I'M GONNA EXPLODE (Voy A Explotar) Review

A Mexican coming-of-age drama, I'm Gonna Explode (Voy A Explotar) pillages elements from some of the best Latin American flicks of the past decade or so, but falls short in emulating their success. Maru (Maria Deschamps) and Roman (Juan Pablo De Santiago) are a couple of rebellious 15 year olds, drawn to each other by a shared distrust and refusal of the adult world. They leave school and ostensibly run away, camping out atop a building where they flirt, drink, listen to music and generally act out a time honoured pubescence. Meanwhile their respective parents get together to fret about their little ones... whereupon they drink, flirt and act much like teenagers themselves.

I'm Gonna Explode starts well, tapping into the emotional quagmire of teendom, neither child nor adult but desperately seeking some sort of meaning and excitement beyond the constraints of family life. Roman rejects the perceived banality of adulthood, sporting a ridiculous striped bandit mask made from an old wooly hat, and then in a resolutely more worrying act performs a mock self-hanging at his school variety performance. An obsession with guns also hints that all may not turn out well. Maru is less overtly anarchic, showing her distaste for the quotidian by spontaneously lopping off her hair with a pair of scissors.

The most successful scenes by far play out in the opening third with Maru and Roman coming across as a junior Bonnie and Clyde, but once they make their escape this road movie of sorts literally goes nowhere. This is, of course, the point - the youthful impulse to run off and explore life for oneself is met with an immobilising lack of direction - but narratively it means momentum is lost. This would be fine if the resulting drama was strong enough, but the two young leads, whilst capable, lack sparkle and warmth. Instead of endearing they become frustrating and, at worst, plain idiotic. Director, Gerardo Naranjo does his best to ring some sort of profound statement from the film, articulating his commentary on the misplaced energy of youth through these two unfortunate teens. However, a pretentious voice-over (now de rigueur for this sub-genre) simply irritates and isn't helped by the po-faced execution of almost everything else. Drab cinematography also fails to convey the exuberance of his diminutive anti-heroes, and they alone aren't strong enough to light up the ordinary surrounds.

 If you're at all familiar with the likes of Y Tu Mama Tambien (And Your Mother Too), or other Latin American coming-of-age tales from recent years, you'll see that in theory all the ingredients are here: teen sex, comic asides, rebellion, masturbation, underage drinking, the aforementioned 'thought-provoking' voice-over and the inevitable tragic climax. Without the finesse or artistry of a film like Cuaron's though, the end result becomes a cold, distant affair, lacking both soul and charm - a mere checklist of generic conventions.

I'm Gonna Explode is at UK cinemas now.