MOVIE REVIEW: Bully-2001Childhood friends Marty (Brad Renfro) and Bobby (Nick Stahl) are inseparable. They spend most of the day surfing, getting high, scoring cash, and chasing hoes. You rarely see one without the other. The guys share everything, including girlfriends, but not due to Marty’s willingness to share. Marty becomes seriously involved with Lisa Connelly (Rachel Miner) and she becomes pregnant. Bobby views Lisa as a threat to his close relationship with Marty and in retaliation verbally and physically abuses Lisa and anyone else he comes into contact with. Most kids in the neighborhood fear him because he turns them into human punching bags. Not to mention if chicks won’t put out, he’s known to take it. Marty, with help from Lisa, her buddies, and a “hitman” named Derek (Leo Fitzpatrick) conspire to rid the world of Bobby once and for all. After a night of partying and bullshitting, the crew decides to do the deed and devise a plan to off Bobby and throw him into the swamp. Will these airhead kids chicken out or will they make Bobby food for the gators? No more spoilers from me y’all.
I have been contemplating watching this like forever. I finally got around to it at 3am one night and it was good enough to keep me awake until the end. Great film but this is no day at the park. The sex scenes are highly graphic for a movie centered around teens. I thought I was watching a Skin-A-Max film with a plot during some scenes. This film was produced by Larry Clark, the same cat who made the film Kids so I guess I should not have been surprised by the graphic nature. Nick Stahl (great actor btw) who played Bobby was really scrawny, I kept wishing Marty would just beat his ass already. Although small in stature, the Bobby character was nonetheless despicable and frightening. I kept asking myself after the film if he really deserved his fate. Brad Renfro did a terrific job as the timid, confused Marty. The ex Mrs. Macauly Culkin Rachel Miner has great screen presence and it was really courageous of her to parade around nude for damn near half the film. The build-up to the climax was a little frustrating for me. I wanted jump into the TV screen, take a bat from one of the kids and beat the shit out of Bobby my damn self! They were taking too long to do the darn task. The filmmakers captured the bleakness of the living situation of the kids involved…they looked rode hard and funky for sure. Unfortunately this story is not a work of fiction, and the film adaptation stayed true to the story with the exception of the physical attributes of both Bobby and Lisa. The real Bobby Kent was a huge, hulking, steroid-using freak, it is understandable why people would be afraid of him. The real Lisa was slightly overweight and no where near as cute as Rachel Miner. The real story was profiled on A&E’s American Justice. I just viewed the episode on Saturday so I’m sure it will re-air again soon. This film is riddled with graphic sex scenes, drug use, and violence.
VERDICT: 3 ½ Soul Claps
Labels: Movie Reviews
This entry was posted
on Monday, March 12, 2007 at 1:22 PM.
|
