RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Check out the new RT Community
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | In Theaters
  • | Opening
  • | Upcoming
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / Billy The Kid
Billy The Kid

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Get this Movie
  • Buy Poster External Icon
  • Visit Official Site External Icon
Bookmark and Share

Billy The Kid (2007)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
86 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:28

Fresh:24

Rotten:4

Average Rating:7.4/10

Consensus: Jennifer Venditti's doc Billy the Kid turns "special" into a double edged sword, forging a sharply honest film around a strangely enigmatic -- if awkward -- kid named Billy.

Rated: Not Rated

Runtime: 85 mins

Genre: Musical & Performing Arts

Theatrical Release:Dec 5, 2007 Limited

Synopsis: Jennifer Venditti makes an astonishing directorial debut with BILLY THE KID. A New York City-based casting director, Venditti discovered the 15-year-old Billy Price while working on a short film in... Jennifer Venditti makes an astonishing directorial debut with BILLY THE KID. A New York City-based casting director, Venditti discovered the 15-year-old Billy Price while working on a short film in Maine. Misunderstood by seemingly everyone around him, Venditti decided to return to the small town with a camera to follow Billy around for a week and let him tell his own story. The result is an exhilarating work of nonfiction that is both heartbreaking and hilarious. Billy has been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, yet Venditti doesn't call attention to this diagnosis. Instead, she follows him in a vérité fashion and allows him to speak for himself. And speak he does. A well-read, thoughtful young man, Billy unleashes quotes and references that will leave viewers dazed and amused (his spectrum covers everything from Robert Frost to the band Kiss). Billy's mother realizes that her son is a special case, and she treats him with patience and understanding that is rare and noble. While the entire film is a revelation, it is Billy's courtship of a fellow outsider, Heather, that takes the film to another level completely. Watching these extraordinary characters experience such universal stomach-punching emotions is a wonder to behold. It is here where BILLY THE KID transcends its seemingly breezy, innocent atmosphere and becomes a profound meditation on the raucous emotional tornado that is adolescence. It is impossible to watch BILLY THE KID and not cringe with recognition. [More]

Director: Jennifer Venditti

Director: Jennifer Venditti
Producer: Jennifer Venditti, Chiemi Karasawa
Composer: Christian Zucconi, Guy Blakeslee
Studio: Elephant Eye Films

Get This Movie

Rent DVD
 
 

Click on the "ADD" button to put this movie into your Netflix queue.

 
 
Buy DVD
 
 
Release:

Oct 28, 2008

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Billy The Kid

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Billy, who suffers from Aspergers Syndrome, is sympathetic, but you can easily understand why he's a social outcast. This is a film about Billy, not about his condition.

Full Review Source: About.com | comment Comment
06/09/09
Jennifer Merin
Jennifer Merin
About.com
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
04/23/09
Gerald Peary
Gerald Peary
Boston Phoenix

The rough and ready filmmaking technique makes it challenging for the viewer at times, and perhaps a stricter editing discipline could have tightened the film

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
10/18/08
Andrew L. Urban
Andrew L. Urban
Urban Cinefile
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
10/18/08
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out New York | comment Comment
10/18/08
Joshua Rothkopf
Joshua Rothkopf
Time Out New York
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
04/03/08
Boxoffice Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The best documentaries take you places you don't normally have access to.

Full Review Source: Detroit Free Press | comment Comment
02/29/08
John Monaghan
John Monaghan
Detroit Free Press
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Opens as a study on a teen with some social/behavioral issues. The film makes sure never to label, then gently tangents from the study into a sweet spontaneous love story.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Report Card | comment Comment
02/25/08
Ross Anthony
Ross Anthony
Hollywood Report Card

Watching Billy the Kid duplicates -- as much as any movie probably can -- the fascinating process of trying to figure out someone you've just met.

Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment Comment
02/08/08
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press

A raw, touching, unfiltered look at the teenage angst that Hollywood usually turns into brain-dead comedy.

Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
02/08/08
Colin Covert
Colin Covert
Minneapolis Star Tribune
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Billy's resilience, though, is nothing short of amazing. Not to mention part of growing up.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
02/08/08
Carina Chocano
Carina Chocano
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

What you ultimately take from the film is the awareness that this smart, self-aware, uncensored kid has been playing to a camera in his own head since well before Venditti came along.

Full Review Source: L.A. Weekly | comment Comment
02/07/08
Ernest Hardy
Ernest Hardy
L.A. Weekly

Billy the Kid is an unforgettable, distressing, riveting snapshot of a boy and his world; a high-speed descent into pure impulse that should not be missed.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
02/01/08
Brian Orndorf
Brian Orndorf
eFilmCritic.com

Without a hint of irony, he spouts off, I hope the next film I'm in is action. So do I.

Full Review Source: Arizona Daily Star | comment Comment
01/24/08
Phil Villarreal
Phil Villarreal
Arizona Daily Star

What makes Billy the Kid extraordinary is not that it grants seeming access to private moments, but that it makes clear as well the inherently public nature of the filmmaking process.

Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
01/17/08
Cynthia Fuchs
Cynthia Fuchs
PopMatters

Billy may come off as an odd duck, but he's not mean or too peculiar. Actually, he's pretty likable, which is why you'll probably find yourself rooting for him to get the girl and to be happy for a change.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
01/11/08
Jeff Vice
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

... a window into the world of adolescence, where everything is immediate and intense and important.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
01/10/08
Sean Axmaker
Sean Axmaker
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Billy the Kid, a movie that's as interesting as it is dewy-eyed, may be the rare snapshot of an adolescent 'outcast' who is really the guy made for fame, with a built-in radar for how to present himself in front of the camera.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
01/09/08
Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Nobody ever said growing up a small-town geek was easy. I know from personal experience, and so does Billy Price, the subject of director Jennifer Venditti's affecting documentary Billy the Kid.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
12/07/07
V.A. Musetto
V.A. Musetto
New York Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

There's something to be said for Venditti's ability to build the kind of trust with a subject necessary to get full participation.

Full Review Source: AV Club | comment Comment
12/06/07
Noel Murray
Noel Murray
AV Club
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
all

Latest News for Billy The Kid

January 06, 2008: Trailer & Poster review Opens in new window
More...

December 06, 2007: Critical Consensus: The Golden Compass Loses Its Way
This week at the movies, we've got the first installment of the His Dark Materials trilogy, The Golden Compass, starring Nicole Kidman, Dakota Blue Richards, and Daniel Craig.... More...

See All

More DVDs

Close
Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
15% 15% The Ugly Truth
98% 98% Up
36% 36% G.I. Joe: The Rise of …
52% 52% The Taking of Pelham 1…
45% 45% Ice Age: Dawn of the D…

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
36% 36% Angels & Demons
68% 68% Funny People
25% 25% Four Christmases
45% 45% Shorts

More New Releases…

See All

RT On Current TV

The Rotten Tomatoes Show on Current TV

DIRECTV 358 | Comcast 107 | DISH Network 196 | More...

Learn how you can be part of the show

More...

What’s Hot On RT

Total Recall

Total Recall

John Travolta's top reviewed movies

Disney Countdown

Disney Countdown

Look back on Disney's best animated movies!

RT's Gift Guide

RT's Gift Guide

Give the best movies, gear, and more!

Ninja Assassin

Ninja Assassin

Learn to train like a ninja in this clip!

Other News

Close
  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Natalie Portman Says Kat Denning Is in Thor Source: MTV
34
  • Disney Restructuring Has Broad Implications Source: Los Angeles Times
10
  • Joel Silver Talks Ninja Assassin, Sgt. Rock, Lobo, and More Source: Collider.com
1
  • Weekly Ketchup: Idris Elba cast in Thor, more Spider-Man 4 rumors
116
  • Idris Elba Joins Thor Source: Hollywood Reporter
112
  • Jackass 3D Coming in 2010? Source: Collider.com
32
  • 6 Reasons 'Twilight' Is Doomed Source: The Wrap
64
  • Forbes Names Hollywood's Most Overpaid Actors Source: Forbes
20
  • Chris Weitz Says He's (Almost) Done with Directing Source: Film School Rejects
26
  • Spider-Man 4 Casting Rumors Multiply Like Rabbits Source: Deadline Hollywood Daily
51
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: New Moon Shatters Records
175
  • Critics Consensus: New Moon Wanes
129
  • Tomatometer Watch: Will Twilight's New Moon Dazzle?
97
  • Total Recall: Star-Crossed Lovers
75
  • Total Recall: John Travolta's Best Movies
70
  • Weekly Ketchup: Idris Elba cast in Thor, more Spider-Man 4 rumors
58
  • Friday Harvest: New Moon, Avatar, and more!
32
  • Critics Consensus: Flee From Ninja Assassin
20
  • RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: Angels & Demons, Funny People, and Superman
18
  • WB offers DVD to Blu-ray Trade-In Program
16
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
12
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
9
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
19
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
6
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
15
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
20
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
8
  • Wolverine Creator Len Wein Talks About the Film
28
  • Gavin Hood Talks Wolverine; Possible Sequel
28
  • Duncan Jones talks Moon, Sam Rockwell, and Mute
14
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • Billy The Kid at Rotten Tomatoes

Fresh Links

Featured
Wes Anderson on Fox
Wes Anderson on Fox External Link

The director talks about puppetry perfection and his film, Fantastic Mr. Fox

The New Cult Canon
The New Cult Canon External Link

AV Club looks at a beloved cult classic, Sam Raimi's Army of Darkness.

New Moon Portraits
New Moon Portraits External Link

TIME offers us a closer look at the characters from the latest Twilight film.

Unsexiest Men Alive
Unsexiest Men Alive External Link

Moviefone lists their choices for the least attractive men in Hollywood.

Promos
Follow RT on Twitter
Follow RT on Twitter External Link

Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Games| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.