Review of Bully (2001) by Eric S — 21 Jun 2008
Coming out of the movie, I suspect viewers will understand "Bully" as either complete farce, pedophile melodrama, or some mixture thereof. The way I see it, "Bully" is a comedy with ambivalent leanings towards drama.
The film is laced with artistic trappings that are both legitimate and self-effacing (i.e., the blue shot of Rachel Miner on the toilet). Larry Clark again displays a familiarity with subcultures on the periphery of suburbia: I'm thinking the Twink club and tough guys, mainly.
His greatest accomplishment portraying the so grotesquely, doing that canny filmmaker thing of titillating and disgusting the viewer simultaneously. The last act, where their scheme is unbound by the foaming idiot guilt of one character is among the funniest I've ever seen.
I am not ashamed to say this movie turns me on. Except for the Twinks, the rapes, and the part when the camera goes straight up Bijou Phillips' vagina, everything else is an overabundance of nearly illicit stimuli.
This review of Bully (2001) was written by Eric S on 21 Jun 2008.
Bully has generally received positive reviews.
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