Bully (film)

Bully is a 2001 film directed by Larry Clark, based off the true crime novel Bully: A True Story of High School Revenge by Jim Schutze. The film is very loosely based upon the real life murder of Bobby Kent, a notorious bully and jerk who was murdered by his so-called friends, who got sick and tired of his abusive treatment of him.

Bobby Kent (Nick Stahl) is an obnoxious bully who treats his so-called "best friend" Marty (Brad Renfro) like shit, physically abusing him and raping his girlfriend Lisa (Rachel Miner) after knocking Marty unconscious one afternoon.

When Lisa discovers that she's pregnant and her best friend Ali is raped, she gathers together a group of friends to kill Bobby in order to "free" Marty from Bobby. Marty agrees after finding out that Bobby raped Lisa and that there is a chance he is the father of Lisa's child. They recruit a "mafia hitman" (in truth, an unemployed wannabe braggart played by Larry Clark regular Leo Fitzpatrick) to help them with killing Bobby. But despite the "Hitman" warning them to take the secret to their graves, the girls in the conspiracy start gabbing to strangers and ultimately the whole plot is exposed and the group arrested. The film ends with the group in court, meeting for the first time and squabbling with each other, unintentionally confessing to their crimes in full view of everyone in the courtroom as they curse out each other over who cut a deal to testify in exchange for a lesser sentence and Marty chewing out an accomplice (Michael Pitt) who delivered the fatal blow, who defiantly refuses to acknowledge doing anything wrong.

While the film reveals the ultimate sentences for those involved with the killing, it does not include in its post-script the fact that Lisa and Ali (who basically spearheaded the murder plot) ultimately had their lengthy sentences shortened and were released right before the film's release. Or the fact that Marty, sentenced to death, managed to get his sentence appealed and reduced to life in prison or that one of the defendants who cut a death for his testimony, lied on the stand and got an extra couple of years for perjury.

For the video game also named "Bully", which is unrelated to the films, go here.


 * Anything That Moves: Ali
 * Asshole Victim
 * The Bully: Bobby Kent. Also, the whole movie is based on this trope.
 * Depraved Homosexual: Bobby.
 * Expy: A couple of the characters play a Mortal Kombat expy, complete with digitized actors and babalities, in case you wouldn't make the connection.
 * Rape and Revenge: Bobby rapes Lisa and later Ali which lead both of them to plan revenge against him with their friends.
 * Rape as Drama
 * Slashed Throat
 * Smoking Hot Sex
 * Teens Are Monsters:
 * Troubled Fetal Position
 * Where Are They Now? Epilogue: Subverted in that Larry Clarke lazily only showed their initial sentences upon their convictions, omitting the fact that the ringleaders of the plot managed to get their sentences reduced and were already back on the streets, while Marty managed to get his death sentence converted to life in prison.