Review: Splitsville

Directed by: Michael Angelo Covino

Written by: Michael Angelo Covino & Kyle Marvin

Starring: Dakota Johnson, Adria Arjona, Michael Angelo Covino, Kyle Marvin

Rating: [2/5]

Relationships can get quite messy, a statement many can easily agree with seeing as it involves two flawed individuals with their own baggage trying to make it all work. Ultimately, whether these messy relationships can succeed comes down to the agreements in place within the couple and if it can outweigh all of the external elements that inevitably find their way into their lives. A good idea that Splitsville seeks to tackle, but through its amateurish viewpoint and execution, it did nothing more than aggravate rather than entertain. 

After witnessing something traumatizing on the road, Ashley (Adria Arjona) and Carey (Kyle Marvin) have a moment of clarity where the former admits to their infidelity and that they should divorce. Refusing to want to confront the situation, Carey sprints off to the house of his friend Paul (Michael Angelo Covino) and his wife Julie (Dakota Johnson) that they were visiting. Upon spending time with them, he learns of the fluidity of their relationship. 

Good old relationship comedies are one of my favorite genres in the way they seek to dissect something so personal yet universal in the way we experience romantic entanglements. They can get messy, which comes as part of the fun in this style of storytelling, but then we have whatever nonsense we receive in Splitsville, and it demonstrates how quickly something can go from incisive to downright unwatchable very quickly. An unfortunate reality given the potential at hand. 

While having not seen Michael Angelo Covino’s other work, this film does not have me in any rush to dive right in given how he bungles something he sets up so well. Amongst all of the absurdity of this film’s comedy, it approaches some interesting dynamics in the way relationships navigate. It does attempt to look at the realities of a non-monogamous relationship and messiness involved in that particular dynamic, but mostly the most intriguing element appears in the way individuals will continue to linger in a situation that no longer makes sense. We see this in both relationships where Carey would prefer to stay in a relationship with Ashley where she sleeps with other men rather than simply move on. Some genuinely good material, but I continually found myself continually getting more and more annoyed by this film rather than enjoying the hijinks, and this occurs simply because this film is filled with stupid people continually doing stupid things. 

Admirers of this film have labeled it a modern screwball classic, and while Splitsville has elements of that genre I love, a clear delineation sits in where the enjoyment lies. In a general screwball comedy the characters are overly silly, but in this film the characters are stupid. A harsh word in describing characters, but it’s the only way I can aptly do so. The only elements of silliness occur when Carey and Paul fight over the actions that transpire throughout the film, but other than that, this film does not strike a good balance in making me care for the dynamics on display and an unearned messiness. These characters continually make decisions bereft of any meaningful sense where the tenet of this being a comedy can only provide so much cover for. It made it such a frustrating viewing experience. This ultimately comes down to Michael Angelo Covino and his screenwriting partner and co-star Kyle Marvin and the way they opt to tell this particular story and how they fit into it themselves. 

All in all, coming away from Splitsville, the only thing that came to mind is that this served as a golden opportunity for Michael Angelo Covino and Kyle Marvin to write and co-star in a film where they each get to make out with Adria Arjona and Dakota Johnson. Besides some excellent ideas at its core, the execution of this film ultimately proves to be its downfall. Instead of comedy, it delivered stupidity and characters that served as nothing other than a mechanism to annoy audiences for their decision-making that came with no real redeemable components to them. In its attempt to dissect the messiness of relationships, it displayed nothing other than unsatisfactory filmmaking and storytelling. I think I’ll pass on anything else made by this duo.