MA 15+, 105 minutes
2 Stars
Review by © Jane Freebury
The publicists decided to label this movie about two hetero couples having issues an ‘unromantic’ comedy. It mostly is. And not remotely romantic in early scenes when one of the couples, driving along the highway, decides to indulge in a little sex below the dashboard. Without a thought to their responsibilities on the road, they only stop when a car travelling alongside them crashes, leaving a woman dead. It’s largely bloodless, and we’re not sure if it had anything to do with what the couple were up to, but is that funny?
Splitsville gets off to a bumpy start, and there is more to come. Ashley (Adria Arjona, well known since Hit Man) reveals to her partner Carey (Kyle Marvin) that she’s had multiple affairs since they were married. Carey has his work cut out with his wife of fourteen months. When the discussion gets heated and she declares she wants a divorce, Carey pulls over, bolts across a field and heads into the woods.
Eventually, he appears at the large house with water views that he was headed for. An idyllic setting that is home to his best friend Paul (Michael Angelo Covino), a property developer who is married to cool and collected Julie (Dakota Johnson needs no intro), a potter. Though their young son Russ (Simon Webster) is good at getting into trouble at school and has a knack for stealing jet skis, they give a good impression of being the ideal couple.
A scruffy, rough-house masculinity rules
To Carey, they seem to have it all until during their commiserations over his break-up they disclose that theirs is an open marriage. This is seriously tested when he and Julie, both feeling sad and angry with their respective partners at the same point, sleep together. Paul, the laid-back, self-assured husband who is often away at work in the city, goes ballistic. The extended fight scene that ensues is another moment that underscores the movie’s weakness with set pieces that stall the narrative.
The key question in this shaggy dog of a comedy, that tends to lurch from one set-up to the next, is how the open marriage really works. When Paul ultimately provides some insights that reveal why he opted for the arrangement, it is a modest reward for watching a big, loud movie that falls way short of hilarious.
Splitsville offers very weak competition to another dark, brilliant relationship comedy that’s screening at the moment, The Roses.
The two blokey characters, portrayed by show-runners Covino and Marvin, are a daggy pair who have hit a mid-life glitch. Alongside the two striking young women played by Johnson and Arjona, who are their partners, their 40-something characters are of the cozy, shambolic variety of the species, especially Carey. It’s a scruffy, rough-house kind of masculinity that rules. Ultimately, this comedy is more bromance than romance, in which some character development finally emerges when Paul reveals the true extent of his lack of confidence. Lead actor Covino is also the film’s director.
A focus on how to get on with the assertive modern young woman
That said, it is a relief that there is never any hint of partner abuse. The drawn-out sequence of hand-to-hand, man-on-man fight scenes that begin when Paul and Carey trade smacks have a slapstick component and even though the guys wreck the joint, it’s no big deal. It goes on far too long, however. Despite the complex choreography as they systematically tear the place apart, the laughs are few and far between, and it’s a relief when they eventually crash through a window together and end up in the swimming pool.
To date, co-writers Covino and Marvin have made some indie films, most notably The Climb about a pair of long-term male friends. In this their latest comedy, the focus is on how to get on with the assertive modern young woman, and how to compete with others to secure a relationship with her.
Good luck with it, if you decide to give it a go. Without giving the game way, I can say that everything is left suitably open-ended.
Published in the Canberra Times on 13 September 2025. Jane’s reviews are also on Rotten Tomatoes