Dakota Johnson in ‘Splitsville’. Picture: Neon.
Opening in restricted theaters on August twenty second earlier than increasing extensive on September fifth is the brand new comedy ‘Splitsville’, directed by Michael Angelo Covino (‘The Climb’) and written by Covino and Kyle Marvin (‘80 for Brady’).
Launch Date: Sep 5, 2025
Run Time: 1 hr 40 min
Along with Covino and Marvin, the movie additionally stars Dakota Johnson (‘Materialists’), Adria Arjona (‘Hit Man’), Nicholas Braun (‘Succession’), O-T Fagbenle (‘Black Widow’), David Castañeda (‘The Umbrella Academy’), and Charlie Gillespie (‘Julie and the Phantoms’).
Associated Article: Dakota Johnson and Adria Arjona Discuss New Comedy ‘Splitsville’
Preliminary Ideas
(L to R) Michael Angelo Covino, Kyle Marvin, Adria Arjona and Dakota Johnson in ‘Splitsville’. Picture: Neon.
A bracing comedy blast from begin to end, ‘Splitsville’ makes use of the foibles of two mixed-up {couples} – who actually don’t know what the hell they need out of affection and marriage, particularly the lads – to energy a hilarious farce that usually feels prefer it’s spiraling uncontrolled even because it reveals some uncooked truths about the way in which we deal with our most intimate relationships.
Director/co-writer Michael Angelo Covino and co-writer Kyle Marvin each star within the movie because the hapless greatest pals who activate one another, whereas Dakota Johnson and Adria Arjona floor the story with what may very well be career-best performances for each.
Story and Course
Michael Angelo Covino on the set of ‘Splitsville’. Picture: Neon.
Seemingly pleased married couple Ashley (Arjona) and Carey (Marvin) have simply witnessed a horrible automotive crash on the highway to their pals’ summer time home within the Hamptons – a tragic prevalence that ends bizarrely with the primary of many moments of male nudity – when Ashley delivers a second shock to the kind-hearted however sort of sad-sack Carey: she needs a divorce. She’s been untrue, and he or she needs her freedom.
Carey actually jumps out of the automotive and runs miles via woods and streams to their vacation spot, the place his greatest pal Paul (Covino) and Paul’s spouse Julie (Dakota Johnson) divulge to him that the key to their marital success is an open marriage. However all shouldn’t be fairly nicely beneath the floor for them both, and when Carey and Julie sleep collectively, all hell breaks free.
From there, ‘Splitsville’ turns into an more and more absurd whirlwind of individuals leaping out and in of mattress, falling out and in of affection, being dishonest, then trustworthy, after which dishonest once more, and making an attempt to navigate their very own more and more confused emotions. Carey gives Ashley an open marriage too, however finally ends up befriending her succession of flaky lovers, all of whom camp out collectively at their condo. In the meantime, Julie and Carey discover the potential of discovering happiness collectively, whereas Paul schemes to win his spouse again towards more and more troublesome odds.
(L to R) Dakota Johnson and Adria Arjona on the set of ‘Splitsville’. Picture: Neon.
Covino movies all this in both tight pictures of his actors’ faces or lengthy takes that observe the characters like a bemused observer, the spotlight being one lengthy, nearly uninterrupted combat scene between Paul and Carey that wallows in a Three Stooges-like symphony of slapstick and destruction (each males additionally get their eyebrows singed off at separate factors within the film). One other lengthy take follows the procession of males into Ashley’s life as she dates them, dumps them, after which leaves them to hold about the home with Carey as therapist and erstwhile squad chief.
Not surprisingly, it’s the lads who’ve the toughest time reconciling their very own emotions, expressing themselves via half-hearted violence or man-childish pouting. All of it spins madly and madly round, leaping from one laugh-out-loud second to a different, and whereas ‘Splitsville’ might not possess sufficient emotional resonance to make it actually stick, it would nonetheless depart you buzzing with laughter over the absurdity of the scenario and the way in which the characters act out.
Forged and Performances
(L to R) Michael Angelo Covino, Simon Webster and Dakota Johnson in ‘Splitsville’. Picture: Neon.
Dakota Johnson is even higher right here than she was in ‘Materialists,’ displaying an emotional depth and sensuality that was maybe not seen within the latter movie’s transactional matchmaker. Her Julie is probably the most grounded of the central quartet, realizing the soonest what she needs and understanding that each one her decisions haven’t been sensible ones. Adria Arjona reveals off nice comedian timing right here, additionally protecting her wits about her whereas she barrels via a cavalcade of unworthy males solely to circle again to the place she began.
Kyle Marvin and Michael Angelo Covino use their very own real-life friendship to create the bond between Carey and Paul, two lifelong buddies who however disguise a secret competitiveness over all the pieces from the dimensions of their financial institution accounts to the dimensions of their private gear (one’s is much bigger than the opposite’s). Whereas their friendship is stretched far previous the breaking level, there’s nonetheless an underlying attachment: ‘No knives!’ they each shout at one level of their centerpiece combat, each one way or the other figuring out to cease their poisonous masculinity from turning uglier even when they nonetheless wreck the place.
Closing Ideas
Adria Arjona in ‘Splitsville’. Picture: Neon.
With humor not in abundance on the field workplace lately, ‘Splitsville’ manages to resurrect the rom-com, the screwball comedy, and the bed room farce in a single fell swoop. It’s manic, zany, and sometimes absurd, but nonetheless manages to get in a number of salient factors concerning the social assemble of marriage – primarily that after you unzip that almost all intimate of relationships, it’s troublesome to zip it again up once more with out leaving a number of valuable issues exterior.
‘Splitsville’ receives a rating of 85 out of 100.
(L to R) Adria Arjona and Kyle Marvin in ‘Splitsville’. Picture: Neon.
What’s the plot of ‘Splitsville’?
After Ashley (Adria Arjona) asks for a divorce, good-natured Carey (Kyle Marvin) runs to his pals, Julie (Dakota Johnson) and Paul (Michael Angelo Covino), for help. He’s shocked to find that the key to their happiness is an open marriage — that’s till Carey crosses the road and throws all of their relationships into chaos.
Who’s within the solid of ‘Splitsville’?
- Dakota Johnson as Julie
- Adria Arjona as Ashley
- Kyle Marvin as Carey
- Michael Angelo Covino as Paul
- Nicholas Braun as Matt the Mentalist
- David Castañeda as Fede
- O-T Fagbenle as Brent
- Charlie Gillespie as Jackson
‘Splitsville’ opens in restricted theaters on August 22, 2025, earlier than increasing extensive on September 5, 2025. Picture: Neon.