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Movies / On DVD / Bully
Bully

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Bully (2001)

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Reviews Counted:84

Fresh:43

Rotten:41

Average Rating:5.6/10

Consensus: With its lingering shots of naked teenage bodies, Bully feels more sordidly exploitative than realistic.

Runtime: 1 hr 53 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: Bobby Kent (Nick Stahl) is not a nice guy. He beats up his "best friend" Marty every chance he gets, he abuses Marty's girlfriend Lisa, and he rapes Lisa's friend Ali. From director Larry Clark... Bobby Kent (Nick Stahl) is not a nice guy. He beats up his "best friend" Marty every chance he gets, he abuses Marty's girlfriend Lisa, and he rapes Lisa's friend Ali. From director Larry Clark (KIDS) and screenwriter David McKenna (AMERICAN HISTORY X) comes this gruelling thriller based on the true story of Bobby Kent, a bossy Florida teenager who was beaten to death by a group of his peers. There isn't a lot to do in the suburban Florida town that Bobby and his "friends" inhabit. They play violent shoot-em-up video games, they work at the Pizza Hut, they go surfing at the beach, and they cruise in their hot rods. But mostly, Bobby and his friends have lots of sex. The film is drenched in graphic shots of barely legal naked teenagers. (This has been Clark's favorite subject matter since his days as a photographer, as illustrated in his 1997 book TEENAGE LUST.) Sexual identity is an undercurrent in Bobby's story: he watches gay porn while he rapes Ali, and he forces Marty to dance with him at a gay club. Some of the other teenagers think that Bobby and Marty are a couple. But this is a minor issue. They decide to kill Bobby because he's a bully who has hurt and angered them; and because they're bored and desensitized to violence. In BULLY, Clark provides another hard look at the hard lives of American teenagers, in all their confusion. It isn't pretty. [More]

Starring: Nick Stahl, Bijou Phillips, Brad Renfro, Leo Fitzpatrick

Starring: Nick Stahl, Bijou Phillips, Brad Renfro, Leo Fitzpatrick, Rachel Miner, Kelli Garner, Michael Pitt

Director: Larry Clark

Director: Larry Clark
Screenwriter: David McKenna
Producer: Jordan Gertner, Chris Hanley, David McKenna
Studio: Lions Gate Films

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Reviews for Bully

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81 - 94 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

There's an honesty at the core of its presentation.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Daily News | comment Comment
07/13/01
Bob Strauss
Bob Strauss
Los Angeles Daily News

Bully, though filtered through Clark's particular and somewhat fatalistic perspective of American youth, is authentic.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
07/13/01
Tim Cogshell
Tim Cogshell
Boxoffice Magazine

It's coldly brilliant.

Full Review Source: IFilm | comment Comment
07/12/01
Dave White
Dave White
IFilm

There's nothing shocking anymore about [Clark's] zit-pocked brand of titillation.

Full Review Source: Mr. Showbiz | comment Comment
07/12/01
Kevin Maynard
Kevin Maynard
Mr. Showbiz

One has to wonder about the mind-set of a middle-aged filmmaker who repeatedly seeks out material about amoral and promiscuous teenagers with little to say.

Full Review Source: USA Today | comment Comment
07/12/01
Claudia Puig
Claudia Puig
USA Today

[Clark's] leering treatment of teenage flesh is likely to call forth even the biggest libertine's inner prude.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
07/12/01
Ken Fox
Ken Fox
TV Guide's Movie Guide

A whole lot of shock and titillation trying to pretend it's saying something.

comment Comment
07/12/01
Luke Y. Thompson
Luke Y. Thompson
New Times

The movie's brew of exploitation and guilt is messagey in the worst way.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
07/12/01
Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly

A gripping experience.

Full Review Source: Citysearch | comment Comment
07/12/01
Dave Kehr
Dave Kehr
Citysearch

Even more voyeuristic than Kids.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
07/10/01
J. Hoberman
J. Hoberman
Village Voice

The acting is hypnotically good.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
07/09/01
Kirk Honeycutt
Kirk Honeycutt
Hollywood Reporter
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

[Clark's] portrayal of teens lulled into utter amorality by false consciousness is genuinely compelling.

Full Review Source: Premiere Magazine | comment Comment
07/05/01
Glenn Kenny
Glenn Kenny
Premiere Magazine

Clark pulls no punches and never panders to the Moral Majority; he simply makes his point, over and over again: This is what your children think is acceptable behavior.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
07/02/01
Christopher Null
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com

A harrowing film based on the true story of the murder of a teenager in South Florida in 1993.

Full Review Source: Compuserve | comment Comment
07/02/01
Harvey S. Karten
Harvey S. Karten
Compuserve
 
 
81 - 94 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5
all

Latest News for Bully

January 17, 2008: Brad Renfro: 1982-2008
Brad Renfro, star of The Client and Apt Pupil, passed away Tuesday of unknown causes. He was 25. More...

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