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According to Robert Scucci
| Published
I can’t think of a stand-up comedian more heartfelt, deeper, and more volatile than the late great Bill Hicks. At the ripe old age of 32 after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 1994, Hicks shook off his terminal condition and left behind a treasure trove of dark comedy that was not only in-your-face, but also socially conscious and prophetic to the point that it still resonates with die-hards comedy fans. After a recent revision American: The Bill Hicks Story on Tubi, it didn’t take long to burn my copy of it Healthy man strange to watch the master at work as he screamed, chain-smoked and thrashed about the stage like a madman with an ax he was grinding as he used a microphone to point out all the problems of modern America after Ronald Reagan turned the world into “the third shopping mall from the sun.”
A celebration of the life and times of Bill Hicks
The American: The Bill Hicks Story is a telling documentary about Bill “The Dark Poet” Hicks’ upbringing and his early love for the craft of stand-up comedy, all the way through his tragic and untimely death and everything in between. Through archival footage and interviews with those closest to him The American: The Bill Hicks Story pulls back the curtain on his early days as a young man who wanted to shake up the world, who was critical of religious dogma and consumerism, global militarization and the decline of the American dream as he saw it. But beneath his cynical veneer, Hicks dreamed of a future in which we would stop fighting wars and start using our abundant resources to explore space together in peace and harmony.
That said, Bill Hicks might have looked like the worst cynic you’d ever want to hang out with, especially during his drug days, but The American: The Bill Hicks Story he points out that he was more of a disappointed optimist than anything else.
Brilliantly edited
Through stories from his parents and his childhood friend, Dwight Slade, The American: The Bill Hicks Story is unlike any documentary I have ever seen. Matt Harlock and Paul Thomas directed and edited the whole thing documentary using archival footage and old photos of Hicks. But I’m not just talking about B-rolls that play out on screen while a voice-over narrates the whole thing like your typical documentary, but rather a style of animation that jumps off the screen almost as if the viewer is allowed to travel with Hicks as his life unfolds. unfolds kaleidoscopically for all to see.
During the sections American: Bill Hicks Story which highlight his drug use before adopting a lifestyle of sobriety (although he never stopped smoking or extolling the virtues of mind-altering substances), the visuals are quite edgy as we watch the brilliant young mind struggle with his personal demons and struggle to find a voice, for which will eventually be known and celebrated.
Streaming American: The Bill Hicks Story
If you’re one of those comedy fans who doesn’t appreciate Bill Hicks’ harsh and often bleak outlook on the world, but wants to understand why comedians hold him in such high esteem, then The American: The Bill Hicks Story must be seen. You may not agree with his politics (or even like his sense of humor), and I’m not here to push you one way or the other, but his passion for setting the stage on fire with his bombastic delivery makes a lot more sense when you learn where he came from as a tired a young man who relentlessly watched comedy as if it were his only lifeline until the day he died.
The American: The Bill Hicks Story he also gets points for not being all sunshine and candy when retelling his life story. But when his family, friends and creative cohorts look back on his journey, their stories come from a place of love, knowing what a special human being he really was, despite his many faults. Bill Hicks burned bright and flew too close to the sun on many occasions, but every up and down throughout his career helps paint a complete picture of how he was ahead of his time and why his voice is so sorely missed.
As of this writing, you can stream American: The Bill Hicks Story free on Tubi.
