American: The Bill Hicks Story

2009 Documentary

Bill Hicks was a comedian, though that term hardly describes the full range and impact of his work. Hicks used comedy a vehicle to express both rage and hope, to satirize what he saw as faulty in contemporary society and to promote his singular notion of a better world. Growing up in Houston, TX, Hicks began performing at the age of 15, and after earning a large and loyal following in Texas, he moved to L.A. and began working the comedy circuit nationwide. As Hicks maintained a punishing touring schedule (often performing 250 to 300 nights a year), he kept honing and refining his act, combining acidic political and social commentary with tales of his sexual obsessions, surreal visions of the world around him, and experiences with drugs. In 1990, Hicks performed in the United Kingdom for the first time, and there he became a star, though he failed to attract the same sort of audience in the United States. A few years later, Hicks seemed on the verge of a commercial breakthrough in America when he learned he had a rare and virulent form of cancer; he died on February 24, 1994, at the age of 32. Filmmaker Matt Harlock and Paul Thomas chronicle the life, art, and philosophy of a singular performer with the documentary American: The Bill Hicks Story. Featuring interviews with Hicks' closest friends and family members, the film uses digital animation to bring his standup routines to life and create a visual compliment to his comedic vision. American: The Bill Hicks Story received its world premiere at the 2009 BFI London Film Festival. more..

Director: Matt Harlock

Starring: Bill Hicks, Mary Hicks, Steve Hicks, Lynn Hicks,Kevin Booth

Reviews

  • From his early days doing stand-up at the age of 15 in Houston, Texas, to his membership of the Texas Outlaws comedy collective, to his supremacy as a brilliant controversist, American tells the story of comedian Bill Hicks' tragically short life through the eyes of those who lived it with him.

    - Empire

    29 November 2012

  • There simply isn't enough footage of their protagonist just being Bill Hicks the guy and not Bill Hicks the comic. Surely he had some interviews or other artifacts they could have used along with all the comedy routines.

    Shawn Levy - Portland Oregonian

    29 November 2012

  • A portrait of the short-lived artist that will move fans while letting the uninitiated witness enough onstage highlights to leave them wanting more.

    John DeFore - The Hollywood Reporter

    29 November 2012

  • Posthumous albums and now this film are securing his legacy and enduring influence.

    Kevin Thomas - Los Angeles Times

    29 November 2012

  • A hagiographic portrait of the standup comic and social satirist who never quite reached beyond cult status in the U.S., American: The Bill Hicks Story might have impressed more of the unconverted had it included more performance footage of its subject.

    Joe Leydon - Variety

    29 November 2012

Awards

  • Best Motion Picture, Documentary

    Satellite Awards (2011)