The Climb

For all the absurdist laughs (and not a few cringes) both men wring from it, their interplay feels both inherently ridiculous and entirely true to life; a bittersweet bromance writ in whiskey and spandex.

"The Climb" often gets in its own way. Just like its characters don't know when enough is enough, neither does Covino.

It's often quite funny, but it's also sad. It's grounded, but with all these tiny touches of surrealism.

Cringe comedy's premise is that old wisdom about train wrecks and why we can't help but stop and stare despite ourselves, and Covino and Marvin's movie is a convincing case in point.

The Climb entertains while capturing the cycle of two schlemiels whose bond exceeds the sum of their parts.

The scene that kicks off The Climb is by far the best thing in the entire movie, but don't hold that against the picture - the rest of it is pretty great, too.

The acerbic quality of the humor, instead of souring the whole thing, actually proves to be the zing the film needs to play enjoyably.

The Climb struggles amidst challenging competition, using a low budget and no recognizable stars. It conquers these limitations with a fresh and sincere take on meaningful aspects of everyday life.

A comedy that's peculiar and thoughtful but mostly peculiar, with its own weird flourishes and offbeat rhythms.

Deeply understands and appreciates the bloviating and awkward aspects of adult male friendship that many films take for granted.