Those who claim that rom-coms were laid to rest in the mid-2010s have yet to experience Michael Angelino Covino’s Splitsville.

Beneath a hilarious haywire of a script, which follows four relentlessly charming yet neurotic romantics, are three remarkably rare characteristics of modern mid-budget moviemaking.

First up; a truly original and modern concept that can only be pitched as the romantic-comedy about polyamory. This idea, when written by the team behind The Climb (2019), oozes comedy as naturally as it does rich feelings of contemporary angst. It is a screenplay that innovators of the buddy-comedy or the romantic-comedy, the likes of Howard Hawks or Billy Wilder, would likely applaud.

A second triumph here is the movie’s shameless technical prowess, which is akin to European directors of the genre such as Frank Capra. This proud dedication to camerawork and framing, whether it be an extended fight scene captured in a single shot or a simple warmly-lit conversational scene, elevates the story to a level where there is a cinematic heft to anchor the story without any need to jeopardize playfulness. To me this movie feels like an antidote to the painfully digestible fast-paced scripts, and overly-polished, soulless visuals we see many straight-to-streaming rom-coms adopt out of risk aversion. Essentially, this is a breath of fresh air to the genre.

Lastly, and most importantly, Covino’s writing wears its heart not only on its sleeve but boldened, in italics and overwhelming the entire arm.

Those were my thoughts. See Splitsville for yourself, and form your own opinion.

Written by Maximilian Walters