History Film / Bully

* EstablishingCharacterMoment: The first time we meet Bobby, he's shown slamming Marty's head against a popcorn machine after the latter spoke to a couple of girls, telling us everything about their relationship.

* TheDogBitesBack: The whole premise. Marty finally gets back at Bobby for his years of abusive behavior and violent actions towards others, gruesomely killing him.

%%Already listed under the ArmoredClosetGay subtrope* ClosetGay: Bobby Kent is a sexual sadist who can't find anyone who appreciates his homemade gay porn movies. Gay themes constantly follow Bobby's character; his repressed sexuality might be his defining character trait.

%%* DepravedBisexual: Bobby.

* AssholeVictim: After everything he did, it's very difficult to feel much sympathy for Bobby when he's killed. It's [[DeconstructedTrope deconstructed]] in that the act of deliberately killing even someone as wholly unlikable as Bobby still would be considered a crime, and the teens responsible find themselves guilt-ridden and sickened over having claimed someone's life with their own hands.

* AssholeVictim: After everything he did, it's very difficult to feel much sympathy for Bobby when he's killed.

''Bully'' is a 2001 drama film directed by Creator/LarryClark, adapted from the true crime novel ''Bully: A True Story of High School Revenge'' by Jim Schutze. The film is very loosely based upon true events surrounding a man named Bobby Kent, and the group of "friends" around him (all characters in the film carrying the real names of the people involved).

* SpoilerCover: If you had any speculations on whether or not the teens would [[KarmaHoudini get away with their plan]], [[https://www.cinematerial.com/movies/bully-i242193/p/fvxhqmp5 one of the alternate posters]] shows them in court in prison getup -- [[CoverDrop lifted straight from the ending]].

* TooDumbToLive: Nearly every character. They loudly and repeatedly announce their ridiculous plan to kill Bobby, confess to numerous people after the act, and lack basic knowledge of how the law works. (No, you don't get off after having plotted a murder just because you didn't pull the trigger.) Several characters agree to help out with the murder, having never even met the target.

* VillainProtagonist: Bobby Kent is the main character and is a sadistic bully who has no redeeming qualities.

* NotIfTheyEnjoyedItRationalization: A rare instance of a rape's ''victim'' instigating this rationale instead of the perpetrator; as part of the plan, Ali calls Bobby to meet up with him and have sex again after he rapes her, and when he asks if she's upset about the rape, she simply says she liked it. [[BatmanGambit It works.]]

* OutDamnedSpot: Bobby obsessively washes his hands after any sexual encounter with a female, driving home the closeted homosexuality.

* SlashedThroat: Marty injures Bobby this way.

!!Tropes

* ArmouredClosetGay: Bobby Kent is intrigued by all things gay and can't have sex with girls unless he's looking away from them, beating them, or watching his homemade gay porn on the nearby TV. He also gets aggressively jealous when girls flirt with Marty. These signs of latent homosexuality combined with his ultra-conservative home-life give some explanation as to the angry, sadistic teen he became.

* EstablishingCharacterMoment: The first time we meet Bobby, he's shown slamming Marty's head against a popcorn machine after the latter spoke to a couple of girls, telling them everything about their relationship.

* CoitusEnsues: Happens often enough that several critics derided the film as borderline pornography.

* ArmouredClosetGay: Bobby Kent is intrigued by all things gay and can't have sex with girls unless he's looking away from them, beating them, or watching his homemade gay porn on the nearby TV. Bobby gets aggressively jealous when girls flirt with Marty. Bobby's latent homosexuality combined with his ultra-conservative home-life form the basis of an angry, sadistic teen.

* BlandNameProduct: A couple of the characters play a ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' expy simply referred to as ''Combat'', complete with digitized actors and babalities (dubbed "fatalizings"), in case you wouldn't make the connection.

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: Everything that unfolds after Bobby is killed is about as real as it could get; the teens don't receive any satisfaction, they're wholly unable to deal with the guilt and trauma, and the fact that some of them are less capable of keeping the secret than others gets all of them booked fairly quickly. Ironically, this is the opposite of what happened in the real life Bobby Kent's case, which to this day is known as "that one case where everybody in town hated the victim so much that nobody came forth as a witness (despite there having been several, in broad daylight) or perpetrator and the case got unceremoniously buried". The movie made it more realistic than life, apparently.

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: Everything that unfolds after Bobby is killed is about as real as it could get; the teens don't receive any satisfaction, they're wholly unable to deal with the guilt and trauma, and the fact that some of them are less capable of keeping the secret than others gets all of them booked fairly quickly.

* KnifeNut: Donny acts this way during the murder, inflicting a large number of shallow stab wounds in Kent.

''Bully'' is a 2001 drama film directed by Creator/LarryClark, adapted from the true crime novel ''Bully: A True Story of High School Revenge'' by Jim Schutze. The film is very loosely based upon true events surrounding a man named Bobby Kent, and the group of teenaged "friends" around him (all characters in the film carrying the real names of the people involved).

Bobby (Creator/NickStahl) is a [[TitleDrop bully]], obnoxious at best and sociopathic at worst. He regularly inflicts remorseless physical, emotional and/or sexual abuse on those around him, most of all his "best friend" Marty (Creator/BradRenfro). After Marty's girlfriend Lisa (Creator/RachelMiner) and her best friend Ali (Creator/BijouPhillips) have a few particularly damaging encounters with him, Lisa decides that enough is enough.

Wanting to "free" Marty and those around Bobby from his tyranny once and for all, Lisa plots to kill him, and gathers a group of people around their small Florida town willing (however reluctantly) to assist in doing the deed. However, in the midst of their impulsive desires to enact justice, their naïveté ends up creating [[{{Understatement}} dire complications]] for them.

-->--'''Lisa'''

* ClosetGay: Bobby Kent is a sexual sadist who can't find anyone who appreciates his homemade gay porn movies. Gay themes constantly follow Bobby's character; his repressed sexuality might be his defining character trait.

Wanting to "free" Marty and all of her friends from Bobby's tyranny once and for all, Lisa plots to kill him, and gathers a group of people around their small Florida town willing (however reluctantly) to assist in doing the deed. However, in the midst of their impulsive desires to enact justice, their naïveté ends up creating [[{{Understatement}} dire complications]] for them.

* AintTooProudToBeg: Bobby begs Marty for mercy during the assault and tries to apologize to him for his prior abuse. It doesn't work.

* SoundtrackDissonance: The very end of the film, which puts Music/FatboySlim's "Talking 'Bout My Baby" -- specifically, its happy refrain "Under the big bright yellow sun" -- over footage of the kids' lives falling apart, from them arguing in court in front of everyone to the final reveals of their (initial) sentences. An added detail is the song's progressively being swallowed by reverb to [[NightmareFuel eerie, anxiety-inducing effect]].
* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: Killing Bobby didn't bring the teens any satisfaction. Their reaction after the act is about as real as it could get.

* AintTooProudToBeg: Bobby begs Marty for mercy during the assault and repeatedly apologizes to him for his prior abuse. It doesn't work.

* ArmouredClosetGay: Bobby Kent is intrigued by all-things-gay and can't have sex with girls unless he's looking away from them, beating them, or watching his homemade gay porn on the nearby TV. Bobby gets aggressively jealous when girls flirt with Marty. Bobby's latent homosexuality combined with his ultra-conservative home-life form the basis of an angry, sadistic teen.

* RapeAsDrama: Bobby raped two of the girls, which was their motive for participating in the murder.
* RasputinianDeath: Bobby is stabbed dozens of times, has his throat slashed, and has his head beaten in with a baseball bat. It's then implied he's still alive when the teens throw him in a river, drowning him.
* SlashedThroat: Marty fatally injures Bobby this way.

* BlandNameProduct: A couple of the characters play a ''VideoGame/MortalKombat'' expy simply referred to as ''Combat'', complete with digitized actors and babalities (dubbed "fatalizings"), in case you wouldn't make the connection.

Bobby (Creator/NickStahl) is a [[TitleDrop bully]], obnoxious at best and sociopathic at worst. He regularly inflicts remorseless physical, emotional and even sexual abuse on those around him, most of all his "best friend" Marty (Creator/BradRenfro). After Marty's girlfriend Lisa (Creator/RachelMiner) and her best friend Ali (Creator/BijouPhillips) have a few particularly damaging encounters with him, Lisa decides that enough is enough.

* NotIfTheyEnjoyedItRationalization: A rare instance of a rape's ''victim'' instigating this rationale instead of the perpetrator; as part of the plan, Ali calls Bobby to meet up with him and have sex again, and when he asks if she's upset about the rape, she simply says she liked it. [[BatmanGambit It works.]]

* SoundtrackDissonance: The very end of the film, which puts Music/FatboySlim's "Talking 'Bout My Baby" -- specifically, its bright refrain "Under the big bright yellow sun" -- over footage of the kids' lives falling apart, from them arguing in court in front of everyone to the final reveals of their (initial) sentences. An added detail is the song's progressively being swallowed by reverb to [[NightmareFuel eerie, anxiety-inducing effect]].

Kent (Creator/NickStahl) is a [[TitleDrop bully]], obnoxious at best and sociopathic at worst. He regularly inflicts remorseless physical, emotional and even sexual abuse on those around him, most of all his "best friend" Marty (Creator/BradRenfro). After Marty's girlfriend Lisa (Creator/RachelMiner) and her best friend Ali (Creator/BijouPhillips) have a few particularly damaging encounters with him, Lisa decides that enough is enough.

%%* TroubledFetalPosition

''Bully'' is a 2001 drama film directed by Creator/LarryClark, adapted from the true crime novel ''Bully: A True Story of High School Revenge'' by Jim Schutze. The film is very loosely based upon true events surrounding a man named Bobby Kent, and the group of teenaged "friends" around him (all characters in the film carrying the real names of the people involved), all in some capacity involved in sex, drugs and general reckless abandon.

Kent (Creator/NickStahl) is an obnoxious bully who inflicts remorseless physical, emotional and even sexual abuse on those around him, most of all his "best friend" Marty (Creator/BradRenfro). After Marty's girlfriend Lisa (Creator/RachelMiner) and her best friend Ali (Creator/BijouPhillips) have a few particularly damaging encounters with him, Lisa decides that enough is enough.

Wanting to "free" Marty from Bobby's tyranny once and for all, she plots to kill him, and gathers together a group of people around their small Florida town willing (however reluctantly) to do the deed. However, in the midst of their impulsive desires to enact justice, their naïveté ends up creating [[{{Understatement}} dire complications]] for them.

* NeverMyFault: Donny does not accept any responsibility in the killing of Bobby, despite being an active and willing participant, stabbing Bobby multiple times, and indeed being the ''first'' person to attack him. Lisa denies responsibility despite orchestrating the entire plan and pressuring everyone else into going through with it. Heather and Ali deny responsibility despite being willing accomplices with Heather signaling the others to attack and Ali being the bait. Derek denies responsibility despite helping to carry the body into the water. The only people involved who accept responsibility are Marty and Hitman.

* SerialNumbersFiledOff: A couple of the characters play a ''Mortal Kombat'' expy, complete with digitized actors and babalities, in case you wouldn't make the connection.

* TooDumbToLive: Nearly every character. They loudly and repeatedly announce their ridiculous plan to kill Bobby, confess to numerous people after the act, and lack basic knowledge of how the law works. (No, you don't get off after having plotted a murder just because you didn't pull the trigger). Several characters agree to help out with the murder, having never even met the target.

[[quoteright:215:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/215px-Bullyposter_6000.jpg]]

''Bully'' is a 2001 drama film directed by Creator/LarryClark, based off the true crime novel ''Bully: A True Story of High School Revenge'' by Jim Schutze. The film is very loosely [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Bobby_Kent based upon the real life murder of Bobby Kent]], a notorious bully and jerk who was murdered by his so-called friends, who got sick and tired of his abusive treatment of them.

Bobby Kent (Creator/NickStahl) is an obnoxious bully who treats his so-called "best friend" Marty (Creator/BradRenfro) like shit, physically abusing him and raping his girlfriend Lisa (Creator/RachelMiner) after knocking Marty unconscious one afternoon. When Lisa discovers that she's pregnant and discovers that her best friend Ali has also been raped by Bobby, she gathers together a group of friends to kill Bobby in order to "free" Marty from Bobby. Marty agrees after finding out that Bobby raped Lisa and that there is a chance he is the father of Lisa's child. They recruit a "mafia hitman" (in truth, an unemployed wannabe braggart played by Larry Clark regular Leo Fitzpatrick) to help them with killing Bobby.

But despite the "Hitman" warning them to take the secret to their graves, the girls and one of the boys in the conspiracy start gabbing to friends, family, and acquaintances, and ultimately the whole plot is exposed and the group arrested. The film ends with the group in court, meeting for the first time since their arrest, and squabbling with each other, unintentionally confessing to their crimes in full view of everyone in the courtroom as they curse out each other over who cut a deal to testify in exchange for a lesser sentence and Marty chewing out an accomplice (Creator/MichaelPitt) who delivered the fatal blow, who defiantly refuses to acknowledge doing anything wrong.

While the film reveals the ultimate sentences for those involved with the killing, it originally did not include in its post-script the fact that Lisa and Ali (who basically spearheaded the murder plot) ultimately had their lengthy sentences shortened and were released right before the film's release, or the fact that Marty, sentenced to death, managed to get his sentence appealed and reduced to life in prison, and one of the defendants who cut a deal for his testimony lied on the stand and got an extra couple of years for perjury. On the home release of the film, the post-script is updated to include the majority of this information.

Not to be confused with the 2011 documentary. For the video game also named "Bully", which is unrelated to the films, [[Videogame/{{Bully}} go here]]. For the character trope, see TheBully.

* AnythingThatMoves: Ali

* DepravedBisexual: Bobby.

* SmokingHotSex

* TroubledFetalPosition
* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: Subverted in that Larry Clark initially only showed their initial sentences upon their convictions, omitting the fact that the ringleaders of the plot managed to get their sentences reduced and were already back on the streets, while Marty managed to get his death sentence converted to life in prison, but this omission was because it either hadn't happened yet or the info wasn't yet public. In the home release, this information is added in a post-script.