Dakota Johnson on her ‘unromantic’ comedy ‘Splitsville’: ‘It is really messy’

September 5, 2025

Michael Angelo Covino and Dakota Johnson in ‘Splitsville.’ (NEON)

A group of four adult friends navigate divorce, open relationships and the crossing of boundaries in the new movie Splitsville.

The comedy film, which expands to a wide theatrical release on Friday, stars Dakota Johnson, Adria Arjona, Kyle Marvin and Michael Angelo Covino.

Johnson, who also produced the film, said if there’s anything she’s taken away about marriage and relationships in general after Splitsville, it’s “that there’s infinite ways to explore relationship dynamics and love between humans.”

The actress says she thinks films that explore these themes are really helpful to people.

“This movie, we’re marketing it as an unromantic comedy, because it really is messy. It feels bad. It doesn’t end well,” Johnson said. “The people are hurting. And I think that a lot of people are hurting in the world. And I would love if we had movies that were honest portrayals of what human beings are really going through.”

Covino directed Splitsville from a script he cowrote with his costar and close friend Marvin.

He said while the ideas of open relationships that the film discusses may seem modern, they actually aren’t all that modern, “if we really think about it.”

“They’ve been around and people have been exploring the challenges of monogamy for quite some time. And certainly the pain and frustration and difficulty of betrayal and friendship and all these things,” Covino said.