Bully Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES
It's 4 a.m... do you know where your kids are?
After finding himself at the constant abuse of his best friend Bobby, Marty has become fed up with his friend's twisted ways. His girlfriend, a victim of Bobby's often cruel ways, couldn't agree more and they strategize murdering Bobby, with a group of willing and unwilling participants in a small Florida town. In the midst of their plotting, they find themselves contemplating with the possible aftermath of what could happen.
| Brad Renfro | Marty Puccio |
| Rachel Miner | Lisa Connelly |
| Bijou Phillips | Ali Willis |
| Nick Stahl | Bobby Kent |
| Michael Pitt | Donny Semenec |
| Leo Fitzpatrick | Derek Kaufman |
| Kelli Garner | Heather Swallers |
| Daniel Franzese | Cousin Derek |
| Nathalie Paulding | Claudia |
| Jessica Sutta | Blonde |
| Ed Amatrudo | Fred Kent |
| Steve Raulerson | Mr. Willis |
| Judy Clayton | Mrs. Willis |
| Alan Lilly | Mr. Puccio |
| Irene B. Colletti | Mrs. Puccio |
| Larry Clark |
7.00 out of 10 (10002 votes)
Visitor Reviews
What If Your Kids Turned Out Like This?
posted on 10 Aug 2009Controversial director Larry Clark's based on real-life events "Bully" is sometimes quite hard to watch, but you can't quite stop yourself from watching the misadventures of these messed up children either. This film feels so real, so nitty-gritty, that at times, you may feel like an intruder, watching someone else's life. These children are so far removed from being children, it is hard to think that they actually are just children. After all, the concept of a group of kids killing their so-called friend, well, its hardly child's play now is it? The cast are great. Brad Renfro is top-notch in all his performances, here is no exception. Bijou Phillips is great, Rachel Miner is cunning, Kelli Garner is a lot of fun, Michael Pitt is slightly annoying, but entertaining nonetheless. Nick Stahl is intense, to say the least.Of course it would be hard to say you condone the actions of these "kids", after all, they murdered. But it makes for gripping drama. The film also reveals the sentencing which the kids received for their parts in the murder, some of which was very surprising. A great film, but you need to be in the mood for a hard-watch.
A powerful film
posted on 31 Jul 2009Larry Clark is often criticized for his films which are described in many reviews as "teensploitation" and "fleshpot", in reference to Clark's glorification of teenage nudity. In the midst of these reviews, it has you wondering if he's showing reality or personal fantasy. In his latest film "Bully", Clark takes things up to a whole new level. Based on a true story that occurred in 1993, "Bully" tells the story of those whose contempt for one young man led to his undoing at their vengeful hands. In a small Florida town, a young man named Marty has found himself at the constant abuse of his best friend Bobby for years. It's only a matter of short time before Marty's girlfriend finds herself a victim as well as her friend. With the help of more people, the two plot Bobby's death and find themselves facing the very real possibility of dealing with consequences. Clark pulls no punches with "Bully", like he did with "Kids" by showing the reality of teenagers living a life without parental guidance, and the kind of lives they lead now. With "Bully", the characters do everything teenagers do in the world today as a backdrop to provide the kind of people they're becoming. He pulls the cover from our eyes to see that parents aren't as attentive as they should be when it comes to their own children. The murder sequence itself is actually executed quite well, because Clark catches the real vulnerability of these characters and how far you can really go into a situation without falling. A disturbing film, "Bully" is something you wouldn't want to see on a Saturday night because it's very far from the mainstream in every way. Look for Clark in a small role.
Much is spoken regarding existential nudity
posted on 25 Jul 2009There has been many discussions regarding the nudity and sexual expression amongst the youthful subjects of this delightfully disturbing film. Much has been overblown or misunderstood. The genius of the entire project: IT blurs the distinction between artist, author, and recipient; antithesis becomes indistinct as this work explores the activities of contortionists, spiritual voyeurs and lyrical activists, alike, notwithstanding the obvious comparisons people will make with Debi Pike, spouse of the Troubadour. Actress Rachel Miner, a nubile young protégé of troubadour Kirsten Dunst , in homage to "Spiderman II", comes full circle experiencing both the allegorical mock suicide attempt and ultimate resurrection during the outworking of the story (though I'll refrain from the details to avoid a possible spoiler). The soundtrack, in deference to Roy Clark, and all of those weaned on the radical musicologists of the 1970's made me weep in pleasure and recollection. This is urban mythology presented in a manner which brings Dylan, Proust, and Finis Dake together in a phantasmagoric orgy of Dake-Bonoist ecstasy. This entire account is based, faithfully, on true events that occurred in 1992 in southern Florida shortly after hurricane Andrew. Nonetheless it is a remains a mythological urban folk tale for the 21st century and beyond. Ever adolescent fantasy and vice is represented in spectronomic Technicolor. Classic archetypes of tragedy, death, love, and resurrection and interwoven into the subplot, belaying this entire work into our collective anxieties regarding the futility that lies in attempting to establish a personal legacy.It isn't difficult to pay attention to this cinematic Emergency Broadcast, networked between all the bare breasted Barbies and Butches of the world and exuding an unremitting montage that obfuscates the distinction between looking at an image and giving it to someone else. The mental imagery and etymological collage overlap each other, creating a salient textured mass of sensory immolation which provides ENDLESS opportunities for subversion. Despite the revulsion one feels, The youth of your city block will relate to each and every enactment within the actions of their schoolmates and partners. This film is a tragic paradigm shift, impelling one to grasp the real and the fantastic in a bonoistic conversion of delight and sorrow. I can't recommend this any more than I already am. You will want to watch this movie over and over again.The knife only went in but so far. Yet guilty one could be?
Quite simply...the worst movie I've ever seen
posted on 21 Jul 2009This was without a doubt, the worst movie I have ever seen. And that's sad, i've watched some pretty bad movies. Let me put this in perspective for you, I watched bully right before "Wrestlemaniac", and without question, bully was worse.It's truly rare that I can say that there is absolutely nothing good about a movie. I mean, the nudity was this movie's ONLY slightly redeeming factor, but it was used to such an excess that it was entirely ridiculous. Every time any character is alone they're automatically naked. Sometimes it doesn't even take THAT.The cinematography is so juvenile it's hard to put into words. The defining scene of this movie's cinematic genius was a circular spin reminiscent of That 70s Show. But the camera was moving SO FAST that it hurt to watch. Not only that, but it really didn't have a reason to, because half the characters weren't doing anything in this scene! Only 2 or 3 actually had lines, and the others just stood there wasting my time by making a different unbelievable facial expression every time they came on screen. I think the goal was to make it look like one continuous 4 minute scene, but since the film kept jumping at parts it was pretty obvious that it WASN'T.The plot line...where do I begin? It's so pointless, I can barely put it into words. It seems like we just progress from sex scene to sex scene with barely anything substantial connecting them, until we finally reach a murder. "He makes me feel bad." and the next line is "Let's kill him." Ughhhhh...not only that, but for whole sections of the movie the plot line is entirely lost and we're pulled off into useless scenes, like the mortal combat one. In addition, everyone in this movie is CONSTANTLY on drugs. I don't just mean they're drug users, I mean in EVERY SCENE OF THIS MOVIE, they're doing drugs...it's overkill.I'll just toss the acting and script into one. The acting wasn't believable for a moment - every character just flat and one-dimensional. Every time they attempted to throw in character development it was just pointless, absurd, and out of place. Blue-haired girl's story about her grandmother really didn't contribute anything to her character, and is the only bit of development she gets. YET WE SEE HER IN NEARLY EVERY SCENE. As for the script...I don't even know what to say. When you have lines like "Kill him, like, kill him in real life?" in your movie, you know you've hit rock bottom. For the first 30 minutes of the movie, I don't think we really saw any dialogue whatsoever, aside from an occasional comment between sexual moaning.The one positive thing i will say about this movie was that it was good for a laugh. I mean, if you have a bunch of sarcastic people around you, this can be a truly fun time, but it's only because the movie is so unrespectable.*****RANT OVER****** 0.8/10
Shameless voyeur-fest with virtually nothing to recommend it
posted on 13 Jul 2009I was fully amped up to see this film. I had been waiting a year for it to be cleared down here in New Zealand. I shouldn't have built myself up so much because it was so disappointing and is without a doubt Clark's worst film There is so much wrong with this film. First off, some of the acting is great, in particular Nick Stahl as 'The Bully', and the girl with the curly brown hair (I can't recall her name), but most of it was so out of touch and incredibly unbelievable, especially Leo Fitzpatrick. He's a veteran of Clark's films now and he was so brilliant in 'Kids', but in 'Bully' he invests his lines with such solemnity as to turn his scenes into a parody virtually. The screenplay felt like it had been written by a first year film student. No sorry, a high school student...one who has never seen a movie before. And I couldn't fathom Clark's intentions. Was he trying to point out the meaningless of these kids' existence? It sure as hell didn't stop him getting in a damn good perv. I'm no prude but I didn't need to see teenage breasts and buttocks every 5 minutes. I still maintain that Clark's best film is 'Another Day in Paradise'. It's fantastic and I don't think he'll ever top it.
Sturm und Drang
posted on 01 Jul 2009It's hard to imagine that a bunch of middle-class high-school kids could be so thoroughly dissolute that they would murder a member of their group because they didn't like him, but it happens. This incident happened to take place in Florida, but there was a similar murder, a parricide, in San Rafael, California, that was written up in an interesting sociological way by somebody who's name now escapes me, maybe Levin or Franks. I wish I could remember the details of that book because the two cases have so much in common. Both took place in anomic bedroom suburbs nucleated around malls. Both were prompted by irritation rather than immediate threat. Both were initiated by young girls who instigated their boyfriends and others to commit the murders. Both were sloppily thought-out and disorganized. In California the kids tried to barbecue the bodies at an outdoor picnic site when they couldn't think of anything else to do with them. In Florida they threw the body carelessly into a ditch. What a picture of subsonic youth "Bully" presents us with. Succulent teenaged girls, suntanned young men, none with any evident talent or purpose. They drop acid, go to a mall, and try to "fatalize" characters in a video game. They vomit on the street. They pointlessly spit big ginders onto mirrors. We see nothing of them at work or in school. It's as if those spheres of endeavors simply didn't exist for them. Sex is taken for granted, almost an irritant to be gotten out of the way. Few of them talk about love, and the one young girl who does has no idea what the word means.
They drive flashy new cars. They don't think at all about the future.
Their parents aren't stupid but just irrelevant. They seem motivated chiefly by boredom. How stupid can you get? I'm green with envy.Why did Clark make this movie? It's no improvement over "River's Edge." It offers no insights into the minds of these kids. Well -- how could it? How could you suggest an insight into, say, a bowl of vanilla pudding? The photography is B-movie level. The violence in it is pretty realistic, although not up to the best -- that is, the worst -- levels that we've seen in recent films. The sex is graphic. "Welcome to the party," says the Bully to a girl he's just met and pulls her head down to his lap. Not to leave anything out, there are constant implications that the Bully is bisexual. While the girl is going down on him his eyes are fixed on the normal act of coitus that his best friend is engaged in, in the back seat of the car. Is that why Clark made this movie? Because it's sexy and violent?
The director must have convinced himself there was more to it than that, but the "more" doesn't amount to "much more." He seems to have been happy with his control over the camera. A girl is having a phone conversation and the camera drops down for a pointless peek at the crotch of her cutoffs, out of one side of which one of her glabrous labia droops. Thrilling, but if this is really what a viewer wants to see, he or she could simply go into the back room of the local video store. Another scene that will literally make you dizzy. There is a rambling conversation among four or five of the kids. They are standing in a circle around the camera. And the camera pans around slowly as if on a pivot, regardless of which direction the lines are coming from, and it slowly spins and spins and spins, completely out of control, accomplishing nothing except to draw attention to the fact that there is a director named Clark who is causing this to happen. What a picture of youth. When I was in high school, we were forbidden to use any cuss words, even the mildest, in front of girls. Wow. The movie doesn't blame the parents, at least. That would be the easy way out, to explain the absurd semi-existence of these people, who seem to have skipped directly from infancy to jaded middle-age without ever having gone through the self-discovery of adolescence. Blame the parents, right. That's what "Rebel Without a Cause" did. Gosh, aren't we misunderstood? But this movie doesn't do that, perhaps because no one involved thought about explaining this life style, any more than the homicidal kids thought about how to dispose of the body. Is this movie really such a piece of junk, though? Well -- yeah, it is.
An extremely interesting film.
posted on 29 Jun 2009*MAY CONTIAN SPOILERS*As a teenager myself, while I love Larry Clark, his work must be taken with a pinch of salt. In the same way that 'Clueless' isn't a real picture of a typical teenage lifestyle, neither is 'Kids' or 'Bully'. The actions of the kids in 'Bully' are really just extreme takes on real issues and acts.This is actually a true story, and one of the most interesting parts of it is the way that the audience reacts to the murder committed and the sentence handed down to the murderers at the end. The film also shows the way SOME teenagers live, but what's important about the film is that although the sex, drugs and violence of the film aren't quite as severe in real life, most teenagers have snippets of this in their life.An interesting film that can certainly cause some interesting discussions.
Craptastic
posted on 09 Jun 2009If you enjoy horribly acted, pedophilic, jerky action films then this is your flick! From the same man who brought you "Kids", we get yet another voyeuristic romp into the lives of worthless teens and older who f*** a great deal. And if you like to watch little kiddies get it on, then ala "Kids" you will again be able to legally get your rocks off! Once can be called edgy and avant-garde if it has a story but twice to direct a movie like this is what they call a "condition". Avoid this movie.
Tough little movie
posted on 09 Jun 2009This is a tough little movie with nothing to say beyond what it shows. It is riveting and sad. It is well written. The acting is superb. It's really an ensemble work....the interplay between the characters is masterful. Standout is Brad Renfro who brings eloquence and subtlety to a difficult role. The actor becomes the part, it all flows from a committed core. Not far behind are Bijou Philips and Michael Pitt....... real naturals. The movie sticks with you after you leave the theatre. Quite sobering. A note on sex: there is a lot of it, but it's never prurient or titillating. It's always to the point. It's pervasive, provides motivations, and creates ambiguities never fully resolved. No cheap thrills here.
In your face
posted on 05 Jun 2009I found LARRY CLARKS last movie 'KIDS' in your face and somewhat disturbing as do I find 'BULLY' the very same. For those who complained about 'KIDS' calling it 'Pathetic' or 'Unrealistic', open your eyes and look around.'BULLY' is the type of movie most dont want to watch because most people want to hide from the fact that situations like this just dont happen. They do. Kids getting high, drinking, beating up each other and sleeping around, IT HAPPENS. Thats what kids do. Not all, but some.I found 'BULLY' very full on and although I dont feel the excessive amounts of sex scenes were necassary though. What does that have to do with the plot of the story? Yeah the lead character likes to beat up on his best mate and rape his girlfriend and best friend but there wasnt any need for any more sex scenes. I thought I was watching a porno the first twenty minutes of this movie!Good story line, gotta hand it to the writers of the movie. However the direction was poor. What was with all the close ups on girls and the nudity exposure? It made me very uncomfortable to watch.BULLY 7/10
Lazy teenagers, their sexual proclivities and a bit of murder on the side
posted on 16 May 2009It's ironic that Larry Clark's voyeuristic depiction of sex has brought Bully so much publicity, because I found the murder scene to be far more biting. This is, at its core, another movie about sex and death, but it pulls no punches in the way that it paints cinematic pictures about these two acts: when there's sex it is raw, grunting, animalistic and slightly degrading - when someone is killed it is brutal, hard and squeamishly violent. This is particularly true with Bully because even though the victim (Stahl) is a thoroughly deplorable character, someone who in a thousand other films would deserve his fate, here you feel sincere and anxious concern that what is happening to him shouldn't be happening. Most of the other kids feel that too, but the group mentality prevents them from stopping it.Like his even more controversial Kids, Clark has created another dark masterpiece of social commentary, examining what it is that leads aimless teenagers to spend their days coasting in cars, avoiding their future, disregarding their parents and having sex (this seemingly coming from boredom more than genuine interest). That Stahl's bully is the only character with a conceivable future - a stable home and a college education - is hardly of any surprise, as he just sees his friends as fodder for exploitation and degradation. It is of little surprise that these kids hatch a plan to kill him; the real amazement is that they are organised, stable and prepared enough to go through with it. In fact it is only with the urging of 'the Hitman' (Fitzpatrick) that they are able to follow it through. It is also unsurprising that they are unable to hide their conspiracy when questions start being asked. Bully is a movie that makes you wince constantly with its attention to sexual detail and reckless violence, but it is undeniably realistic in its depiction of teenage behaviour. An effective script and a hard-working cast help to recreate these difficult scenes, abandoning or shunning preconceived cinematic ideals about sex, death and revenge. Watching Bully is like receiving a gust of fresh air, only to find that it is foul and stinking - yet that doesn't stop you from inhaling.
And they call this a "movie"?
posted on 10 May 2009***MILD SPOILERS*** I saw "Bully" last night on TV and I can say I regret staying up that late to see it. First of all, why so much sex and nudity was there when it wasn't needed? I guess it attracts teenagers to watch this movie. A rather poor way to attract audience though I have to say. Ah well, it's good if you're 13 and want to see naked chicks all around.Actors in this movie weren't bad, this I noticed. I mean you can't really call this "thing" a "movie" since it has such a stupid plot that it may be understood as no plot at all. There's a good and a bad buy. Bad guy treats a good boy bad. Good boy's friends don't like it and kill the bad boy. Good boy and his friends go to prison, whoa, does this sound a masterpiece or what? Everything is totally predictable that it's not even funny. My conclusion - if you have better things to do than watch this movie - do them. I rate this film 5 for good acting...or should I give less...?
Portrait of a sick society
posted on 08 May 2009SPOILERSI have been reminded on several occasions over the past few days, if we are to believe what we are shown, of the dreadful sickness of American society as depicted in several fairly recent films. Our cinema of social malaise in the U.K. generally views the causes as resulting from financial deprivation.
It is much the same with the cinema of most other nations. But in the States as seen in such works as "American Beauty", "The Ice Storm", "Bully" and to a slightly lesser extent, "Happiness", material good fortune seems to count but little for characters that are so hopelessly unfulfilled that only the vagaries of thrills resulting from marital infidelity, teenage sexual experimentation, drugs and joyriding seem to count for anything and then only as ways for relieving the boredom of routine existence. In a way nothing seems to have changed since "Rebel Without a Cause" (1955); it is simply the recent profusion of films like these which delve so much deeper into areas of sick depravity that makes the overall scene seem so much more depressing. And yet, to shrug the genre off as gratuitous navel gazing would be wrong as, just occasionally something remarkable is triggered off, albeit alarmingly. Larry Clark's "Bully", ostensibly just about the nastiest and most disturbing of these, is at the same time a work of tremendous integrity that recreates unflinchingly an unspeakably horrible true-life situation when a group of young people ganged together to murder a member of their peer group disliked by some of them but hardly known by others who just seemed to go along for the ride. These youngsters are depicted as a pretty hapless lot. Mainly from fairly affluent backgrounds, they seem untouched by any form of work ethic as they while away their time borrowing their parents' cars, screwing each other and watching porn movies.
The nearest they get to anything resembling healthy pursuit is swimming and the odd bit of ocean surfing. In the opening shot one of their number makes a phone call to a girl and says, "I want you to s**k my big d**k." It sets the tone for much that follows. Why then is this a film that one cannot afford to ignore, one that demands the sort of respect accorded to cinema of quality? The answer lies in the way that each and every character behaves in accordance with their personal psychology. The seed of the murder idea is sown by one of the girls who is upset by the bullying treatment accorded to her boyfriend by his intellectually superior "best friend". From then on it is only a matter of time before a plot is hatched resulting in the bully being senselessly and clumsily butchered and his corpse abandoned on a beach to make a meal for the crabs. It is the effect of this ghastly happening on the perpetrators that is the film's raison d'etre. I know of no other in which nemesis overwhelms evil-doers so swiftly and completely, pointing a terrible warning to any that might contemplate taking such a ghastly course.
The sight of a group of girls cowering tremblingly in a car while the boys carry out the act that one girl has instigated is a powerful image that disturbs and haunts long after the film is over, evidence, as if any were needed, that "Bully" is, above all, a serious and deeply moral piece of cinema.
Education starts at home.
posted on 28 Apr 2009A true story with a social message. I can't truly see the comparisons with "Kids". In "Bully" it is shown that kids of upper social classes can also be a disease in society. The bully truly made some lives miserable but that isn't a justification for his murder. The acting is surprisingly good. A generation of new talented actors/actresses started with this movie. The sex scenes, or drug related material is very toned down compared with movies of these likes.The trial does not last as long as I would like, but still it's an important scene. So, the events in this movie can happen anywhere. Social class does not means education.
A masterpiece, plain and simple
posted on 18 Apr 2009Having followed Larry Clark's work in photography with great admiration for many years, when he finally unleashed "Kids" on the world, I couldn't have been more disappointed. Clark did his job just fine, but the script was so meandering and desperate to shock that the film itself lacked any kind of narrative focus, and did inevitably seem almost entirely dedicated to being shocking, and nothing more. What though, I asked myself, could Clark achieve with a focused script, a bigger budget and some more accomplished actors? "Bully" is the exhilarating answer. Although shot in the similarly gritty style of his debut - Bully has so much more going for it in every conceivable department. All of the actors involved give truly phenomenal, frightening performances. The script is dark, honest and thematically uncompromising. Clark's visual sense has sharpened ten fold, revealing a film maker with an astonishingly accomplished grasp of both linear narrative storytelling, and cohesive, relevant stylistics. The best examples of both occur in the film's finale, when (for the first time in the film) Clark resorts to using incongruous pop music on the soundtrack. As the film slowly slips away, and the music eases us into the relaxed reality that we were, "only watching a movie", the film's final image throws up a shattering caption which hits home like a fist in the throat. Its tough. Its utterly uncompromising. Its one of the finest films I've seen in the last ten years. I urge everyone with an open mind to go and seek it out.
offensive and pointless
posted on 10 Apr 2009If this review strikes anyone reading it as biased, I apologise, but I have very strong feelings regarding this movie. I saw it in good faith, foolishly believing the critics who poured out their praise. Imagine my shock then when I witnessed possibly the most offensive and worthless creation I have ever seen. The problems I have with 'Bully' and Larry Clark are almost endless, and I will not mention everything here. The characters are vile, and there is nothing there to make you care in the slightest about them. The plot is weak and the script corny and pathetic. The main problem I have with the movie, however, is the apparent perversion of director Clark. Seemingly Clark is the definition of "dirty old man", as he has his young actresses nude whenever possible. Almost every scene involves nudity in some form or another. I'm sure Clark will claim he is making a statement about the repetitive and pointless lives of Suburban teenagers, but that seemingly is his excuse to be a pervert. PLEASE do not see this movie! I dont know how I can put my disgust into words any more plainly. DO NOT SEE THIS!
I guess this is not for everybody
posted on 27 Mar 2009I am not a viewer, who is not easily offended (if I can be offended at all) and to be honest this film didn't offend me a bit. I must admit though, that it took me a while to get adjusted to the film in the beginning, due to the amount of sexual scenes portrayed. In the beginning it just felt like I was watching a soft pornographic adult film without any real story. This feeling I had though, faded away after 20 minutes or so, when the story of the film unfolded and I must say it did so nicely. Larry Clark and all of the involved actors (they were all cast brilliantly and performed very well) do a great job, keeping the story, interesting and thrilling. They have a little help though from the music department as well. I mean I did not notice a lot of musical score throughout the film, but in the two most important scenes (the kill and in the end) I noticed it, and it certainly helped make the scene better. All in all a great effort by Larry Clark (who'll never make it big time) and the actors who portrayed the main characters. I see potential with some of them and I think that they all can make something of themselves. If I was a director and I needed a few spaces filled, I'd definitely knock on some of their doors (as other director's will). Good luck to all of you young promises. As for Larry Clark, I'm sure he'll continue to do what he does and I'm sure I'll check out some of his other films.8 out of 10
It paints a scary picture of teenagers.
posted on 27 Feb 2009*****review contains SPOILERS*****Bully (2001) is not for the faint of heart. The entire movie is disturbing, raw, and gritty. It paints a scary picture of teenagers. Bully is one of the most powerful films that I have seen, with some brave performances from the actors. The story, for those of you who don't know:Marty Puccio (Brad Renfro) is a teenager who is constantly abused, mentally and physically, by his friend Bobby Kent (Nick Stahl). Bobby always has power over Marty. He forces Marty to do some things against his will. Then one day, when both of them are working at a local store selling sandwiches, the two meet Ali Willis (Bijou Phillips) and Lisa Connelly (Rachel Miner). Marty and Lisa become boyfriend and girlfriend, while Bobby treats Ali harshly. Lisa doesn't like how Bobby is treating Marty. One day Ali is raped by Bobby, and it becomes clear that Bobby has become too much of a bully. Nobody likes Bobby anymore and everyone wants to get rid of him. Lisa enlists the help of her cousin Derek (Daniel Franzese), while Ali gets Donny Semenec (Michael Pitt). Lisa and Marty then pay a hitman (Leo Fitzpatrick) to help their cause. The last person to take part is Heather Swallers (Kelli Garner). Marty, Lisa, Ali, Donny, Derek, Heather, and the hitman then devise a plan to murder Bobby and never look back. This all leads to the disturbing and shocking ending which shows that nobody gets away clean.The acting is bold and very courageous. At times it felt like I was watching a documentary. All of the actors do a great job. Nick Stahl gives a scary performance of Bobby Kent. He's a clearly conflicted and disturbed person, and his demise is rather graphic. Now for the other aspects of the film.The violence is realistic and sometimes sick. There are a couple of beatings and a disturbing rape scene. But perhaps the murder scene is the worst part of the movie. Bobby begs for his life while he's stabbed repeatedly by Donny and Bobby. When Bobby slits his throat, I actually had to look away. Even after the hitman bashes Bobby's head in with a baseball bat, he's still alive. It was perhaps the most brutal scene I have ever seen. The sexuality is of course very graphic, especially since these are only teenagers. Larry Clark has become infamous for filming teenage sexuality with honesty.Larry Clark did a good job of showing the events leading up to the death of Bobby Kent. The story is very hard-hitting and powerful, especially since it all really happened. The groups sentences by the court are shocking. It leaves you breathless when you read Marty's punishment. I give Bully (2001) a 9 out of 10.
Desperate attempt to shock induces only boredom..
posted on 25 Feb 2009After seeing "Bully," i found it difficult to believe that this inept, supposedly "shocking" film was created by the same man responsible for the quite impressive "Another Day In Paradise." This reminded me of those "evils of youth" films from the 50's, like "Reefer Madness." Larry Clark, widely thought of as little more than an exploiter of teen angst, proved his directing capabilities in "Another Day In Paradise," which is a far superior film to this. In "Bully," the 'kids' are so over-the-top fu@ked up that it soon becomes hilarious. Clark never misses an opportunity to get in an exposed breast or ass shot, filming the teens having sex in every position, constantly doing drugs, like literally every second someone seems to be smoking a joint. We even get to see the young lead actress on the toilet, naked of course. IMO, these exploitative elements discredit the film from being a serious look at troubled American teens. Most of the performances were awful and stilted, (I guess it is hard to find someone with a nice set of boobs who can also ACT.) The film has the look of a cheap, made for TV effort, nothing too impressive in the technical department. The gruesome killing/throat slashing scene of the bully was right out of "Saw II", as graphic as possible; pure cheap exploitation. I don't mean to imply that I don't love sex and violence in film, as I do. It was just totally inappropriate for a film that is trying to be "serious." However I am sure this will shock some sheltered and very ignorant viewers that have never seen a quality film about teenage pain & confusion, such as Tim Roth's "War Zone," but for those who look to the DVD section of Wal-mart as the only source of their film entertainment, I guess "Bully" will do the job. But I imagine anyone who has ventured out of the mainstream will find this to be total garbage. And I have nothing against Larry Clark. I have mentioned "Another Day...", and I also found "Ken Park" to be a fine film as well, which deserves a look if you can find it. "Ken Park" is a better film than "Bully" because the kids in that film were believable teenagers, who weren't really "bad," or so totally screwed up. In "Bully," the kids were just hilarious stereotypes, who behave the way a paranoid fundamentalist Christian imagines "just how EVIL those kids are today..." I just think "Bully" is Clarks worst effort to date.
sad but true
posted on 14 Aug 2009Larry Clark, that voyeur of teenage decadence, has done it again Bully, easily one of the best movies this year. This true story of a group of socially retarded hedonists who murder one of their own, a twisted sociopath who rapes women who won't watch gay porn with him, is top notch. Calrk directs with a total sense of perversity as these aimless adolescents screw, drink, murder, and rape with raw abandon. Marty (Brad Renfro) is a high school drop out who has long been dominated by his sadistic friend Bobby. There is a disturbing undercurrent of homosexuality to their strange friendship (Bobby forces Marty to work on a gay phone sex line and rapes his girlfriend for kicks). Its not long before Marty and His new girlfreind begin to hatch a plot to murder this wannabe Marquis De Sade. Bully is an extremely graphic film, built to show you a world you would rather know nothing about. Yet, I'm sure it's a dark trip you won't soon forget, unlike your usual diet of Rush Hour 2 and Bandits. Enjoy!