Splitsville

I was in desperate need of a laugh so my nephew and I went to the Broadway last night to see Splitsville because the trailer looked really funny.  I did laugh out loud at some of the absurdist physical comedy but I don't think it is the funniest film I've seen this year.  After a traumatic experience, Ashley (Adria Arjona) feels compelled to ask her husband Carey (Kyle Martin) for a divorce because she has been unfaithful and wants to continue sleeping with other people.  Carey seeks comfort from his best friend Paul (Michael Angelo Covino) and his wife Julie (Dakota Johnson) but is shocked when Paul brags about having an open marriage and suggests that Carey and Ashley should do the same.  However, when Carey and Julie sleep together, both Ashley and Paul reconsider and realize that they didn't appreciate what they had until it was gone.  The entire premise is revealed in the trailer and, while it is amusing to see the increasingly ridiculous lengths to which both Ashley and Paul resort to get their spouses back, the story is really thin and the resolution is a foregone conclusion.  The characters are pretty unlikable and it is a bit frustrating that none of them seem to have any growth (the final scene mirrors one from the beginning beat for beat).  That being said, there are some hilarious scenes, including an extended fight between Carey and Paul that destroys the house (it is much more involved than what is shown in the trailer) and a sequence involving goldfish on a roller coaster, and I did really enjoy many of the secondary characters, particularly all of Ashley's former lovers who move in with her and Carey.  This is a lot of fun if you can ignore the shortcomings and simply appreciate it as a screwball comedy and I recommend it to fans of the genre.

Note:  This has been billed as the funniest film of the year but I think it falls short of that description.  I do not see a lot of comedies but the funniest film I have seen this year is The Ballad of Wallis Island (it features very dry British humor so not everyone will agree with me).