Splitsville Movie Review (SFF) –
“I don’t want a divorce. Nobody wants a divorce. Well… she wants a divorce.” So begins the emotional unravelling at the centre of Splitsville, Michael Angelo Covino’s latest effort as director, co-writer, and reluctant romantic lead. Co-starring and co-writing with long-time collaborator Kyle Marvin, Covino’s film is a slapstick, sharp-tongued, and surprisingly sweet deep dive into the very modern wreckage of open relationships, emotional compartmentalization, and adult male friendship in free fall.
Ending the Sydney Film Festival 2025 on an irresistibly fun and chaotic note, Splitsville delivers something many rom-coms try but few succeed at: being both emotionally grounded and laugh-out-loud funny. It’s a delightfully light and accessible entry in the festival line-up — breezy, acerbic, and never afraid to let its central men look like absolute idiots. Which, let’s be real, they very often do.
” slapstick, sharp-tongued, and surprisingly sweet“
IThe plot is familiar in shape if unconventional in texture. Two best friends (Covino and Marvin, playing thinly veiled versions of themselves) find themselves caught in the slow-motion implosion of their respective long-term romantice relationships — one of which is “open,” the other simply on life support. As emotional honesty gets buried beneath layers of denial, distraction, and delusion, what begins as a comedy of manners spirals into a comedy of misfires, miscommunication, and multiple slap fights. Literal slap fights.
And this is where Splitsville earns its place. The physical comedy is glorious. Covino and Marvin have the kind of comedic chemistry you can’t fake — probably because it’s built on years of actual friendship and collaboration, and perhaps a little real-life tension, too. Watching them bumble, grapple, and emotionally spiral together is as sad as it is funny. Their performances are physical, raw, and refreshingly self-deprecating. There’s a particularly extended wrestling match through a beach house that is hilariously executed — and somehow also makes you feel increasingly sorry for them. That’s the magic trick this film pulls off.
That Covino and Marvin cast themselves opposite two of the most stunning women in Hollywood, only to strip naked (literally and emotionally) and make themselves look like absolute clowns is, frankly, a class act. No fragile egos here — just a willingness to be the butt of the joke. And it really is the cast that elevates this romcom beyond its relatively expected narrative beats. Dakota Johnson and Adria Arjona bring warmth and dimension to what could have been standard-issue rom-com love interests. Instead, they’re intelligent women who — surprise — are completely fed up with the overgrown boys they’re stuck with. However that doesn’t mean they aren’t immune either from emotional impulsivities and immaturities.
Stylistically, the film leans into a kind of polished indie-TV aesthetic but with pratfalls and awkward karaoke. It never tries too hard to be “cinematic,” which actually works in its favour. The pacing is brisk, the tone is cozy, and the transitions between comedy and pathos are smoother than you’d expect. At times it does feel like the best pilot for a prestige dramedy you’ve ever seen — and honestly, I’d happily tune in every week just to watch Covino and Marvin ruin their lives and slap each other around.
Thematically, Splitsville is walking into tricky territory. Non-monogamy, emotional honesty, gender expectations, mid-life disillusionment — it touches on all of it. And while it doesn’t dig too deep (don’t expect a thesis statement), it has just enough emotional insight to provoke discussion. Its central thesis — that trying to extract emotion from inherently emotional activities is a fool’s errand — lands with satisfying clarity. If anything, the film’s biggest weakness is that it resolves too neatly. These guys don’t really earn their growth, and some of the emotional fallout is swept under the rug. But then again, maybe that’s the point: in real life, nobody gets the perfect ending. We just settle into something that feels manageable and call it a win.
In the end, Splitsville might not be revolutionary, but it is refreshing. It’s honest without being cynical, sweet without being saccharine, and consistently hilarious in its willingness to poke fun at the fragile egos and emotional messiness of modern love. It was a joy to watch with a crowd — and a perfect note to end this year’s Sydney Film Festival on.
Slapstick, sharp, and sincerely silly — Splitsville is a modern breakup comedy that earns its laughs and lands its jabs with style.
Splitsville played at the Sydney Film Festival, and will release in Australian cinemas August 2025.
