Three-quarters through "The Climb" comes a scene we've all come to expect in a romantic comedy: A wedding is interrupted by the best man who rushes into a church during a marriage ceremony and screams "I object!"
He turns to the shocked bride and groom kneeling at the altar and — summoning all his courage — declares to one: "You deserve to be with someone who loves you for who you are."
Pretty typical stuff. Only in this case, he's talking to the groom.
Utterly original and utterly excellent, the modern bromance "The Climb" is a thrilling ride, an unconventional and idiosyncratic American film that acts like a old-school arty European one.
It's the beautifully crafted creation of Michael Angelo Covino and Kyle Marvin, real-life best friends who star as best friends. They've written a touching and funny screenplay about modern masculinity with Covino directing, employing long single takes worthy of Sam Mendes.
"The Climb" charts the complex relationship between Mike (Covino) and Kyle (Marvin) over multiple years and through seven vignettes. They are in many ways opposite, but still bound together. Kyle is the sweeter one, accommodating and often passive. Mike is the abrupt, too honest, loud and often selfish one.
"I don't have many friends who know me," Mike tells his friend at one point. Kyle responds: "I'm the only one who likes you and I don't know why."
Whenever Kyle falls in love with a woman, Mike has the irritating habit of inserting himself between the couple. And yet he gets forgiven, often pulled back into Kyle's orbit by people — usually women — who recognize how important the friendship is for the pair.