You’re not going to get a better spin on bromance – brobably: The Climb reviewed

The Climb is, essentially, a bickering bromance as two longtime pals bicker bromantically down the years, and it doesn’t sound like a film you’d especially wish to see and it didn’t sound like a film I’d especially wish to see. Bromances are bad enough, so God save us from a bickering one. But it’s actually quite the marvel: original, sometimes absurdist, touching, funny, and it also takes male friendship seriously, which is a novelty. So you do wish to see it. You just didn’t know till now.

It was written by Michael Angelo Covino and Kyle Marvin, directed by Covino, produced by Covino and Marvin (among others) and stars Covino and Marvin who play characters called Mike and Kyle. You could never say the two, who initially met while working in advertising, aren’t all over this project. The film opens audaciously with a single take of several minutes as Mike and Kyle are on a bike trip and cycling uphill when Mike tells Kyle he’s slept with the woman Kyle is due to marry. The joke is that, at this point in their lives, Mike is fitter than Kyle and, as much as Kyle puffs — and puffs and puffs and even tries running with the bike hoisted over his shoulder — he can’t catch up with Mike to beat seven bells out of him.

It’s a wonderful scene that only improves when they are overtaken by a group of extremely fast cyclists and Mike tries to keep up with them in that alpha male way which makes me laugh whenever I see it for real, and made me laugh here. But, more importantly, you are already intrigued and want to know: what is this friendship? And where will it go?

Quite a few places, it turns out.