AMERICAN: THE BILL HICKS STORY (2009) - ♦♦♦♦

Directed by - Matt Harlock, Paul Thomas

"A documentary on the life and times of one of the most distinctive and controversial American stand up comedians of all time: Bill Hicks.

The film follows his rise to popularity, from his very early beginnings as a kid in his hometown at a time when stand up comedy was just starting to be considered a legitimate career path. But it also follows his well documented drug experimentation, his intense lifestyle and his own reputation as being somewhat of an outrageous comedians, using his form of expression to communicate alternative viewpoints on religion, politics and the mass media - practices that marginalised him from celebrity, fame and fortune.

American: The Bill Hicks Story manages to cram in a lot of information about Bill Hicks' career, but also offers great insight into his personal life, through interviews with friends and family despite having to deal with a lack of archive footage with Bill Hicks on interviews and having to work their way around the lack of primary source archive material creatively, through the use of personal photography and other techniques such as animation.

As a film, its approach is not the most original. Nevertheless, it is an excellent biographical documentary for those who want to know more about the talented comedian who was gone too soon."

Documentary, UK