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Somewhere in the middle of nowhere, USA: Youngsters Devon (Alexander
Fraser), Becky (Alicia Rose) and Garrett (Darren Hicks) are the best of
friends, mainly because they are equally geeky, live in their online games
and RPGs rather than the real world, and shun outdoor activities. Becky is
also madly in love with Devon, but he doesn't seem to notice. Of course
the three are prime victims of bullies, first and foremost John (Daren
Ackerman) and his gang, but at least they've got one another, right. Thing
come to a bit of a head when John confiscates an at least for high school
students priceless book on roleplay demons to use its pictures for target
practice ... and when Devon, not exactly a tough guy, actually does the
heroic thing to get it back, despite the fact that John and company are
armed and could easily beat him in a fight anyways, they force him to say
he's gay on video, then beat him up on camera to later put this up on the
internet to shame him in front of everybody. Badly bruised, Devon goes
to school the next day, only to be shamed by everybody. He soon shows
suicidal tendencies, but Becky convinces him to fight back, and she soon
finds out John might have a gay side himself and tries to hide this by
humiliating others. Fact is, Devon and John were best friends once, and
John had once written Devon a love letter - which Devon has kept. So she
puts a video on the internet to blackmail John into removing the video in
which Devon is beaten up, otherwise they will reveal John's big secret.
Devon and Becky get so excited by this that they finally confess their
love to one another and have sex. There's a problem though: When Devon
takes Becky home later that night, they are picked up by John and his
girlfriend Shelly (Dara Davey), who's really into sick stuff, and he's
hellbent on silencing Devon and Becky - because that loveletter of his,
that was only the tip of the iceberg, and there are some sad truths about
him that might have made him the bully that he is in the first place ... Adrienne
King plays the principal of Devon's school, in constant conflict with his
committed English teacher Patrick Ford, as neither of them knows a recipe
against bullying. I will say this up front, All American
Bully is not totally free of clichés that come with the topic as
such, and some sequences might come across as rather blunt - but it's also
a movie that takes its topic seriously rather than presenting it in a
"movie of the week" sort of way, meaning it looks beyond the
surface, and not only by presenting us with well-known facts like
"every bully is a victim too", but also portraying the
helplessness and (well-meaning) empty phrases that are often used by
persons of authority to fight bullying. Fact is of course, the film can't
offer any easy answers, either - but it at least shows how complex the
problem is. And add to that a very engaging directorial effort that really
makes the scenes that are to disturb properly disturbing instead going for
spectacle (one rape scene is particularly off-putting, and rightly so),
and a very competent ensemble cast, and you've got one good movie that
gets its message across - just by telling a very emotional story really
well.
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amazon.co.uk
amazon.de
eThaiCD.com
find All American Bully at adultvideouniverse.com
