Bully (2001 film)

Bully
File:BullyMovie.jpg
Directed by	Larry Clark
Written by	Jim Schutze (novel) Zachary Long Roger Pullis
Produced by	Chris Hanley Don Murphy Fernando Sulichin David McKenna (uncredited)
Starring	Brad Renfro Rachel Miner Nick Stahl Bijou Phillips Michael Pitt Kelli Garner Leo Fitzpatrick Daniel Franzese
Distributed by	Lion's Gate Entertainment Canal Plus
Release date	15th June 2001
Running time	113 min. (uncut version) 109 min.
Country	USA
Language	English
Budget	N/A

Bully is a 2001 movie, based on actual events, which stars Brad Renfro, Rachel Miner, Bijou Phillips, Nick Stahl, and Michael Pitt. It was written by Zachary Long and Roger Pullis in adaptation from the book Bully: A True Story of High School Revenge (ISBN 0-380-72333-6) by Jim Schutze.

Marty Puccio (Renfro) and his girlfriend Lisa Connelly (Miner) plot the murder of Bobby Kent (Stahl) in revenge for Bobby's continual abuse and psychological games which he has inflicted upon them. They are joined by several friends, including Ali Willis (played by Phillips) as she tricks Bobby into thinking they are in a relationship. The entirety of the movie's filming took place in September of 2000 and was directed by Larry Clark, whose other film credits include Kids and Ken Park.

Synopsis

Template:Spoiler In the beginning of the film Alice (Ali) and Lisa are shown visiting the workplace of Bobby and Marty. It is here where Bobby's abuse of Marty first becomes apparent. Marty, Bobby, Ali, and Lisa all go out on a double date in Bobby's Camaro which ends in sex. Lisa takes a pregnancy test and learns she is pregnant - most likely with Marty's child. As the movie progresses Bobby's sadistic personality becomes worse and worse culminating in a graphic scene where he rapes Ali while watching gay pornography. As his sadistic behavior continues Lisa gets angered and plans to murder him. After much drug use and a failed attempt at murder (which ends in more sex on the hood of a car) a supposed hitman, played by Leo Fitzpatrick (although as the film progresses it becomes comically apparent that the "hitman" is just a tough-talking adolescent) is hired and Bobby is finally killed. The death scene shows Bobby being stabbed first by Donny, then immediately afterwards he turns to his childhood friend, Marty, asking for help, but is instead stabed again in the stomach this time by Marty. Donny then stabs him multiple times. Dazedly, Bobby wanders out in front of Ali's Mustang, where Marty slits his throat and the hitman crushes his skull with a baseball bat. They then dump his body in a nearby swamp and drive to a beach to formulate their alibis. After the brutal murder of Bobby (Stahl) the six accomplices unravel leading to a police arrest several days later. At the end of the film subtitles show the prison sentences each of the teenagers received. Many were given life sentences and Marty Puccio was put on death row (later overturned to a life sentence).

One of the main elements of the film is the love triangle that develops between Marty, Lisa, and "the Bully" (Stahl). The six main characters have quirks, ranging from Bobby's infatuation with gay pornography to Ali's addiction to kinky sex. The lack of parental control was also a main focus of the film prompting the tagline "Where were the parents?" The film was released to critical acclaim and many compared it as being on par with Clark's earlier work Kids.

Actual events

The movie is based on the murder of Bobby Kent in a suburb south of Fort Lauderdale, Florida in 1993. Marty Puccio (Renfro), Alice Willis (Phillips), Lisa Connelly (Miner), and others are the real life counterparts of the characters in the film. Many of the teenagers depicted in the book and film are still serving prison sentences. The book Bully: Does Anyone Deserve to Die? was released in 1998.

Cast

Actor	Role
Brad Renfro	Marty Puccio
Rachel Miner	Lisa Connelly
Bijou Phillips	Ali Willis
Nick Stahl	Bobby Kent
Michael Pitt	Donny Semenec
Leo Fitzpatrick	Derek Kaufman (The Hitman)
Kelli Garner	Heather Swallers
Daniel Franzese	Cousin Derek
Nathalie Paulding	Claudia
Jessica Sutta	Blonde
Edward Amatrudo	Fred Kent
Steven Raulerson	Mr. Willis
Judith Clayton	Mrs. Willis
Alan Lilly	Mr. Puccio
Irene B. Colletti	Mrs. Puccio

Differences between film and real life

• The actual murder took place in 1993, yet the film takes place around the time the film was made (in about 1999 or 2000).
• Only three of the actors even resemble the characters they are playing: Brad Renfro as Marty Puccio, Daniel Franzese as Derek Dzvirko, and Michael Pitt as Donny Semenec. The rest of the actors do not come close to looking like the people they are portraying. Examples:
• Nick Stahl's portrayal of Bobby Kent. Stahl stands at 5'10, is relatively slim, and is White. The real Bobby Kent was Iranian and stood at 6'-4", and was muscular[1
• Rachel Miner's portrayal of Lisa Connelly. Miner is of average weight, pale, and has red hair. The real Lisa Connelly was overweight and had platinum blond hair.
• Leo Fitzpatrick's portrayal of Derek Leon Kaufman. Leo Fitzpatrick is 5'-9" and has black hair. The real Derek Kaufman was 6'-3" and had blonde hair.[1]
• Bijou Phillips' portrayal of Ali Willis. Bijou Phillips is white and stands at 5'-4". The real Ali Willis stood at 5'-0".
• Kelli Garner's portrayal of Heather Swallers. Kelli Garner is 5'-5½" and blonde. The real Heather Swallers had jet black hair and stood at 4'-11".

Notes

1. ^ James Berardinelli 2001 A review of Bully

External links

• Bully at IMDb
• Larry Clark's Official Site

Information on actual participants

• Martin Puccio's Court Case