The Exploding Girl (2009)

On a summer break from college, Ivy (Kazan), a young epileptic woman, struggles to balance her feelings for her fledgling boyfriend while her friend Al crashes with her for the season.

Director:

Bradley Rust Gray

Writer:

Bradley Rust Gray

Stars:

Zoe Kazan, Mark Rendall, Maryann Urbano

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Zoe Kazan	...	Ivy
Mark Rendall	...	Al
Maryann Urbano	...	Mom
Hunter Canning	...	Cary
Margot Ruth Tenenbaum	...	Cousin
Genevieve T. Eisner	...	Baby
Nichael Alexander Eisner	...	Cousin's Husband
Caseyarnoux Charlot	...	Doctor
Franklin Pipp	...	Greg
Kay Goldberg	...	Jennifer
Buddy Love	...	Three-Legged Dog
Caroline Elaine	...	Dog Owner
Steve Arriaga	...	Dance Student (as Steve Arriaga)
Belinda Atchinson	...	Dance Student
Jordan Boughrum	...	Dance Student

Storyline

On a summer break from college, Ivy (Kazan), a young epileptic woman, struggles to balance her feelings for her fledgling boyfriend while her friend Al crashes with her for the season.

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Plot Keywords:

friend | manatee | breaking a waterglass | pizza | game playing | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 May 2010 (Germany)

Also Known As:

La chica explosiva

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$5,910 (USA) (5 March 2010)

Gross:

$24,705 (USA) (16 April 2010)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Soandbrad, Parts and Labor, MBS Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

79 min 79 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The title of the film is a play on a song (The Exploding Boy) which was on the b-side of the single "In Between Days" by The Cure. "In Between Days" had been used by the director and his wife as a title to a previous movie and so they decided to adapt "The Exploding Boy" to The Exploding Girl for the purpose of this film (as explained by the director himself on 14th Nov 2009 at the 50th International Film Festival of Thessaloníki, Greece).

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Connections

References A Zed & Two Noughts (1986)

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Soundtracks

"If You've Got a Nobody's Notion"
From the album 'Egill S. vs. Muddy Fog'
Written and Performed by Egill Sæbjörnsson
Courtesy of the artist

User Reviews

Slow-moving character study of little importance

The title "The Exploding Girl" is figurative not literal. I would add "of course" but that's not as obvious given movies nowadays. This is a low-budget, independent character study.

It's about Ivy on college break, back home in New York City. Ivy struggles with love and friendship. And the film-maker shows us this with really slow-moving, seemingly unimportant scenes mired in the noisy streets of New York City. I know the city is basically supposed to be its own character, but the loud, constant bus and car noises and obstruction just lowered the quality of the film.

Zoe Kazan's Ivy is very cute and likable, but even with her epilepsy, her college problems seem minor compared to the stress that other college girls experience. Her boyfriend back at college was painted one-dimensionally. And although I didn't mind Al, the reason given for him moving in with Ivy was very odd and never explained.

It's called a "discreet character study". I will agree with that in the sense that meaning was hard to find, dialogue was indiscernible and silent at times, and reasons for few things happening was kept private from the audience. The brilliance displayed in the poster is only found once in the film, and is not enough to watch it. "The Exploding Girl" is only for the very discerning film viewer who likes slow-moving character studies of little importance.