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Ja'Meya Jackson, Kelby Johnson, Londa Johnson, Bob Johnson, Alex Libby ... see more see more... , Jackie Libby , Philip Libby , Maya Libby , Jada Libby , Ethan Libby , Logan Libby , Kim Lockwood , David Long , Tina Long , Teryn Long , Troy Long , Devon Matthews , Barbara Primer , Kirk Smalley , Laura Smalley , Trey Wallace

Directed by Sundance and Emmy-award winning filmmaker, Lee Hirsch, Bully is a beautifully cinematic, character-driven documentary. At its heart are those with huge stakes in this issue whose stories e... read more read more...ach represent a different facet of America's bullying crisis. Bully follows five kids and families over the course of a school year. Stories include two families who have lost children to suicide and a mother awaiting the fate of her 14-year-old daughter who has been incarcerated after bringing a gun on her school bus. With an intimate glimpse into homes, classrooms, cafeterias and principals' offices, the film offers insight into the often cruel world of the lives of bullied children. -- (C) Weinstein

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105 critics

PG-13, 1 hr. 34 min.

Directed by: Lee Hirsch

Release Date: April 13, 2012

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Flixster Reviews (432)

  • JonathanHutchings
    April 22, 2012
    JonathanHutchings
    Bully definitely has an agenda, and director Lee Hirsch makes no bones about delivering on that premise, but it's an agenda that is real and that has been overlooked for far too long. To point out that the film highlights relatively isolated incidents is to completely miss the po... read moreint: if one kid kills himself as a result of bullying, it's a serious problem. This documentary is a powerful and poignant wake up call to our all-too-apathetic society.
  • flixsterman
    April 21, 2012
    flixsterman
    One of those life-altering documentaries that EVERYONE should see. This isn't a perfect film but its social and ethical significance is immense.
  • fb100001592288964
    April 17, 2012
    fb100001592288964
    Bully is a carefully well-constructed documentary on one of the biggest issues present in the public American education system, which mostly thrives off of its observation of the main subjects/victims. However there are certain parts that are overshadowed by poor camerawork, and ... read morea lack of substance more than just the observing. In addition. similar to the lack of substance, the message its trying to deliver is present throughout, but it's too simple in its overall appeal. Despite the nitpickets I have with it, it's still a movie that should be seen by every pre-teen and teen across the country to be more aware of the bullying crisis in America. However like the Kony 2012 campaign, this film's promotion will simmer down after a short while.
  • CreedsDelight
    April 15, 2012
    CreedsDelight
    Full confession alert: I really disliked Bully. Discussing my hate towards the film will be tough - but it was wasted potential and horribly shot. Although bullying is a serious problem in the country, Bully fails to provide a single statistic regarding the subject. The parts sho... read morewn in the film represent a small number of bully victims, while director Lee Hirsch doesn't inform us of the big picture and how important it is to make a more broad approach to the subject. Even though Hirsch has the best intentions for the film, it does not mean that it a worthwhile film. Additionally, it would have been nice to see some interviews with the bullies - not just the victims, which would make for a different perspective. This is a highly controversial film that most likely won't make a difference nor will it gain a big audience.

    If you're astonished that teens are doing terrible things to one-another in school and officials are unable to do anything about it, I have no idea what planet you have been living on.
  • dunmyer
    April 8, 2012
    dunmyer
    "Bully" is not the best film of 2012, but it is certainly one of the most important. It should be required viewing for all Americans age six and up. It's a long-overdue documentary that tackles what its press material calls "the bullying crisis in America."

    It chronicles the ... read morehorrific torment endured at school by several children. I was especially haunted by the angel with a slightly deformed face who is mercilessly ostracized and abused almost every day. The filmmakers (who deserve some kind of national medal of honor) somehow got permission to tag along with this boy to and from school, capturing on film the abuse he receives. The abusers were not in the slightest put off by the cameras! They're proud of what they do!

    But the film doesn't stop there. It shows what happens when these kids tell adults about what's happening. The adults twist everything and somehow end up protecting the bullies! There's one principal in particular whose twisted mind is exposed brilliantly.

    I feel we need the top psychologists to wrap their minds around this and diagnose this problem. There's some bizarre psycho-social sickness running rampant in American society (and surely other countries as well) that we don't have a name for. This brave film hopefully will move us closer to diagnosis -- and then treatment.
  • DrZeek
    April 3, 2012
    DrZeek
    Alex: I feel like I belong somewhere else.

    There is a certain power in seeing parents and children alike present inexcusable situations to what is supposed to be a collection of people responsible for not only teaching, but leading and protecting a student body, and have them do... read more little to stop it. In Bully, there are a number of scenes that reflect poorly on the actions that are not being taken to stop abhorrent behavior and the audience will react accordingly. This is a documentary that chronicles a few students from schools in a few different states, as they deal with being bullied, which is an interesting idea for a film topic. I do think that a proper message is established by the end of this film, which is commendable, but that said, I also think this film has issues of redundancy and focuses to closely in some areas, while staying away from others that would seem to be just as important. Still, regardless of Bully amounting to being fairly average, and despite its needless controversy, the film presents an important topic, which has enough to make it worthy of a wide audience.

    read the whole review at thecodeiszeek.com
  • ghostdog86
    March 30, 2012
    ghostdog86
    Already the most important Documentary of the year. Like a real time therapy session for anybody who has ever been bullied in school, "The Bully Project" or "Bully" as it has been retitled, may not only be responsible for stirring up more pre-release controversy than any document... read moreary in recent history, but also be one of the timeliest documentaries ever released.

    What director Lee Hirsch tries to do here, is give audiences and inside look at bullying in today's public schools by actually documenting a few victimized teens (ranging in ages from 12 to 16) as they are in the midst of day to day social bullying. The film begins with the story of a boy named Tyler, who killed himself as a direct result of being constantly ridiculed and physically abused from his peers at school. Hirsch films Tyler's parents as they discuss the dire epidemic that is school bullying today, and then we get to see bullying through the eyes of a child in a heartbreaking reality, as Hirsh introduces audiences to Alex, age 12. Alex is an undersized boy who is subjected to constant ridicule and scorn from his peers. And I'm not just talking about older kids at school calling him names. Hirsch follows Alex as he is seen getting his lunch stolen, physically hit in the back of the head, shoved to the ground and in one case stabbed with a pencil on the bus (as the bus driver does nothing). The tragic mental and physical abuse this child goes through will reduce many audience members to tears instantaneously. For others, the emotional damage this young man goes through on screen will be nothing less than anger inducing. If you had forgotten how bad it was being a teenager when you went to school, Alex will serve as a not so subtle reminder of how brutal some kids have it. And what's worse is Hirsch's depiction of how out of touch the adults are with their children, in conjunction with how seemingly unflinching school administrators act when confronted about bullying in their own schools.

    Now "Bully" may sound like a film that is subtly attempting to scapegoat teachers for not taking bullying more seriously. And there is no doubt that some anti-"Waiting For Superman" company man will ridicule this film for placing a lot of the blame on school administrators, but offering up little solutions. But while some can see this film with "blame game" glasses on, the real moral of the story here is only to show how much bullying is in fact a nationwide epidemic, that needs to be addressed in a more serious open forum than it has been (in the past).
    Not to take away from my review, but allow me to be critical for a moment. If I had to say that there was anything essentially wrong with Hirsch's film, I would have to bring up two points of contention:

    1. On a strictly filmmaking note, and not to sound like an uncaring Bully supporting Republican or anything, let's just say (when pertaining strictly to the structure of the film) that not all bullied children are created equal. Aside from Alex, Hirsch also follows Kelby, age 16. She is a lesbian living in the South, reminiscing over all of the verbal and physical abuse she had suffered by the hands of her Bible belt, homophobic peers and teachers; to the point where she had to leave school. So, while her story is compelling, it is told from the point of view of a person who has already been through the ringer, while Alex is seen as still being in the trenches. Hirsch also followed the extreme case of a girl named Ja'Meya, age 14. Ja'Meya is a Southern girl who actually fought back, by taking a gun on the school bus with her after (what seems like) extensive bullying. Ok, so I could see where Hirsch was going with this storyline, attempting to show what a child could be reduced to do under the heightened stress of constant bullying. But watching Ja'Meya's plot play out, it became glaringly apparent that her story doesn't quite fit with the flow of this film. In fact, Ja'Meya's story brings "Bully" to a halt a few times. I really don't know how else to explain it. The truth is, all these two storylines do is amplify how compelling and truly heart-wrenching little Alex's scenes really are. In saying all of that, I am not ridiculing or downplaying what Kelby and Ja'Meya went through. I am strictly (and very slightly) ridiculing the director's storytelling abilities.

    And 2. "Bully" does not touch on any of the online bullying, which (in this reviewer's opinion) will serve as a HUGE mistake on the filmmaker's part. I know that Hirsch finished filming around the same time as all of the online suicides and that rather large anti bullying campaign a few years ago. So for there to be absolutely no mention of cyber-bullying in this film is rather perplexing.

    Final Thought: Unfortunately at times the subject matter of "Bully" is better than the film itself, even though Hirsch does daring work. What I mean by that is, that for how hard hitting his subject matter was, the filmmaking (or how the film was put together) could have been better if it would have included every aspect of bullying. In many ways this film only scratches the surface. In saying that, the film does more than serve its purpose. This isn't just a movie about the struggles of fitting in. This is an uncensored look into a bullying epidemic that up until a few years ago had been mostly swept under the rug of American society. So, even though it is doubtful that "Bully" will be the most well made documentary I see all year, it will most definitely be the most important; and one not only every child should see, but entire families should see together.

    Side Note: Ever since the Weinstein Company has been petitioning the MPAA to assign "Bully" a "PG-13" rating instead of the dreaded "R", there has been controversy surrounding its distribution. There have since been reports that the Weinstein Company plans to release this documentary as "Unrated" to get around the MPAA stranglehold, which may doom it to the dreaded "limited release" realm of no return and rarely seen. High profile advocates of this films message, such as Anderson Cooper, Phil McGraw, Kelly Ripa and novelist Rosalind Wiseman, have ridiculed the MPAA for their seeming attempt to keep children from seeing "a film that every child must see." And I tend to strongly side with their platform. So what is the deal? Why was (until quite recently) "Bully" pulling an "R" rating? Does "Bully" advocate bullying? No. Does it use language that your twelve year son/daughter/sister/brother doesn't hear at school every day of his/her life? No. Is the violence and depictions of ACTUAL Bullying in this film gratuitous? Again, no. And (the one that terrifies the MPAA the most) is there any nudity? NOOOOOO. The biggest controversy of this film, and the main idiotic reason that this film pulled an "R" rating for the longest time, is the fact that audiences will actually see middle school and high school kids visibly getting shoved around, punched, and called awful names. And while the images here will be disturbing to parents and teens alike, they need to be seen by a demographic that is actually living through the controversial themes the movie brings up. The awful truth is that 13 million children are bullied every day. So, for the MPAA to have slapped it with an "R" rating is simply irresponsible. "Bully" is a cut and dry example of subject matter superseding the MPAA's fundamentally rigid beliefs of counting the number of F-bombs in a movie. Watch a documentary called "This Film is Not Yet Rated"; this is nothing new from the geniuses who run the MPAA.

    Written by Markus Robinson, Edited by Nicole I. Ashland

    Please visit my page on Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/x-52464-San-Jose-Indie-Movie-Examiner and leave any comments you have about this or any review. The more hits I get the better. Thank you.

    Follow me on Twitter @moviesmarkus
  • fb20312798
    April 15, 2012
    fb20312798
    If your surprised that teens are awful to one another and that school officials are unable or unwilling to do anything than I don't what planet you've lived on your whole life. The major problem with "Bully" is that it spends too much time presenting "shocking" scenarios and inte... read morerviewing emotionally devastated parents and bullied kids. We all know how out of hand its gotten and that more kids are turning to suicide than ever before but the 'why' is definitely more important than the 'how' or the 'what'. I'm not saying the stories told here don't deserve to be brought to light, I'm saying that the situation is far more complex than what we get a glimpse of in this movie. We never really see the bullies perspective or hear from enough school officials outside of what the filmmakers chose to show us. If 'Bully' is just supposed to be a wake up call society, I don't think it really presents the devastating gravity of the situation. The film ends with a powerful call to action, but what is it asking us to fight against? Bullying has always been a problem, but why has it become so rampant now? In an age of the internet, 24 hour news and a generation of children lost in that overbearing media environment, the answers and solutions are, unfortunately, going to be a lot harder than just social activism.
  • casillase1
    May 12, 2012
    casillase1
    The best documentaries don't just show you an injustice: they make you feel it and make you want to get up and put an end to it. Lee Hirsch's Bully is such a film, a provocative and powerful look an escalating dilemma, bullying, a problem that plagues roughly 13 million kids a ye... read morear, with suicide now being a result. Hirsch puts a face on the statistics by focusing on a handful of young students dealing with bullying in Georgia, Texas, Oklahoma, Mississippi and Iowa. Twelve year old Alex, punched and harassed, with school administrators merely shrugging it off as 'boys will be boys'. Kelby, 16, a student athlete comes out as a lesbian and the subsequent bullying she faces is so intense she's nearly run down by a car. Ja'Meya, 14, becomes so desperate to end the abuse she faces that she takes a handgun onto her school bus and is now facing 22 felony charges. Then there's the families of two kids who took their own lives, one being seventeen, the other being only 11, and attempt to organize on a national level a mission to bring schools to task and bring the issue out into the open. One parent remarks to a school official who tries to downplay the topic 'You politicianed me.' But Bully isn't about politics, it's about the millions of kids crying for help. See it.
  • Lilmovieman271
    April 13, 2012
    Lilmovieman271
    It is hard for me to write a review of this movie without getting personal. I was always the shortest in my class (all the way through college), and was one heck of an easy target for bullies. The only good I can say is that I was never beaten up, but the name calling was everywh... read moreere. Whether it was âAlienâ? (I was a loner when I went to my new school in 3rd grade) or âBig Headâ? (which stuck with me for a long time), I was always picked on even by close friends.

    So when I heard of the movie âBullyâ?, I knew right away I wanted to see it. I was also one of many who were beyond mad at the MPAA for giving the film an R rating (which, after getting rid of a few F bombs, is now PG-13). This makes it easier for teens to see, who are obviously the target audience here.

    Since teens are the target audience, the next comment is meant for them: PLEASE SEE THIS MOVIE. The second target audience would be between parents and teachers, both of whom should also see this movie. Why? All three (teens, parents, and teachers) are needed. One of the best qualities of the movie is that it does not take sides as much as you think. Sure, there is the principal who does not look like she is doing much, but coming from a family of teachers, I know when teachers are trying their hardest.

    One of the kids in the movie, Alex, is told his mistake that he made (as did I when I was a kid): he kept this all to himself. Why? No answer is given, but my guess would be because he (again, like myself) was trying to be his own person, and not seem weak.

    The one flaw with the movie is that it does not get any insight from the bullying perspective (although I doubt a bully would admit what he/she is doing on camera). The closet we get is one friend of a suicide victim, talking about he was a bully at a younger age before he stopped, learning the errors of his ways. Again, this was something I was like as a kid, making jokes of people just to get a laugh without realizing the hurt I was causing others.

    Still, I have been hearing things about whether or not kids should see this, and what age. When I went to the 12:35 show on Friday, I saw about half the audience had brought their kids, about as young as 10. Parents, this is a subject that should always be talked about with your kids, but I feel that they would benefit more from seeing this movie along with the talk. The kids I saw in the theater were glued to the screen. It made me realize one thing good that will happen to the victims of bullying in the movie: they will get a lot more friends in the next few months.

View All Bully Reviews

Critic Reviews

Colin Covert
April 13, 2012
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune

Bully is less a checklist plan for eliminating abusive behavior than an emotionally powerful wake-up call for a society too long in denial. Full Review

Lisa Kennedy
April 13, 2012
Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post

Bully" is smart and compassionate about the pain of its wounded subjects and the frustration felt by their parents, seemingly abandoned by the system. What the powerful film lacks is insight into bull... Full Review

J. R. Jones
April 13, 2012
J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader

Hirsch seldom gets face time with any bullies or their parents, and he tends to ignore the complicated social and psychological patterns that feed the problem. Full Review

Tom Long
April 13, 2012
Tom Long, Detroit News

It would have been nice if the film had reflected its title a bit more and looked at the bullies themselves - what drives one kid to torture another? Is it a reaction to home life, is it fear, is it i... Full Review

Wesley Morris
April 12, 2012
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe

"Bully" doesn't need research or great filmmaking or narrative focus, per se. It needs only the shaming power of its relentlessness and a young audience open to sharing in that shame. Full Review

Rafer Guzman
April 12, 2012
Rafer Guzman, Newsday

A deeply moving but highly selective look at the effects of bullying on children and teenagers. Full Review

Michael Phillips
April 12, 2012
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune

The best Hirsch's film can do, in the end, is remind us that bullying means more than we admit, and its effects aren't always immediately clear, even to loved ones. Full Review

Barbara VanDenburgh
April 12, 2012
Barbara VanDenburgh, Arizona Republic

Heartbreaking as these stories are, "Bully" is too narrow in scope to be anything approaching definitive. Most notably absent from the film are the bullies themselves. Full Review

Amanda Mae Meyncke
April 12, 2012
Amanda Mae Meyncke, Film.com

Bully doesn't offer solutions, it raises awareness, and does so remarkably well. Full Review

Roger Ebert
April 12, 2012
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

We feel sympathy for the victims, and their parents or friends, but the film helplessly seems to treat bullying as a problem without a solution. Full Review

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