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Review: I'm Gonna Explode

Stuck on the roof
By PETER KEOUGH  |  January 6, 2010
2.5 2.5 Stars

 

Gerardo Naranjo probably had the final image of Jean-Luc Godard's Pierrot le fou in mind when he titled this tale of youth in revolt Mexican-style, but I don't recall rebels Jean-Paul Belmondo and Anna Karina being so vapid and annoying. High-schoolers Román (Juan Pablo de Santiago) and Maru (Maria Deschamps) meet Breakfast Club–style in detention — he for pretending to hang himself in a school talent show, she for applauding.

They bond and bust loose with a stolen car, a handgun, and a promise to remain true to each other, but they get only as far as the roof of Román's house, their presence unknown to Román's politico father, who's trying to keep the whole thing quiet to avoid a scandal. The movie also ends up stuck on the roof, as the jazzy jump cuts and dissolves and cutesy imagery of the opening give way to long talks in a pup tent about what really bothers kids today.

Is it real or just a figment of Maru's Badlands-like diary? I for one am not bursting to find out.

Related: Shock and awe, Unmitigated Gaul, Pop goes Wittgenstein, More more >
  Topics: Reviews , Jean-Luc Godard, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jean-Paul Belmondo,  More more >
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