Families can be complex, confusing, confounding and confrontational, but more often than not blood is thicker than water. All families have a tangled web of inter-relationships, shared histories and those topics avoided at all costs. However, when you’ve finally found that special someone you want to spend the rest of your life with, your nearest and dearest are normally the first people you want to tell. However scary that prospect may be. In Kiss Me Before It Blows Up it’s definitely complicated.
Shira (Moran Rosenblatt) has finally found ‘the one’ and she’s definitely, positively, certain about it this time. After a whirlwind romance, Maria (Luise Wolfram), a German botanist, is going to move in with her in Tel Aviv. If that’s not exciting enough, they’re getting married. Her family is overjoyed by the news and there’s nothing they enjoy more than a good wedding. Apart from her grandma (Rivka Michaeli), that is, who is not having a Nazi marrying her wilful granddaughter.
Kiss Me Before It Blows Up is a rough and ready Israeli comedy which takes aim at some of the most pressing social issues impacting on the country. Writer/Director Shirel Peleg ensures that we’re treated to a snappy and vibrant portrait of modern life. The cast are great, particularly Michaeli and the wonderful John Carroll Lynch as Shira’s father. Although you could argue that the structure is fairly predictable, Kiss Me Before It Blows Up is really good fun.
Kiss Me Before It Blows Up screens at BFI Flare.
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