The Climb was hilarious, the humor was scathing and brutal, and like this one it was based on tangled emotional relationships. I can’t wait to see how this turns out.
