The Climb (2020): Male BFFs

It’s rare for a movie to focus exclusively on the trials and tribulations, the special understanding and loyalty of two guys in a long-term BFF relationship. And yet, that’s just what the new independent feature The Climb is all about.  Described as the story of “a tumultuous but enduring relationship between two men across many years of laughter, heartbreak and rage”, it’s trying to be a dramedy, but leans most heavily on the drama side of that fine line.  Depending on your sense of humor, of course. 

The movie competed in the Un Certain Regard [“another angle”] competition at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival and, while it didn’t receive the main prize, received a special citation as Jury Coup de Coeur, i.e. jury favorite.  It was originally slated for release in March 2020, but … you know. It is, however, finally opening in theaters(!) this week (see below).

The two guys are Mike and Kyle. Mike (Michael Angelo Covino) is a self-centered, know-it-all who nonetheless sincerely wants to be a good friend to Kyle. At the outset of The Climb, he’s the alpha in their relationship and knows it, seeing himself as an all-around macho dude. As it turns out, the arc of the story is not so kind to him. By contrast, Kyle (Kyle Marvin) is a decent, good hearted plodder, whose ranking on the self-esteem and machismo scales starts out quite a bit lower than Mike’s – I’d call it the nebbishy side of normal. Along the way he struggles to emerge from sidekick status and become his own man. It is clear that these two guys have been friends since childhood, even though we first meet them in their mid-twenties. Following Kyle and Mike for a period of years, advancing via a series of vignettes, denominated “chapters” – weddings, a funeral, family gatherings (Thanksgiving, Christmas. etc.), outings, bike rides  -  through betrayals, tragedies, and a reversal of their respective fortunes, we are supposed to understand that life is a series of ups and downs, but mostly, as symbolized by the opening scene on a devastating bike ride, a long sweaty climb.

It is not exactly a bromance – the relationship between these two men predates even the idea of romance. They might as well be brothers – which may be the only reason they remain friends despite a series of incidents involving behavior mostly by Mike that ranges from embarrassing to despicable. It’s easier to understand Mike’s ongoing attachment to Kyle - likely the only person in his adult life who would put up with him; a bit harder to understand Kyle’s willingness to do that, i.e. put up with Mike, except for that very long shared history.  

Much has been made of the fact that the characters of Mike and Kyle are played by real-life best friends (also Mike and Kyle) who not only co-star in The Climb but co-wrote it as well. The two real-life friends were also co-producers of the picture (along with Noah Lang) and Mike is the director (this is his first feature film at the helm). These guys originally came up with The Climb as a short eight-minute film a couple years ago, a pure two hander – Kyle and Mike on a bike ride in which Kyle struggles to pedal up a long hill as he and Mike engage in a revealing conversation.   The feature film also starts with this bicycle ride but fleshes out the relationship over roughly ninety minutes. 

As serious male relationship movies go – and I’m not including the plethora of predominantly comic and/or action “buddy” movies, like 48 Hours (1982), Lethal Weapon (1987)  or Hot Fuzz (2007) in that category - this sort of thing has been done way better in any number of films, especially several by David O Russell like The Fighter (2010) – involving two brothers - and Silver Linings Playbook (2012) – a father and son relationship. But a picture just about the evolving relationship of two ordinary guys is rarer.  Martin McDonagh’s In Bruges (2008) comes to mind, but those guys (Colin Farrell and Brendon Gleeson) weren’t best buds and certainly weren’t ordinary (they were hit men!). On the other hand, The Climb is way more accessible than the drug and alcohol infused misadventures of Withnail and I (1987) which was about long term friends.

The Climb gets points for taking a serious stab at examining modern notions of masculinity, how expectations of male behavior get tangled up between the old and the new, myth and reality. It aims to show that in a deep friendship, stereotypical ideas about what is appropriately manly must be set aside, difficult though this may be.  Humanity comes before machismo. These guys, Mike and Kyle, love each other as brothers – even when one is acting badly or going through a tough time - that’s the thing. There’s dependency, loyalty,  sympathy, and even occasional camaraderie there.

Yet while the focus of this film is welcome, the writing and, frankly, the acting don’t quite make the grade. On the latter point, it seemed to me that the authors/actors had maybe been living with this script for too damn long; many of their conversations seemed kind of tired, like they had over-rehearsed and didn’t really care anymore. Given that there isn’t much of a story other than their relationship, the screenplay doesn’t give Mike and Kyle much to say that is interesting. Their conversations aren’t clever, witty, insightful or even particularly thoughtful. And ordinariness in itself, even if realistically rendered as here, can’t carry a movie. 

There are multiple other characters populating The Climb - romantic partners, Kyle’s extended family - but they are largely secondary. Best known of these is George Wendt (Norm in Cheers [1982 – 93] as Kyle’s dad. Gayle Rankin (Emily Dodsen in the recent Perry Mason series [2020], Sheila the She-Wolf in Glow [2017 – 19]) is quite good as his eventual wife.

Overall, the critical reception for The Climb is surprisingly positive. For example,  it has received a very good score of 82 on Metacritic.com, with other writers lauding it as funny, affecting, insightful and heartfelt. I found the characters unlikeable with uninteresting dialogue and far too little spark; and the film increasingly dull. 

1 hour 34 minutes

Grade: C+/B-

Opening Friday November 13 in limited release.   In the SF Bay Area that includes the AMC Bay Street in Emeryville, AMC Brentwood, Shattuck Theater in Berkeley, Embarcadero Center Cinema in SF.  Also elsewhere. Check your local listings.