As the ensemble comedy The Perfect Vacation hits theaters, lead stars Florian David Fitz and Elyas M’Barek spoke in interviews with TAG24 and on the red carpet with Joyn about queer intimacy scenes on camera, how they were realized on set, and the durability of long-standing friendships.
In the comedy, the 51-year-old Fitz plays Pepe, a gay math teacher. The group dynamics throughout the film also culminate in a surprising kiss scene with his colleague Elyas M’Barek.
Speaking to Joyn, the two actors offered insights into the shooting: according to M’Barek, the scene was pre-arranged and shot directly as a one-take, meaning in a single continuous camera setup. The two actually kissed with tongues.
“We only kissed when the camera was off”
Fitz commented on the shoot in his usual sharp manner: “We only kissed when the camera was off,” he quipped to TAG24. At the premiere, he elaborated on the kissing experience: “The kiss with Elyas was the most beautiful kiss of my life, and also in Elyas’s life.”
He also humorously placed the scene within his own filmography. To TAG24, he noted: “Who haven’t I kissed before? Matthias Schweighöfer.”
On the red carpet, he added to Joyn that, in his career, he’s essentially been “passed around” among almost all the actors gathered there: “I’ve basically worked with every one of my colleagues here today.”
Reflections on friendships and group dynamics
Apart from the jokes about the kissing scene, Fitz reflected on the film’s core questions. The idea of how friendships transform through different life stages and pressures also occupied him personally: “I think a lot about my friendships.” This depends largely on individual changes over the years: “You have to adapt a bit to the life stage you’re in.” The challenge lies in giving relationships space to change without losing touch when friends take different paths.
When asked about the vacation scenario depicted in the film, Fitz added to Joyn what personally constitutes his greatest stress test: “The absolute horror vacation is the one where everyone ends up fighting.”
Direct link
|
“The Perfect Vacation” opened nationwide in theaters on Thursday. Film critics did not warmly receive the sequel to 2019’s “The Perfect Secret.” Criticisms included a somewhat lackluster script, intrusive product placement, and flat clichés. The ensemble cast, however, was praised.
