Bully

**Bully** is a 2001 American crime drama film directed by Larry Clark which first premiered at Method Fest on June 15, 2001 and given a theatrical release on July 14, 2001 by Lionsgate Films.

It is based on the 1993 murder of Bobby Kent in Weston, Florida and the screenplay was adapted from Jim Schutze's book, "Bully: A True Story of High School Revenge."

## Plot

The film follows a group of teenagers in South Florida who come up with a murder plot against a friend of theirs who has physically, emotionally and sexually abused them for years.

## Cast

* Brad Renfro as Martin "Marty" Puccio
* Bijou Phillips as Ali Willis
* Rachel Miner as Lisa Connelly
* Nick Stahl as Bobby Kent
* Michael Pitt as Donny Semenec
* Leo Fitzpatrick as Derek Kaufman
* Kelli Garner as Heather Swallers
* Daniel Franzese as Derek Dzvirko

## Production

Brad Renfro was arrested during filming for attempting to steal a yacht.

In 2018, Daniel Franzese revealed that Bijou Phillips subjected him to homophobic bullying and fat shaming, and that the producers looked the other way & allowed Phillips to continue the behavior because she came from a famous family. However, Franzese said that his co-stars Michael Pitt, Brad Renfro and Nick Stahl all repeatedly and vocally stood up for him and called Phillips out on her behavior, with Stahl trying to convince her to apologize.

### Filming

Principal photography on "Bully" began August 21, 2000 in Florida (in Lauderhill, Cooper City, Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, Pembroke Pines and Miramar) and lasted for 23 days.

## Box Office

"Bully" grossed $47,502 during its opening weekend, $480,811 domestically & $704,808 worldwide.

## Critical Reception

"Bully" has received mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has an approval rating of 54% based on 91 reviews with an average score of 5.7 out of 10. The critical consensus states: *"With its lingering shots of naked teenage bodies, Bully feels more sordidly exploitative than realistic."*

The film holds a score of 45 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on 26 critics indicating "mixed or average reviews."

Roger Ebert was one of the film's notable admirers and gave the film four out of four stars and stated in his review: *"Larry Clark's Bully calls the bluff of movies that pretend to be about murder but are really about entertainment. His film has all the sadness and shabbiness, all the mess and cruelty and thoughtless stupidity of the real thing...If the director doesn't have a strong personal feeling about material like this, he shouldn't be making movies about it...Clark is not some objectified, outside adult observer making an after-school special, but an artist who has made a leap into this teenage mindscape...I believe Bully is a masterpiece on its own terms, a frightening indictment of a society that offers absolutely nothing to some of its children—and an indictment of the children, who lack the imagination and courage to try to escape. Bobby and his killers deserve one another."*

David Ansen of Newsweek described "Bully" as *"ferocious and sometimes creepily funny"* while the Boston Globe said that it had *"nothing new to say, and, in the end, no real point to make."*

Writing for the Philadelphia Inquirer, Carrie Rickey said: *"[Larry] Clark denies his audience the catharsis, resolution and renewal of classical tragedy" and that the film "reduces its viewers to helplessness, and I'm not sure that's its intent."*

Kevin Thomas of The Los Angeles Times said that Larry Clark *"has come up with a film that is seriously flawed."* David Edlestein from Slate called it *"a riot of sleazy camera moves, bad acting, and maladroit profane dialogue."*

J. Hoberman from the Village Voice wrote: *"The script is worse than slack, and despite its lurid premise, Bully doesn't have "Kids" tabloid immediacy."*

Dana Stevens of the New York Times called the film *"genuinely disturbing"* and *"merely disgusting."*