Review of American: The Bill Hicks Story (2010) by Thomas H — 23 Apr 2011

Just saw this at the Cinema Village theater here in NYC. This is easily one of the best docs I've seen in the last few years. I was already a huge Hicks fan going in, so I didn't expect to learn that much, but this movie absolutely blew me a way.

The most impressive thing about it was the way the director told the story. Most documentaries about famous people gloss over the childhood years and then try to cram in as much overplayed concert footage with soundbites of other famous people talking about how great said famous person was.

Instead, this director chose to focus on Hicks the person, from his early childhood to his very last days. Most of the interviews were with his close childhood friends and family. The director also used a technique combining cutouts of still photos and moving CG backdrops to recreate pivotal scenes in Hicks's early years.

All of this painted a picture of how Hicks evolved from a child-prodigy club comedian into an enlightened, biting social commentator. This documentary is a fitting tribute to his life. I can't recommend it enough.