When it comes to buddy comedies, you don’t necessarily think of dramedies. You might think of slapstick comedies like Dumb and Dumber or action-comedies like Lethal Weapon. But The Climb is one of the rare films that mixes drama with comedy. But is the film able to mix the two genres well?
In a way, it does. The film does several things right but several ideas ultimately bring the film down.
The Climb follows two friends, Mike and Kyle, over several years. During those years, Mike and Kyle go through a ton of dramatic moments in their lives.
Even though the poster makes it seem like The Climb revolves around this one important mountain climb, it’s actually not. Don’t get me wrong it’s a very important part of the film, but it doesn’t revolve around it. It turns out that The Climb is about climbing your way through life—through thick and thin. At the same time, the film is told in a more non-conventional way than most dramedies.
The Climb tells the story of these two friends as more of a stage play than as a theatrical film. However, there’s a great reason for that. The chapter setup is a great way to expedite the story of these two friends going through several years of their lives. It also lets the film cover the most important parts of these years coherently. So there are no wasted moments here.
As you can imagine, things do change with each chapter but you can easily follow along what’s going on in their lives. They’re not so subtle hints. However, these characters slightly change throughout the film. Mike changes the most and goes through the most thanks to karmic retribution. But he’s still the self-proclaimed a-hole that takes advantage of his friend.
With Kyle, he’s an honest and gentle person. Unfortunately, he willingly lets the two people closest to him consistently take advantage of him. It can be frustrating to see both Marissa and Mike take advantage of him.
But with Mike, his redemption story is what ultimately drives the film. He is trying consistently to better himself after several betrayals and screwups. Whether YOU would forgive him is up for debate. But for two extremely close friends, forgiveness is what the film’s message is all about. That’s why it’s a bit difficult to attach yourselves to these characters.
The film uses comedy to tell this message and for the most part, succeeds. Much of the dark humor is also deadpan humor. Some of it hits and some of it doesn’t. As it is with most jokes, it’s all subjective. But both Kyle Marvin and Michael Angelo Covino have great comedic timing to perfectly deliver some of these lines.
Overall, The Climb is a nice comedic and realistic tale of two modern-day friends. Unfortunately, the film is a little dry so it may not be for everyone. But the film’s message of forgiveness and friendship may be a message that some people may need to hear today. But for those who might not relate, this may not be the film for you.
Rating: 3/5 atoms
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