HickMovie Reviews

No
Avg. Critic Score: 28 out of 100 Generally unfavorable reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
16 Iffy for 16+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 55
    Movieline | Stephanie Zacharek

    Walks the jittery line between being exploitative and too sensitive, and while it's probably a relief that it tips more toward the latter, the movie also seems a bit unclear in its motives. Read full review

  • 50
    ReelViews | James Berardinelli

    One of the most positive comments that can be made about Hick is that it advances Chloe Grace Moretz's claim to be one of the best young actresses emerging into today's spotlight. Read full review

  • 40
    New York Magazine (Vulture) |

    For a movie that deals with rape, criminality, and even racks up a real body count, Hick is whisper-thin and instantly forgettable. Read full review

  • 38
    Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert

    I cringed. Read full review

  • 30
    Los Angeles Times |

    Part road movie and part coming-of-age story but mostly plays like some creepy-perv fantasia looking for mileage from the mature-beyond-her-years presence of young star Chloë Grace Moretz. Read full review

  • 30
    The New York Times | Rachel Saltz

    Ms. Portes's script strains credulity, and it's not helped by Mr. Martini, who can't find the right tone. Read full review

  • 25
    New York Post | Lou Lumenick

    Even an appearance by Alec Baldwin as Moretz's eventual - if highly unlikely - savior isn't enough to keep Hick from leaving a bad taste. Read full review

  • 20
    NPR |

    What is watchable here is made possible by the sheer will of the gifted Moretz, who's in every scene as the precocious Luli. Read full review

  • 20
    Village Voice |

    Too odd to be funny, too cold-hearted to be tragic, Hick is an infuriating muddle. Read full review

  • 12
    Slant Magazine |

    It doesn't take long to gather the influences trickling through Derick Martini's Hick, an aimless tumbleweed of a road movie if ever there was one. Read full review

View more reviews for Hick on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says Iffy for 16+ Runaway teen faces violence, harsh reality in mature drama.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that Hick is a disturbing film about a teen girl, Luli (Chloe Grace Moretz), who leaves her dysfunctional, neglectful home, only to fall in with characters who may be even more damaged and dangerous. Most of the adults in this movie are either hurtful or downright criminal; very few seem to be aware that Luli is only 13. Violence isn't constant but includes brutal beatings, deaths, gun use, and an implied rape. There's also some underage drinking and cocaine use; lascivious, pedophile-esque behavior; and strong language. All in all, it's pretty hard to stomach.
  • Families can talk about Luli. Is she a strong female character? How does her age impact how you feel about what she does and what she goes through? An actual teenager plays Luli, placing herself in uncomfortable scenes. Is that appropriate?
  • What keeps Luli hoping? How does she find it in herself to survive? 
  • Parents, talk to your kids about domestic violence. What recourse do kids have? What responsibilities do adults who witness it have? How is it typically portrayed in the media, and how does that impact the way society views it?
The good stuff
  • message true0 Positive messages: Hick presents a pretty desolate world, in which people are damaged and make poor choices. But there's arguably a takeaway that sometimes, people are more resilient than they appear. And often, hope is the main requirement for that resiliency.
  • rolemodels true1 Positive role models: Luli is hardened and despairing at a young age, but she somehow finds a way to keep working and trying. Glenda tries to do the right thing, but she just doesn't have it in her to make healthy choices; she's far too damaged.
What to watch for
  • violence false4 Violence: Violent scenes aren't strung one after another, but when they occur, they're wince-inducing in their brutality. A teen girl is held captive; in one scene, she's shown bound and gagged a day after being raped by her captor (the assault isn't shown, but it's implied). In another sequence, a man beats another savagely in a bathroom, pounding a door on his head over and over until he has no fight left in him; it's bloody and messy and horrid, and it all happens in front of the same teen. Earlier, she sees a horrendous fight between her parents, complete with shoving and screaming. There's also a bloody gunfight that leaves people dead.
  • sex false3 Sexy stuff: Men and women kiss and flirt. A mother walks around in her robe, underwear visible, in front of a stranger, while her teen daughter also stands around in her underwear. A young teen poses in front of a mirror, play-acting at sexiness. Later, she asks a much older man if he finds her attractive. In other scenes, men twice her age and older ogle her.
  • language false4 Language: Everything from "loser" to "s--t" and "f--k." Adults swear around a teen, who's no stranger to salty vocab herself. She also uses a derogatory term to describe a man with a limp.
  • consumerism false1 Consumerism: Smith & Wesson and Motel 6 are mentioned by name, and a Saltines box is shown.
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false4 Drinking, drugs and smoking: A mother and father drink to excess at a bar, which leads to a fight in front of their underage daughter, who's celebrating her birthday at the bar. (No one seems to think this is odd.) The girl is later shown imbibing beer and trying cocaine for the first time after witnessing an older woman doing so. One character has a cocaine habit.
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