Who says romantic comedies can’t be smart and funny at the same time? Splitsville, Michael Angelo Covino’s sophomore film (NEON), proves it can.
When Ashley (Adria Arjona) asks for a divorce, the good-hearted Carey (Kyle Marvin) turns to his friends Julie (Dakota Johnson) and Paul (Covino) for advice. He’s surprised to learn that their secret to a happy relationship is an open marriage. However, Carey soon steps over a boundary and throws their relationships into chaos.
Covino co-wrote the screenplay with Marvin, and the two also star opposite Johnson and Arjona as their wives. The setup could have felt forced, but the film cleverly leans into the irony, making the situation part of the joke. Its humor is effortless, with one-liners that land well, while the absurdity of the scenarios pulls you deeper rather than pushing you away.
After watching Johnson’s Materialists earlier this year, I would have to say Splitsville just did everything better. This film poked at the questions that have become unavoidable in our cultural moment:.
What do marriage, monogamy and partnership really mean today? How do people navigate the tangle of love, desire, loyalty and freedom in an age where traditional rules no longer hold unquestioned authority?
But what made it stand out was its refusal to treat those questions with heaviness. It proved that comedy can carry truth, maybe even more easily than drama, precisely because we let our guard down when we’re laughing.
