The legend that was Bill Hicks might be gone but he's certainly not forgotten. A British documentary opens in London next month shedding new light on the life of the great American stand-up.
From stuntmen walking between the Twin Towers to legendary Italian fashion moguls, documentaries have become the cooler, edgier cousin of regular films, and next month's new offering at the cinema is no exception. American: The Bill Hicks Story, released in mid-May at selected picture houses across London, chronicles the life of cult comedy legend Bill Hicks, whose confrontational attitude to politics, drugs and religion shook the stand-up world.
Hicks, who died in 1994 from pancreatic cancer, aged 32, was kept somewhat on the backburner in the US comedy circuit, never achieving the mainstream success of a Jay Leno or a Steve Martin despite several HBO specials and Letterman appearances. It was in England, where everyone loves a spot of bitter sarcasm, that he truly made his name and was recognised as one of the great American comedy exports, which is perhaps why British documentary makers Matt Harlock and Paul Thomas decided to chronicle his life.
American, which premiered at US festival South by Southwest last month, focuses on Hicks' upbringing in the conservative Christian state of Texas and his rise to (relative) fame, as well as some of his best comedy moments. "How about a positive LSD story?", he quips in the trailer, "Wouldn't that be newsworthy? 'Today a young man on acid realised that all matter is merely energy condensed to a slow vibration'." There's also interviews with the comedian's family and friends, including last year's Boston Comedy Festival winner Dwight Slade, who performed in a double act with Hicks when the boys were teenagers.
Like all truly convincing rebels, Hicks had ongoing struggles with drug and alcohol addiction, which possibly contributed to his early death, though he was clean at the time he was diagnosed with his illness. His initial move to Los Angeles as a youth to achieve fame in the stand-up circuit crashed and burned in substance abuse, and he was forced to return home to Houston to get clean.
Still, despite these struggles, or perhaps because of them (there's no-one more worthy of legend status than someone who never quite attains mainstream success), Hicks achieved a rock star level of popularity at his peak in the UK. That's no doubt why this documentary release has already caused quite a splash - after an overwhelmingly positive reception at South by Southwest, it's scored four and five star reviews all over town and has been picked as the must-see of the summer by several of the more prominent film nerd sites.
You can see American: The Bill Hicks Story from May 14th at Curzon Soho, Greenwich Picture House, Odeon Covent Garden, the Ritzy and Screen on the Green. Whether you're a long-time fan or a new generation comedy connoisseur, it should be well worth catching.
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