American - The Bill Hicks Story

LOVEFiLM Review American - The Bill Hicks Story

•  

  By Jonathan Crocker from LOVEFiLM

  Filmmaker Matt Harlock and Paul Thomas chronicle the life, art and philosophy of a singular performer with the documentary American - The Bill Hicks Story.

  • Was this review helpful to you?
  • (0) Yes |
  •  No (0)

  Report this review

Most helpful review American - The Bill Hicks Story

• FILM review: Great documentary

   

  By MagicLemur (46 reviews) from Banbury , 09 Jul 2010

  THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS Show review anywayHide

  [Highly rated reviewer]

  Please note: This is not a review of the DVD (as yet), as it hasn't yet been released (though I have it reserved). I just felt that it would be good to publicise this film through letting people know what it's like. If you don't approve of this, then please feel free to comment (but note that few reviewers are up-front about pre-reviewing things).
  
  However, if you want to find out about the film, then please read on.
  
  ***
  
  I approached this film half expecting a cash-in, as Bill Hicks' legacy seems to have become lucrative for his relatives & each new release is often more brazen than the last (e.g. 2003's Shock & Awe).
  
  Happily, this is not the case & the film seems to be both a genuine & sincere homage to the man himself, but also a real attempt to bring something fresh & unseen to fan-boys (such as myself).
  
  The plot is fairly simple - it starts off with his early years & ends with his death from cancer. In the process, they place each of the DVD's in context & show lots of interview clips of fellow comedians, friends & family.
  
  So far, so predictable.
  
  The great thing about this film though is that they have included many, many pieces of unseen footage & have strived to put him in the context of fellow comedians (all of whom are excellent - e.g. Jimmy Pineapple)
  
  The most original contribution that the film maker's have made is to take all the 100's of photos of Bill & turned them into action-stills. A lot of the material by the man is the same, but he always had a gift of being photogenic & hence this factor symbolises the director's efforts to bring something new to the table.
  
  By no means is this film perfect & I have heard some people say 'It's not that good', but not from anyone who's actually seen it.
  
  One thing I can pick out is that there is nothing about his relationships or Girlfriends that were so formative to much of his comedy (e.g. his Fiance Colleen McGarr).
  
  There is also the fact that the film ends with the 'It's Just a Ride' scene, which is fast becoming cliche (e.g. Zeitgeist).
  
  (Oh, and there is a bit at the end of the film which grates a little, where the screen says something to the effect of 'The Hicks family continue to live in ... & are all remarkably intelligent'. Although they may be, this seems a little bit of an affectation towards them...)
  
  Besides this, there was too much to like about this film. It was really interesting to find out how Mr Hicks used to take mushrooms on a ranch with friends & about his final cancer-ridden days.
  
  I hope that, when the DVD is finally released, it will include full extras of his 'Rant in E-minor'/ 'Arizona Bay' routines but, for now, I really hope that people will flock to buy this DVD. If the evidence of George W Bush is anything to go by, America (& the World) could really do with knowing more about Bill Hicks.
  
  Here's hoping they move onto George Carlin next...

  • Was this review helpful to you?
  • (13) Yes |
  •  No (9)

  Report this review

All reviews