Review of American: The Bill Hicks Story (2010) by Chris P — 31 May 2010

Ah, the joy of watching someone being fabulously funny whilst attacking the very foundations of the society he lives in. My favourite sequence in this frank but affectionate documentary is Hicks's mercilessly accurate diatribe against the advertising industry, aimed very pointedly indeed at anyone in his audience who works in said industry; it left me wiping away tears of laughter and wishing that Bill was here to lacerate today's corporate culture. Sadly that's not so, but his story is entertainingly recounted here by those who knew him best.

The highlights are, of course, the clips of Bill performing, documenting his rise from a local comedy club to network TV appearances. However, the narrative sections are a lot of fun too, with some clever use of photomontage and animation to fill in the parts of Hicks's life story for which film footage was not available. The film is very frank about the extent of its subject's problems with alcohol, but the dark, misanthropic side of his personality that was so vividly apparent in his last recordings isn't represented much here. I'd have liked to have heard a little more about Bill's state of mind as he recorded the shockingly bilious 'Rant In E Minor' album. But this is an inspiring, illuminating and gloriously funny film.