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BULLY
Starring: Brad Renfro, Rachel Miner, Nick Stahl, Bijou
Phillips, Michael Pitt, Kelli Garner, Daniel Franzese, Leo Fitzpatrick,
and Deborah Smith Ford
Directed
by: Larry Clark (who has a brief appearance as "the hitman's"
dad.
It
has been incredible watching young mansteak in waiting Nick Stahl
grow into legal fixin's. He's maturing rapidly and growing into
his deep smoky eyes quite nicely. He's the main cat, Bobby Kent,
in Bully. A mean, creepy over bearing friend who pushes his underling
friend, Marty ( Brad Renfro) too far.
So far in fact, that instead of simply avoiding Bobby or ceasing
to "hang out with him" Marty and his white trash posse
decide the best thing for all involved, perhaps the world, is
to kill him.
The
saddest part of Bully, and the thing that keeps you from leaving
the over Indie, Indie, 40 minutes into the thing, is the fact
that this is a true story. Based on a group of Florida teens,
suburban misfits from semi-normal families, (an oxymoron) who
in 1993 actually plotted and schemed to execute their friend because
he was a big bad neighborhood bully.
Granted
Bully's Bobby's a bit of a cruel sadistic nimrod; he makes, no
forces, poor moronic Marty (Brad Renfro) into mock stripping for
a mere 100.00 to help a couple of gay fellows better enjoy the
evening. Bobby rapes the town slut. And I mean she does anything
to anyone, and was having sex with him when he got rude-n-rough,
so technically YES it was rape. He also slept with his best friend
Marty's girl Ho. In fact when the darling wee trash-lite gal gets
pregnant she's in a quandary over which sperm donor is actually
her future career grocery-bagger child's teenage daddy.
The
director, Larry Clark (who also brought us the ominous "Kids"
in '95) gets over zealous with the trash le Blanc on trash le
Blanc sex scenes. Okay we get it! Teens have sex. Teens
have kinky sex. Onward please. He ads so much "stuff"
it's to the point of squeezing a two-hour movie into a three-hour
documentary-like life lesson filled with shocking revelations
for the gasping parents of teens across the globe who find themselves
in his audience.
But, for we folks "in the know" of the pubescent monsters
high on Eminem (or who ever is the Backstreet-InSyncy-Britney
Aguilera- bubble pop "in" idol that day) the whole thing
got a trifle boring, and tried too hard condemn the species of
teen. Not all kids get high on acid everyday, not all kids know
more about Kama Sutra
then Hugh Heffner, and, certainly, not all kids dissolve their
childhood friendships with a quick bludgeoning and a (stab or
40) in the back. You wouldn't think that if Clark's version of
adolesance was your text book on the subject. Lucky (and sadly)
, for Clark this was a true story or Bully really would have been
intolerable.
The
young cast members were excellent. Except for Brad Renfro who
was the other star, Marty. He apparently was told drama equals
excessive drooling and smooched tiny teeny lips with pursed eyebrows.
He's young he'll hopefully learn to stretch that Brady Bunch anger
routine. Although, he was super unnerving as the jock-neo Nazi
a few years back in underrated Apt
Pupil. Maybe, it's just I have seen better from him...
 Nick
Stahl, besides being baklava sweet on the retina, is quite the
budding actor. I have enjoyed every piece....of work he's done.
Here, even with the shock filled dialog he was given as Bobby,
he came through as menacing and dangerous not because of his vicious
filthy words, but because of what Stahl had brewing behind those
handsome piercing eyes. He wasn't "this guy needs to die
for the good of mankind" menacing but, he made Bobby as bad
as the dialog allowed.
Rachel
Miner, who plays Marty's innocent- as- a- banshee -in- heat gal
pal Lisa, did a great job until the beating/murder of Bobby Kent.
Then she was possessed by Joan Crawford's "Eye's! Watch my
eye's " soul risen from the Hollywood ham's grave, alive
and kicking with film noir over acting.
Bijou
Phillips (sibling of Cynna and Mackenzie) on the other hand as
Ali the town whore, was unbelievably good. She hit every emotional
plateau the script called for with realism actors twice her age
are still reaching for. She's great at these rock-groupie-minishirted-bl**-ya-for-a-joint
style gals. Keep your eye out for this "kid."
Bully
is a bit long and repetitive. If edited a wee bit it could be
riveting. That, and wipe the godforsaken drool from Renfro's mouth!
It's shocking to see kids, I mean kids, go this far, so fast.
They have no regard for taking another's life, a "friends"
life. You couldn't see a dram of conscience between them.
See this if just for the up and coming generation of talent hodge
podged on Clark's canvas, but be ready to be dragged through gratuitous
teen sex scenes, and mind numbing visions of a group of youths
so lost in oblivion you'll think twice about giving the drag racing
teen next to you the finger ever again!
Snack
recommendation: Pizza Hut©
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