Bully (2001)

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Truly Dreadful Film

Touches You

One of my all time favorites.

Marty Puccio (Brad Renfro) is a life long friend to Bobby Kent (Nick Stahl). The problem is that Bobby is a violent bully who is obsessed with gay porn and uses it to dominate his friends. Marty has sex with Lisa Connelly (Rachel Miner) but Bobby beats him unconscious. Lisa discovers she's pregnant and convinces Marty to take out Bobby. She starts recruits her friends Ali Willis (Bijou Phillips), Donny Semenec (Michael Pitt), Heather Swallers (Kelli Garner) and her cousin Derek (Daniel Franzese). The incompetent teens can't get up the courage and decide to get 'hitman' Derek Kaufman (Leo Fitzpatrick) to help.This tale of disenfranchised youth is quite compelling. The young cast is haunting. Renfro, Miner and Stahl are perfect at being these kids who are spending all their time drinking, smoking and going nowhere. This is very much like River's Edge. Director Larry Clark, who directed Kids, is leering a lot at the young people's bodies. The meandering plot and the aimless teens keep the tension not that high. There are some interesting work from the actors.

Larry Clark and his controversial flicks. If you have seen one of his flicks you know what you will get. A lot of blah blah, teenagers having sex and go skating. Not that in, again, a controversial flick. This is the flick people liked the most coming from his hand because it is based on the murder of Bobby Kent. Two things make it controversial. Teens having sex, do smoke dope and are just hanging around. People will be offended by the nudity of the teens but Larry knew the law, they are all above 18. But they are all unknown 'artists' The second thing that makes it hard to watch is the fact that friends can influence each other to murder a good friend. That it all happened in real life makes it more weird. Just watch they way Bobby was killed...it's not for the easy offended. It's a rather difficult flick to watch due a lot of senseless conversations and the way they are talking to kill their best friend. It isn't filmed like a big production, it's Larry Clarck so shocking for some it will be.Gore 0,5/5 Nudity 2/5 Effects 2/5 Story 4/5 Comedy 0/5

This movie is so difficult to rate and definitely not for everyone! If it wasn't based (supposedly very accurately) on a true story, it would be hard to believe kids (and parents) are this trashy, ignorant, & self destructive. It's difficult to watch the graphic rape, nudity, porn, teen sex and bullying, but I understand the movie was trying to show how these kids were so casual about sex and had no self respect, dignity or skills to stand up for themselves. If it wasn't for the fact that it was true, I would've thought this just a stupid, explicit, gratuitous, teen sex film. On the other hand this movie can really open our eyes to how desensitized, ignorant and/or oblivious our society can be to the degradation caused by casual sex, bullying, drugs, teen peer pressure, violent video games, lazy parenting, etc. It's shocking how time after time we hear about kids killing and raping and how disconnected the parents are to the life their kids have been living. **Spoilers** This story shows a "boy", Bobby, who has bullied (mentally & physically) his best friend, Marty, all through their childhood. He rapes and mistreats other friends, and is finally killed, through mob mentality, drug influenced, ignorant revenge, but there is so much more to the story. Although this movie is centered on the teens I was disturbed by the parents who give their kids cars, money, no restrictions, and who turn a blind-eye, just letting their kids waste their lives away, hanging out with other deadbeat friends, doing drugs and not giving them any expectations, rules or building blocks to life and self respect. I was frustrated that the parents are so oblivious to their kids cries for help...like the passiveness and ignorance of a mom who lets her daughter hang out in her bedroom (door closed) with boys and girls, doing drugs, making out...and plotting murder; a son who comes to the dinner table in only boxer shorts, with a bruised face and begging his parents to move away from this neighborhood and they just yell at him that they aren't moving; a teen girl who's parents take care of her baby while she runs around half naked, hanging out with friends, having sex, and doing drugs; and the one parent that seems to be hands-on, trying to set expectations and goals for his kid, does it in such a forceful (bulling) way, with no care of the kids thoughts or feelings, that he drives his son to act out his lack of control and frustrations, out on his friends. It's unbelievable and shocking! There are lessons to be learned through this movie, but I doubt that the people who need the lessons would watch or understand. Because of the content (full nudity, sex, rape, porn) you can't really show this movie to kids and it's even too hard-core for teens. Maybe it will further open up the eyes of some of society to what is happening out there in some families, but I'm left with the question...what can we do about it?? The main lessons are to be engaged/involved with your kids! Listen! Be aware!! Don't conform to society... Don't let them do things just because "everyone else is doing it"...like going to unsupervised homes, dressing slutty, playing violent videos, being disrespectful... Parents do have more control over teens than they think...take away privileges: their cars, their phones, money they don't earn and enforcing curfews & restrictions. But the key is Love and Respect and to be involved and hands-on when they are young. If you instill respect, empathy, compassion and self-esteem from when they are babies, you won't have half as much trouble with them when they are older...I digress... anyway, I give it 3 stars for all the nudity, sex, porn, and disgusting content but 7 stars for the truth, grittiness and showing the mentality of these people and situation. I know it's contradictory, but I guess I just want to warn people that it is an interesting story, but definitely hard to view and not for everyone IMHO! March 2014

What I like about this film was the way it made me think about things, how teenagers think, how naive they are, how a bit of guidance was required, and how they'd feel about what they had done later in life.The film started by doing a good job of making me fell that Bobby was a nasty piece of work who deserves what's coming to him, but then you realise they are all a bunch of misguided idiots who probably deserve all they get also.In the end Bobby is a messed-up teenager who has a father who loves him very much, who will be heart-broken by his death, you are led to appreciate that such violent acts have far reaching consequences, there's far more to this than gaining revenge over a bully.The group who plot the deed talk themselves into it, many believing that if they didn't actually push the knife then there was no blood on their hands, just being there didn't equate to taking part.In summary it showed what a mess this was, kids who didn't appreciate the full consequences of what they were doing, all in denial, many felt that telling all their other friends about it was a cool thing to do, and the fact is if they hadn't spent so much time hanging out with each other and had used their time more constructively, none of this would have happened. Mob-mentality took over, each fuelling the other's egos, none wanting to back out in front of the others, bravado leading to the death of a teenager, who just happened to also be a bully, 20 years later they'll be thinking "If only I knew then what I know now"! Great film to watch but recognise the lessons being told!