Bully

Bully Information

Bully is a 2001 independent drama film based on actual events, starring Brad Renfro, Bijou Phillips, Rachel Miner, Michael Pitt, Leo Fitzpatrick and Nick Stahl, and directed by Larry Clark. The story concerns the plot to murder a mutual friend of several young adults in Southern Florida, in revenge for his continual abuse and psychological torture of others. The screenplay was written by David McKenna (under the pseudonym Zachary Long) and Roger Pullis, who adapted the book Bully: A True Story of High School Revenge by Jim Schutze, concerning the 1993 real-life murder of Bobby Kent. The teens attended South Broward High School, located in Hollywood, Florida.

Plot

Ali Willis (Bijou Phillips) and Lisa Connelly (Rachel Miner) visit Bobby Kent (Nick Stahl) and Marty Puccio (Brad Renfro) at a sandwich shop where they work. Bobby slams Marty's head against a refrigerator. Marty, Bobby, Ali, and Lisa all go out on a double date. While Ali performs oral sex on Bobby, Lisa and Marty have sex and enter into a relationship. Lisa later confesses that she "loves him and would do anything for him." Lisa takes a pregnancy test and learns she is pregnant, most likely with Marty's child. However, prior to this, Bobby had burst into the bedroom, interrupting Marty and Lisa having sex, and beaten up Marty with the words, "I'm next...". Although it isn't shown, Lisa tells her friends that she was raped by Bobby, while Marty was unconscious. She now fears the child might be his.

Bobby's verbal abuse and cruelty worsens, culminating in an incident where Ali initially agrees to a consensual sexual encounter with him, but withdraws her consent after Bobby puts on a video of gay pornography. Bobby then rapes her. Lisa eventually proposes that the friends murder Bobby, in part to defend Marty, who has a homoerotic relationship with Bobby and is a frequent victim of emotional and physical abuse at the hands of Bobby.

Ali recruits her new boyfriend, Donny (Michael Pitt), and the two of them drive to a rehabilitation center to pick up Ali's friend, Heather (Kelli Garner). Meanwhile Lisa recruits her cousin, Derek (Daniel Franzese), to help. After some drug use, video games, and sex between Donny, Heather, and Ali, the wayward teens make their first attempt, centered on luring Bobby into another sexual encounter with Ali. The idea is for Ali to shoot him during the encounter, but she backs out and passes the gun to Lisa, who is hiding in the room, while Bobby is distracted. While Ali and Bobby are having sex, Lisa takes out the gun and aims at Bobby's head, but she backs out when she realizes that the gun can be traced back to them because it belongs to her mother. This failed attempt does not dampen Lisa's determination, as she repeatedly tells the others that she wants Bobby dead. Realizing they need help, they hire a supposed "hitman" (Leo Fitzpatrick). The "hitman" refuses to help because he believes their plan will backfire easily; he says if they can come up with a better plan, he will assist them. As the story progresses, it becomes comically apparent that the "hitman" is just a tough-talking adolescent. Initially, much of the group dismisses the entire idea as a lark, but because Lisa is so adamant, eventually they all decide to go through with it. They come up with another plan - luring Bobby to a canal, where they plan to kill him. They go to the hitman with the new plan; when he asks for justification, Ali and Lisa tell him that Bobby raped them, and they relay details about his mistreatment of Marty. The hitman agrees someone like that deserves to die and says he will help them.

Derek initially thinks they are simply going to size Bobby up, but Lisa makes it clear to him that she plans to see Bobby dead. It becomes apparent that while Lisa, Marty and the hitman are serious about carrying out the murder, the other teenagers are indifferent. As the teenagers arrive at the swamp, the hitman tells them what to do: Ali is to coax Bobby near the edge of the swamp away from the group. If Bobby does not suspect any trouble, Heather is to give the group a signal by going up to them and asking if there are any alligators in the canal. Donny and Marty are then supposed to attack Bobby when they hear Heather's signal. Lisa, Derek, and the hitman are waiting nearby to make sure Bobby does not escape.

After the plan is set, Heather goes up to Ali and Bobby, and nervously asks about alligators in the canal. Bobby sarcastically tells her to go skinny-dipping to find out. After Heather mentions alligators again, Donny runs up behind Bobby and stabs him in the back of the neck. Shocked by the realness of the violence, Ali, Heather, and Derek run back to Ali's car, with Heather panicking in the backseat. When Bobby calls to Marty for help, Marty responds by running up and stabbing him in the abdomen. Bobby pleads with Marty, begging him for forgiveness shortly before Donny stabs him multiple times. Bobby tries to escape, but falls in front of Ali's car, where Marty finishes him by slitting his throat, followed by the hitman bludgeoning him with a baseball bat. Lisa witnesses it all, shocked but never turning away. Finally, the hitman drags Derek out of the car and demands his assistance in dumping the body in the swamp, to which he reluctantly agrees. They are shocked when Bobby flinches; they still decide to dump him in the canal, believing his wounds are fatal and that alligators will destroy any evidence.

Ali, Heather, and Derek plan on going home, but the hitman stops them, stating they have to plan their alibi, and they drive to North Beach to talk it over. At the beach, Marty realizes he left his knife sheath at the canal, and the hitman states they have to go back anyway because they forgot to cover the tire marks on the sand. Marty, the hitman, and Ali go to retrieve the sheath, and while there they check up on the corpse, which is now being eaten by crabs. The three then rejoin the others at North Beach. The hitman says Marty will be the first suspect since he is Bobby's best friend. Everyone is aware that there are serious consequences for what they've done; however Lisa, Derek, Ali, and Heather do not believe they did anything wrong since they did not directly participate in Bobby's actual death. The hitman threatens to murder anyone who reports details of the crime to the police. Their commitment eventually unravels, however, as Derek and then Lisa reveal what they've done to others, while Ali phones in an anonymous tip, alerting the media to Bobby's death. Lisa calls Marty to tell him that people know Bobby is dead; he becomes upset and accuses Lisa of telling someone about what happened, although Lisa falsely insists she didn't. Lisa accuses Ali of ratting them out and tells her they have to hide, but Ali refuses. Lisa's mother overhears this conversation. The hitman then sees a news story about Bobby's death and realizes someone talked. Ali hides out in her house; due to her hysteria, her parents do not believe her when she says she's been involved in a murder. Lisa eventually calls the hitman and speaks to his younger brother, who says the hitman, whose real name is Derek Kaufman, is not a hitman at all. He tells Lisa that his brother has already been arrested for the murder, and suggests that Lisa and her friends turn themselves in. Eventually, all the teenagers do just that, with the exception of Marty. A few evenings later, police officers show up at Marty's home; he is asleep when they come into his room to arrest him.

We later see the group in court wearing prison jumpsuits; Lisa is visibly pregnant by this time. When Heather asks if Lisa will even be let out to have the baby, an argument ensues and Marty reveals that his lawyer told him that Heather and Derek ratted them all out to lighten their sentences. When the hitman, knowing what Marty's talking about, begins to threaten Derek, Lisa tells him to back off. When Donny says he didn't do anything, Marty reminds him that he stabbed Bobby. Marty and Donny begin to argue, with the entire court taking notice as they inadvertently admit during the argument that they are responsible for Bobby's death.

At the end of the film, subtitles show the prison sentences that the teenagers received: Heather got 7 years, Derek got 11 years, and Ali got 40 years (with the three having these light sentences based on having psychological problems) while Donny, the hitman and Lisa got life, and Marty is sentenced to death by the electric chair.

Cast

In () are the names of the real-life people these characters portray.

Brad Renfro as Marty Puccio (Martin Joseph Puccio, Jr.)
Bijou Phillips as Ali Willis (Alice Jean Willis, aka Alice Jean Chapman, Alice Jean Slay)
Rachel Miner as Lisa Connelly (Lisa Marie Connelly)
Nick Stahl as Bobby Kent
Michael Pitt as Donny Semenec (Donald Roth Semenec, Jr.)
Leo Fitzpatrick as Derek Kaufman "The Hitman" (Derek Leon Kaufman)
Kelli Garner as Heather Swallers (Heather June Swallers)
Daniel Franzese as Derek Dzvirko (Derek George Dzvirko)
Nathalie Paulding as Claudia
Jessica Sutta as Blonde
Edward Amatrudo as Mr. Kent (Fred Kent)
Deborah Smith Ford as Mrs. Kent (Farah Kent)
Steven Raulerson as Mr. Willis
Judith Clayton as Mrs. Willis
Alan Lilly as Martin Joseph Puccio, Sr.
Irene B. Colletti as Mrs. Puccio (Veronica Puccio)
Marc Pearson as Marty's brother
Larry Clark as Mr. Kaufman
Ru Flynn as Mrs. Kaufman

Inspiration

The film is based on the July 15, 1993 murder of Bobby Kent at a remote area in Cooper City, Florida, south of Alligator Alley. Four of the convicted teens, known as the Broward County Seven, were released after serving brief prison terms. Today, only three are still serving prison sentences. The book, Bully: A True Story of High School Revenge by Jim Schutze was released in 1998. The film added two title cards that discussed how several of the perpetrators appealed their sentences and the results of those actions.

The actual co-perpetrators of the murder were convicted and sentenced as follows:

Martin Joseph "Marty" Puccio, Jr. First-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. Sentenced to death by electrocution on July 27, 1995; commuted to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 25 years on November 20, 1997 (the movie mentions the commutation without any specific terms). Currently incarcerated at the Desoto Annex in Arcadia, Florida but will be released in 2020.
Heather June Swallers Second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. Was sentenced to only seven years imprisonment on May 12, 1995 because unlike Derek Dzvirko she did not attempt to lie on the witness stand. Released February 14, 1998. Heather married Carlos Eduardo Isaac in Brevard County, Florida on February 14, 2000.
Derek George Dzvirko Second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. Was originally sentenced to seven years imprisonment on May 12, 1995 but received four extra years for trying to lie on the witness stand. Released October 1, 1999.
Alice Jean "Ali" Willis (aka Alice Jean Chapman, Alice Jean Slay) Second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit second-degree murder. Sentenced to forty years imprisonment on May 19, 1995; reduced on appeal to 17 years for the murder charge and 15 years for the conspiracy charge. Released on Supervised Probation September 16, 2001 (the movie notes she will be under those probationary terms for 40 years). Currently residing in Palm Bay, Florida. Probation set to terminate September 15, 2041.
Donald Daniel "Donny" Semenec, Jr. Second-degree murder. Sentenced to life in prison on May 17, 1995. Two weeks after his conviction in the murder of Bobby Kent, Donny received another 14-month sentence for bringing drugs into jail and cocaine possession stemming from a 1994 case. Currently incarcerated at the Lake Correctional Institution in Clermont, Florida.
Derek Leon Kaufman First-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. Sentenced to life plus 30 years imprisonment on June 12, 1995. On November 15, 1994, Derek received a 2½-year sentence for trafficking in stolen property, stemming from a February 1993 case. Currently incarcerated at the Mayo Correctional Institution in Mayo, Florida.
Lisa Marie Connelly Second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. Sentenced to life plus five years imprisonment on July 21, 1995; reduced on appeal to 22 years. Released on February 3, 2004. Lisa delivered her and Kent's daughter in the Broward County Jail during her incarceration.

Reception

Bully has 51% positive reviews on review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, with 42 of 83 counted reviews giving it a "rotten" rating. The film has an average rating of 5.6 out of 10 "? with the consensus: "With its lingering shots of naked teenage bodies, Bully feels more sordidly exploitative than realistic." Film critic Roger Ebert, however, made the opposite case, saying "Larry Clark's 'Bully' calls the bluff of movies that pretend to be about murder but are really about entertainment. His film has all the sadness and shabbiness, all the mess and cruelty and thoughtless stupidity of the real thing," in his four-star review. On Metacritic, the film holds an average score of 45 out of 100, based on 26 reviews.

Soundtrack

According to the end credits:

JT Money feat. Solé: "Who Dat"
Tha Dogg Pound: "We About to Get Fucc'd Up"
Ghetto Inmates: "Thug Ass Bitch"
Atomic Babies: "Cetch Da Monkey"
Tha Dogg Pound: "Coastin"
Bomber: "Joyride"
Rinka: "Boots Sex Dread"
Tricky: "Excess"
Dr. Dre feat. Eminem: "Forgot About Dre"
Sen Dog and DJ FM: "Latin Thug"
Smut Peddlers feat. R.A. The Rugged Man: "Bottom Feeders"
Cage: "Suicidal Failure"
Scott Grusin and John Caruso: "Bully's Beauties"
Quark: "Je T'ai Oublié"
Shawty: "Who Ya Callin' Country"
Tha Dogg Pound: "Work Dat Pussy"
Fog: "By This Axe We Rule"
Ol' Dirty Bastard: "Last Call"
Bizzy Bone: "Jesus"
Cypress Hill: "When the Shit Goes Down"
Thurston Moore: "Bully Murder Scene"
Fatboy Slim: "Song for Shelter (Talking 'Bout My Baby)"
Tricky: "Bury the Evidence"
Zoe Poledouris: "Unloved: The Decision"
Zoe Poledouris and Jerome Dillon: "Window: Lisa Wakes"
Zoe Poledouris and Jerome Dillon: "Window: It's Bobby"
Zoe Poledouris and Jerome Dillon: "Window: Gun One"
Zoe Poledouris and Jerome Dillon: "Window: Heather's Story"