SXSW 2010 Review: American: The Bill Hicks Story

For me, and possibly a majority of America, the name Bill Hicks is familiar but not a name that brings back memories. ¬†Hicks was a stand up comedian who tragically passed away before he was fully accepted in his homeland. ¬†Given that his material has become a even more topical in the last few years, he’s had a little more media exposure. ¬†American: The Bill Hicks Story looks to continue that pattern and gives us a unique glimpse into Hicks’ life through interviews with his friends and family as well as stock footage of the man performing. ¬†Even with the deluge of documentaries I’ve sat through this week at SXSW, this was easily my favorite.

The movie begins with several interviews, with each participant describing their relationship to Hicks. ¬†From that point however, the normal “talking head” approach to biographical documentaries is eschewed by co-directors Matt Harlock and Paul Thomas. Instead, they continue the film through a series of animated photographs of Bill and the person being interviewed. It might sound kind of gimmicky, and at first I had that same thought. ¬†But after a while, it actually became rather awesome. ¬†There’s only so much stock footage they can source from to recreate some of these moments from Hicks’ career. ¬†But there are countless stacks of photographs from that era to help illustrate the significant parts of his life.

Speaking of those moments, did I mention how funny this movie was? ¬†It’s just a testament to how on fire Hicks was with his comedy. ¬†Go ahead, go grab some audio from a stand up act in the early 90s and try to argue it still has relevance. ¬†Now I’m sure we were merely shown the choice acts from Hicks but I was still shocked at how well it relates with today’s political landscape. ¬†It’s very trite to say and I’m really late to the party, but the man was very much ahead of his time.

At the same time, the doc doesn’t shy away from showing some of the dark paths Hicks took during his life. ¬†The details on his alcoholism were pretty harrowing, especially when they describe a show he did lying on his back while he just screamed. ¬†There are some extended portions discussing his experimenting with drugs and how it influenced his comedy. ¬†It’s rather ballsy stuff when you’re trying to take such polarizing subjects like drugs and alcohol and want to endear Hicks to an audience that could find this lifestyle offensive. ¬†They handle it in a way that’s rather classy though. ¬†Not sure where I’m going with this, but suffice to say I was impressed with them not holding back on this portion of Hicks’ story.

The movie a celebration of Bill Hicks’ life and is a way for a guy like me, who doesn’t really know about Hicks, to get introduced to his material. ¬†Bottom line, even if you’re not a Hicks fan, this is a movie you need to check out. ¬†This guy should have been a huge star and unfortunately he just never was. ¬†Also, the directors, Hicks’ brother, and his mother were in attendance for the screening. ¬†His brother stated during the post screening Q/A that if you’re at all interested in seeing this film, you should visit this site and join their Facebook fan page or follow them on Twitter. ¬†He also mentioned that they have 200 hours of video, 400 hours of audio, and several music recordings Hicks did that may be released to the public in the fall.

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