Review of American: The Bill Hicks Story (2010) by Paul D — 05 Jun 2010

Although it's clearly a biased documentary with a somewhat overbearing style, the new British film detailing the chaotic life of the late great American comedy legend Bill Hicks is incredibly worth watching for fans of Hicks and stand-up comedy in general. Using a strange form of animation, which makes old photographs come to life in almost 3-D settings, co-directors Matt Harlock and Paul Thomas stay away from boring shots of talking heads and spend most of the movie either showing you private moments between Hicks and his friends and family with their strange photoshop effects, or (more effectively) archive footage of Hicks' most aggressive stand-up. It's a winning combo, but it's the stand-up that makes this all work, as Hicks never gets old and he was always spot on with his commentary.

Hicks was a Texan comedian who pissed off many with his observations on war, religion, drugs, and commercialism, but he never quite took off in the U.S. He hit it big in Britain, where topical humor is much more welcome, and (not mentioned in the film) appeared on a Tool album near his death. He died of cancer in Little Rock in the early 90s just as his star was rising in the U.S., after his final televised stand-up performance was cut from the David Letterman show (it was eventually broadcast many years later). He spent most of his early adult life experimenting with drugs, particularly mushrooms, but laid off as he got older, just smoking like a freight train during his stand-up. One could tell he was a passionate, intelligent, uncompromising individual, and the film honors that.

I've always wondered why he didn't achieve the same level of fame as many lesser comedians. The documentary suggests that the typical stand-up audience had no interest in deeper issues, and at times it seems Hicks is less a stand-up comedian and more a political rabble-rouser. One can sense the unease in the audience when he bashes religious hypocrisy (after being threatened by a group of offended Christians after a performance, Hicks says, "Oh, you're Christians? Forgive me, problem solved.") and the Desert Storm war, which was being televised at the time. He was ahead of his time in the same ways that Sam Kinison and Mitch Hedberg were, and helped pave the way for darker, more intellect-driven humor to slowly work its way into the mainstream. Without Bill Hicks, it's doubtful we would have Jon Stewart or Lewis Black in such high demand.

While the documentary doesn't offer the same level of depth or mind-blowing insight you could find in the best stand-up of Hicks, it is a worthy and sweet-natured documentary, featuring interviews with his family and friends narrated over many of the pictures. At the end of the day it's a nice tribute to the man and the comedian, although it lacks on content at times, but it's the brilliant and blistering stand-up and voice of the man that carries the movie through and makes it almost immediately re-watchable.