American: The Bill Hicks Story
Variance Films | Release Date: April 8, 2011 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
55
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 12 Critic Reviews
Positive:
4
Mixed:
8
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
EmpireDan JolinApr 4, 2011
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. Read full review
75
Portland OregonianShawn LevyApr 14, 2011
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. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesKevin ThomasApr 14, 2011
Posthumous albums and now this film are securing his legacy and enduring influence. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeApr 4, 2011
A portrait of the short-lived artist that will move fans while letting the uninitiated witness enough onstage highlights to leave them wanting more. Read full review
60
The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisApr 7, 2011
An oddly sterile documentary inspired by a particularly fecund imagination, American: The Bill Hicks Story recounts a bright-burning life while leaving us mostly in the dark. Read full review
60
Time OutMatthew LoveApr 6, 2011
Hicks is undoubtedly missed, but this attempt to commune with this social critic's spirit falls frustratingly short of his brilliance. Read full review
60
VarietyJoe LeydonApr 4, 2011
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. Read full review
58
NPRIan BuckwalterApr 7, 2011
There's a great deal of promise and potential in the idea of a documentary study of Hicks. Unfortunately, American falls short of anything beyond the ordinary. Part of the problem is the difficulty in resisting the temptation to squeeze the comic's story into the familiar confines of a VH1 Behind the Music-style template. Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderJ.R. JonesApr 28, 2011
Main drawback is a relative dearth of clips showing Hicks in his ferocious prime, so if you come away from this wondering what all the fuss is about. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubNathan RabinApr 7, 2011
Like "Man In The Moon," American applies a thick gloss of reverence and sentimentality to the story of a comic pioneer who made his living challenging the kinds of neat, convenient, slickly packaged narratives presented here. Read full review
50
Village VoiceAndrew SchenkerApr 5, 2011
Hicks's shtick is so good and his life so ordinary that it's hard to escape the feeling that we might've been better off just watching a compilation of the groundbreaking funnyman's work. Read full review
40
Boxoffice MagazineSara Maria VizcarrondoApr 6, 2011
This foreign view of the subject is anthropologically useful, however the film's photo animation technique transforms family photos (used extensively to fill in historical plot holes) into something that resembles zombie-resurrection. Read full review
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