At the Movies

by Esther McCarthy

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AMERICAN: THE BILL HICKS STORY starstarstarstar

GENIUS AT WORK: Bill Hicks WHEN Bill Hicks died from cancer at the premature age of 32, he had already established himself as one the most renegade and gifted stand-up comics of all time.

Now the man often described as the comedian's comedian is remembered in this two-hour documentary which charts his career and personal demons.

Film makers cleverly use a blend of original footage and animation to chart the influences that first make Hicks take to the stage during his teens, his fixation with being as successful in his home country as he was abroad, and how his work became more politicised as he neared his death.

The movie uses a new technique called photorealism to bring to life the suburban, religious background in which Hicks grew up in Houston, Texas, the worlds that shaped his personality and his comedy, and the tiny comedy clubs in which he first honed his dry, barbed sense of humour and observational style.

His story is recounted partly through his own words and footage, but mostly through the people who knew him best - his parents, lifelong friend Kevin Booth, photographer David Johndrow who charted most of his life, and the comedians who first introduced him into a darker world often associated with drugs and alcohol.

Hicks developed a huge alcohol problem - one which threatened his career as well as his life - before cleaning up his act in his mid-twenties, unfortunately only to be diagnosed with cancer a few years later.

But where the film is at its best is in the latter half, when footage of Hicks working his magic gives the non-initiated a strong idea of why he's become an icon in modern comedy.

What emerges is a film which is never less than interesting to those who know little about Hicks, but an absolute must-see for fans.

American: The Bill Hicks Story is now showing at the IFI and Screen Cinema in Dublin.

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