Full Disclosure: Watched only the first 50 minutes, the remainder at 4X.
Another example of a disturbing cinematic trend that sexualizes pre or pubescent females. Others of the ilk include 2007's "Hounddog" and, from 2008, "Gardens of the Night." A case is also made to include "Taxi Driver" which at least offers balance.
It's a given Art occasionally pushes or breaks boundaries to further our understanding of society, ourselves. Sometimes Art is nowhere to be found. The latter is the case in "Hick," a perfectly dreadful tome focusing on an abandoned 13 year old adrift in an adult world.
Unlike the harrowing "Gardens of the Night" or "Hounddog," this film has no redeeming value, nothing to be gleaned from the child's journey. Instead, it delivers titillation and shock for its own gratuitous sake.
Chloë Grace Moretz is a lightning rod for controversy. In "Kick Ass," when she was 12, much was made at the time of expletives she spouted, including 'c*nt' (to the counterpoint of "(Banana Splits) Tra La La Song" - a jokey comparison of youthful innocence to gory adult reality). While shocking, her language added to the film and her character.
In "Hick," the sole characteristic left from the male character's personalities is frothing at the mouth. They are simply scumbags with a lustful eye on a 13 year old's ass. They are abetted by Blake Lively, one of the least talented actresses in contemporary cinema. This film does little to tarnish that crown.
Every tear thousands of children disappear as they walk home from school. Every year thousands of women all over the world are sexually harassed and raped. Those tackling this subject are forewarned to approach it with care and no compromise (like "Gardens of the Night"), for a misplaced cue, line of dialogue or swing of sympathy toward the perpetrators paints female victims as "asking for it." This is sadly the case in "Hick," a veritable blueprint for pedophiles.
In tone, execution and conception, "Hick" is a reprehensible piece of trash - unless one gets their jollies watching a 13 year old in very short shorts and skimpy top be fed coke, nearly raped, sexually subjugated and bound on a bed.
