The Climb

The Climb starts off fun, over the top. But it becomes a tedious, boring affair. The characters are so unlikable and such absolute idiots. If the leads had died half way through the film and a completely new movie had started, I would have applauded.

Was looking forward to this based on the plot and reviews. You don't get hugely invested in the characters. It has some good moments but tried pretty hard to be Coen Brothers esque.

I greatly enjoyed the way "The Climb" was filmed, with its complicated tracking shots and eccentric musical interludes. But I couldn't stand the characters in it and I didn't care at all about their story, so it's a shame so much style was wasted on lame material.

The movie examines the relationship between two buddies and ponders why one of them, Kyle (played by Kyle Marvin), puts up with the other, Mike (played by Michael Angelo Corvino), despite the fact that he is a complete jerk and ruins moment after moment of Kyle's life. The answer to that question, as the movie disingenuously concludes, is that Mike is the only person who knows what's best for Kyle, and though he's been nothing but a toxic presence for the entire length of the film, he's been right all along. Ugh, give me a break.

I don't have any patience at all for the man children Marvin and Corvino bring to life in this movie. Corvino especially, doing his best Casey Affleck impersonation, is intolerable. Clearly we're supposed to find him maybe at times frustrating but overall charming, which justifies woman after woman finding him irresistible even though he's repulsive, and which is why Marvin's doormat character can't tell him to take a flying leap. The problem is that Corvino is never as funny and charming to us as he thinks he is to himself. It's no surprise that he co-wrote the film with Marvin and directs it. Someone with more distance from the character needed to take the reins of this movie if we were to have any sympathy for him.

I actually liked quite a few moments in this movie, but more because of how they were staged than because of what was happening in them. It's a movie full of wasted potential.

Grade: B-

I actually really enjoyed this & although it was a bit silly in places, there was enough abstract bits & random obscure French & Ukrainian pop music to keep me interested. Great soundtrack.

Movie was ok and there were some amusing bits, but I couldn't class it as a comedy. I even started to get a little bored and lost interest in the 2 main protagonists before the end. The part that made me the happiest was when it had finally finished.