While I was watching this, I thought to myself that it had to be some sort of satire or twisted dark comedy because nobody could possibly be that stupid. Yet Bully is based on true life events telling the story of a group of teens who decide to kill a bully. It is almost unfathomable that people can be this stupid or so morally cavalier that they openly discuss murdering somebody in a Pizza Hut as if they were discussing what happened on the latest episode of Jersey Shore. There's no way to relate to these kids because nobody in their right mindset could think they way they do; their behavior is beyond comprehension. Yet isn't this what we always tell ourselves when we watch the latest news of school shootings? A kid walks into the cafeteria with an AK-47 because he's been picked on? Obviously it is difficult to really know just how mentally and emotionally damaged these kids are, but it is hard to sympathize with them when they do stuff not only so abhorrent but so absentmindedly.
When you watch the kids in Bully just talk on and on about how they want Bobby Kent dead, you begin to realize that they are not serious about this at all; they're just venting out their frustrations like typical teenage slackers. It is almost as much of a shock to them as it is to Bobby when they find themselves with knives stabbing him. And you can only wonder to yourself, "What the hell are they thinking?" Clearly they don't know themselves.
I suppose my issue with the film is that you cease to care about these kids because of how inanely stupid and unlikeable they are. It's so bizarre because you can't believe anybody could possibly be this dumb, yet it is based on actual events. Somehow though the message gets lost in translation. I feel as though something is missing, it feels entirely too hallow for such a revealing crime. I suppose that may be the point, to show the absurdity and pointlessness of the crime and the moral decay of the slacker counterculture. This point is exemplified by the gratuitous teenage sexuality and drug use throughout the film, but is this film about sex and drugs or is it about a bully and the psychological damage he inflicts?
In the film, Bobby Kent is portrayed as the incarnation of evil. He is verbally and physically abusive to his best friend Marty Puccio and those around him. He is also a remorseless rapist. If somebody ever deserved a harsh lesson it would be him. Marty and his friends have all the reasons in the world to kill him, yet Bully never really connects this psychology to the viewer. Instead it focuses on the endless slackerdom of the conspirators. You know Marty and Lisa are emotionally damaged; is having sex, doing drugs, and getting dumber by the minute their outlet? The frustrating thing for me was that this story is so intriguing, but the film reduces it meaningless, which again I realize was probably the point. I just wish it wasn't presented that way. If you want a good look at bizarre crime stories, you could point to Heavenly Creatures, whose crime it was based upon probably isn't half as interesting, yet is twice as compelling because it captures the psychology of the characters so much better.
Grade: C+
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