Beystiman It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Invaderbank The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Kirandeep Yoder The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

Jack` Harding If you've never heard of Bill Hicks, I'm guessing you've heard of Muhammad Ali. That brash and forthright hero of boxing who was much more than just a sportsman; a social and political icon who through his actions, words and spirit, inspired millions. Though revered the world over and without a doubt "up there", Ali is seldom considered the best boxer ever. What's this got to do with the late stand-up comedian Bill Hicks? Well, he too may not have been the finest his medium had to offer, but he's certainly the most important.In the first official documentary feature about his life, American is a stylish and moving experience that charts Hicks' physical and spiritual journey through the stand-up circuit, both off stage and on; his quest for success that would transform him from one of the brightest young talents in stand-up to the ranting, renegade genius whose mind-opening material went beyond comedy and changed it forever.Made with the full cooperation of Hicks' family and friends, novice directors Matt Harlock and Paul Thomas have crafted an essential look into one of the most devalued and influential figures of the modern age whose unsung words of rage and wisdom still ring true over a decade on from his untimely death.Though frank and sometimes vicious in his observations of American life and politics, Hicks is portrayed as a hopeless romantic; the ultimate patriot who believed in a better world. His was the voice his country needed, just not the one it wanted. Such was his domestic anonymity that the bulk of his praise ultimately came from the British public and media who, in the early 1990's, championed his hilarious, homespun satire and antisocial cynicism. What's not to like about taking the mickey out of Americans? The film's finale (an exert from one of his UK shows) is a heartfelt meditation on war and peace that defined what the man was all about, though. Hicks never hated his homeland, he just feared what it had become and thought it could do better.There's more to this documentary than Hicks' fascinating work and ideals, though. A level of cohesion and humanity is found in the film's attention to detail regarding Hicks' estranged personal life; from his alcoholism and regular drug use to his lone life on the road and fatal date with pancreatic cancer. Hicks was also a talented musician and poet whose memoirs and music feature throughout the film in addition to oodles of unseen archival footage and stills from his shows and youth.Despite a slow and sometimes repetitive opening, Harlock and Thomas' off-the-wall documentary is a fresh and thoughtful biopic; an honest and psychedelic fusion of art and artistry that lays bare the heart and soul of an idealist who, if he had lived, may have staged a revolution. Hicks told the truth about the way he saw the world and did so with such humour, such clarity and candour that it riled a lot of people. He inspired a whole lot more, though. His influence on stand-up comedy and comedy, in general, are there for all to see. Bill Hicks achieved something only terrifying artists do- he told us; this is how we live now. American is the quintessential portrait of his life. Unmissable.

ajs-10 To the people in the know, Bill Hicks is revered as one of the greats. I must admit I wasn't all that familiar with his work before seeing this documentary. I may have seen the odd snippet here and there, maybe even caught part of the odd TV appearance when getting back late from the pub, but this is the first time I've actually sat down and watched any his work properly. You'll be pleased to know you've got a convert right here! I can see why he was so successful over here in the UK; his style of humour is just the kind of thing we love. But I digress, here's a bit about the film.We are told the story of Bill Hicks right from birth until his death, tragically young, only 32 years later. It's quite fascinating how he started out as a teenager with his friend Dwight Slade, and how they'd sneak out of the house to go and play gigs at a local comedy club. He gains some success and ends up solo when Dwight has to move away and we follow his career through alcoholism, drug abuse and back again. It's only when he cleaned up that he had his greatest successes though. Sadly he never really made it really big in his home country during his lifetime, but he left us with some truly memorable and thought-provoking comedy… In my book, a genius.Rather than just having lots of talking heads in between scenes of Bill on stage, the filmmakers used some photo-animation to illustrate certain parts of the story. This worked very well and served to keep the audience interested in the narrative. Many of his friends and family contribute to the story, which gives this version of events a lot of credence. I found I was not only intrigued by his life story, but also by his comedy. I will certainly be looking at more of the work of Bill Hicks… Recommended.My Score: 8.2/10.IMDb Score: 7.9/10 (based on 1,716 votes at the time of going to press).Rotten Tomatoes Score: 82/100 (based on 55 reviews counted at the time of going to press).

Stephen Alfieri I remember seeing Bill Hicks perform on various HBO specials in the early - mid '80's. I'd seen him a couple of times on Letterman, and didn't think any more about him, until I had heard that he died at the age of 32 from pancreatic cancer.I'll admit, I was never a big fan of his. I thought that other comedians were doing somewhat similar material, and doing it better. So I watched this "documentary" to see if I could learn what I was missing or not "getting" about Hicks.I'm not sure I was missing anything. This documentary does a fine job of telling you about his origins, and his life and the people he knew. But it does not inform you as to what he believed drove his comedy. It also doesn't discuss the inner demons that he fought or explain why, after working so many years to build a career, he would just walk away from it, just because his act was edited.His "rants" were not the stuff of Lenny Bruce or George Carlin. His talk of drugs was not as clever as Robin Williams or Sam Kinison. So the viewer is left still not able to understand why people love his comedy.The film is told thru stop action animation, which is clever at first, but gets old real fast. It is hard to understand who is doing the talking, because actual live faces or names are rarely flashed on the screen.On the whole, I'm glad I saw the film, but very disappointed with not having any greater insight to the man after having viewed it.6 out of 10

tieman64 "The only downside to listening to Bill Hicks is that, once you've done so, almost every other stand-up comedian will sound like a waste of your time and an insult to your intelligence." - Andrew Mueller "I thought he was the most intelligent, most liberating social and political comic I had ever heard." - John Cleese Though he died in 1994, Bill Hicks' reputation has been growing steadily amongst comedians and comedy aficionados. Like Dean, Cobain, Marley, Morrison, Lennon etc, Hicks' death immortalised him, turned him into a hero, a microphone legend for the disillusioned youth of the 1990s.But to his fans, Hicks was more than an iconoclast. They saw him as prophet, a truth-teller whose message of love, hope, sense and reason lurked closely behind an outer facade of anger and cynicism. Describing himself as "Noam Chomsky with dick jokes", Hicks offered a strange blend of high brow and low brow comedy. He was the Holden Caulfield of stand up, exuding a dangerous and subversive cool. Hicks may once have described humanity as "a virus with shoes", but Hicks was never cynical - just angry and perpetually disappointed, as any compassionate, decent person should be.But it wasn't only his mixture of intellect and humour that made Hicks popular. Everyone loves an underdog, and Hicks was the ultimate showbiz underdog. With cancelled TV shows, censored television appearances and 12 years in the wilderness working in small clubs and empty bars, he struggled to catch a big break. He was hardworking and adored by fellow comedians, but at a time when American conservatism was at its strongest, homeland audiences simply failed to "get" Hicks' act. Then, just when stardom came knocking, Hicks developed pancreatic cancer. His audience didn't know it, but he was dying, his awareness of his impending death tingeing his later shows with a strange sense of melancholy. To some, Hicks' late shows are the closest stand up's ever come to a kind of spiritual comedy. And then Hicks died.Over the years, numerous other comedians would borrow from and be influenced by Hicks. George Carlin's entire late career emulates Hicks, though Carlin substitutes apathy and bitter disenchantment for Hicks hopefulness. Lewis Black, Doug Stanhope, Jon Stewart and a bevy of other comedians (including super-hack Denis Leary) would adopt Hicks' trademarks, mannerisms and intonations to great effect. And though dead, Hicks himself would slowly begin to gain fame. VHS bootlegs and late night HBO airings would spread his name, before the internet generation, and the second Gulf War, popped him back into the limelight. Having broken free of what he called "purple veined dick joke material" and developed a more politically and socially aware philosophy over a decade earlier, the now dead Hicks began to appeal to the jaded, twenty first century audiences of Generation Youtube. It also helped that his rants against the first Gulf War and George Bush Senior translated equally well to Gulf War 2 and George Bush 2.Hicks wasn't political in any complicated, dangerous or sophisticated way, but his scepticism about war, the arms industry, his libertarian view on drugs, his anti-corporate musings, his mocking of the stupid and/or ill-educated, bashing of presidents, love for tobacco etc, were novel on the stand up circuit at the time. Hicks' world-view – we are all energy, money and status are meaningless distractions, authenticity of feeling is paramount, embrace love, not fear – basically made him a hippie disguised as a punk or anarchist. And of course he bashed Rick Astley (of Rick Roll fame) long before anyone else did. Throw in a paedophilic satanic alter ego called Goat Boy, and you had one unique comedian.Directed by Matt Harlock and Paul Thomas, "American: The Bill Hicks Story" is an excellent documentary which has the hard task of making Bill's childhood years interesting, and chartering his long, lonely years on the road. The film consists of interviews with Hicks' family, associates and childhood pals, but the dialogue is sculpted such that the film plays less like a documentary and more like a moving 3 act tragedy. Coupled with this is an impressive style which revokes talking heads in favour for an animation technique which brings to life photographs of Hicks and his circle of friends. Aesthetically, I've never seen a documentary look quite like this.The film touches upon Hicks' childhood, his strict Baptist parents, his early days in comedy clubs, his fondness for Woody Allen and Richard Pryor, the incredibly early age at which he started comedy and his transformation from clean cut comic to ticked off alcoholic. More than this, the films shows why Hicks became the comedians' comedian. He was never sullied by Hollywood success, he was never given the opportunity to sell out, his life was cut short before he got stale and his career coincided with the age of the camcorder, all factors which contributed to his mythologization.8.9/10 – Whether you find Hicks to be good, great or overrated (he was probably a bit of all three), this remains a sad but entertaining doc. Fans may want to check out "Bill Hicks: Agent Of Evolution" and "American Scream: the Bill Hicks story", two books which to a better job at delving into Hicks' life.