# Hick (film)
**Hick** is a 2011 American coming-of-age road drama directed by Derick Martini, adapted from Andrea Portes's 2007 novel of the same name, in which a 13-year-old Nebraskan girl runs away from her alcoholic parents and hitchhikes toward Las Vegas with a pistol as a birthday gift.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/68671-HICK) • [2](https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/2160014-hulu-blake-lively-alec-baldwin-gritty-road-drama-movie-today) It stars [Chloë Grace Moretz](https://www.edgepedia.org/chloe-grace-moretz) as Luli McMullen, with [Blake Lively](https://www.edgepedia.org/blake-lively), Eddie Redmayne, Alec Baldwin, Juliette Lewis, Anson Mount, and [Rory Culkin](https://www.edgepedia.org/rory-culkin) in supporting roles.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/68671-HICK) The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2011 and received a limited theatrical release in the United States in May 2012, where critics received it poorly.[2](https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/2160014-hulu-blake-lively-alec-baldwin-gritty-road-drama-movie-today) • [3](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/hick/critic-reviews/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director / writers | Directed by Derick Martini; screenplay by Andrea Portes from her novel *Hick* (Denver, 2007), with uncredited screenplay revisions by Martini[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/68671-HICK) • [4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1205558/fullcredits) |
| Premiere and release | World premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 10, 2011; US theatrical opening May 11, 2012[2](https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/2160014-hulu-blake-lively-alec-baldwin-gritty-road-drama-movie-today) • [1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/68671-HICK) |
| Distributor | Phase 4 Films (North America); Content Film held international sales rights[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/68671-HICK) • [5](https://www.thewrap.com/content-acquires-international-sales-rights-coming-age-drama-hick-27149/) |
| Principal cast | Chloë Grace Moretz (Luli McMullen), Blake Lively (Glenda), Eddie Redmayne (Eddie), Alec Baldwin (Beau), Juliette Lewis (Tammy), Anson Mount (Nick), Rory Culkin (Clement)[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/68671-HICK) |
| Runtime and rating | 95 minutes per the AFI catalog; other listings give 99 minutes; MPAA rating R[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/68671-HICK) • [6](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/hick-2012) |
| Critical reception | Metascore 28 (generally unfavorable); Rotten Tomatoes rating 5%[3](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/hick/critic-reviews/) • [7](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/hick) |
| Budget | $7,000,000[8](https://franklinmoviereviews.blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/hick-2011.pdf) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Luli, a 13-year-old girl in a decaying rural Nebraska town, is neglected by her alcoholic parents, Tammy ([Juliette Lewis](https://www.edgepedia.org/juliette-lewis)) and Nick ([Anson Mount](https://www.edgepedia.org/anson-mount)). After her parents abandon her, she sets out for Las Vegas with a .45 pistol received for her thirteenth birthday, hoping to find a sugar daddy.[9](https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2012/11/23/films/film-reviews/hick/) • [10](https://therumpus.net/2012/06/29/the-rumpus-interview-with-andrea-portes/) On the road she encounters Eddie Kreezer ([Eddie Redmayne](https://www.edgepedia.org/eddie-redmayne)), a roving obsessive with a violent streak, and Glenda (Blake Lively), a cocaine-using grifter and Eddie's erstwhile victim, who compete for Luli's loyalty as the journey turns dangerous.[11](https://www.flicks.co.uk/movie/hick/) Alec Baldwin plays Beau, a character who appears late in the film as Luli's eventual, if unlikely, savior.[3](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/hick/critic-reviews/)
## Production and source novel
The film is based on Andrea Portes's debut novel *Hick*, published by Unbridled Books in 2007, a semi-autobiographical story about a girl from a poor Nebraska town who leaves home for Las Vegas.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/68671-HICK) • [10](https://therumpus.net/2012/06/29/the-rumpus-interview-with-andrea-portes/) After the novel drew critical praise, Portes was asked to write the screenplay for Martini, and the film shot in [Wilmington, North Carolina](https://www.edgepedia.org/wilmington-north-carolina).[10](https://therumpus.net/2012/06/29/the-rumpus-interview-with-andrea-portes/) • [5](https://www.thewrap.com/content-acquires-international-sales-rights-coming-age-drama-hick-27149/) Portes described the title as a deliberate provocation: the story is meant to explode the "hick" stereotype applied to its heroine, and she identified an anti-materialist theme in Luli's pursuit of a Las Vegas sugar daddy amid bulldozed farms and encroaching development.[10](https://therumpus.net/2012/06/29/the-rumpus-interview-with-andrea-portes/)
In May 2011, while the film was still in production, Content Film acquired international sales rights and began selling it at Cannes, with CAA and WME representing North American rights.[5](https://www.thewrap.com/content-acquires-international-sales-rights-coming-age-drama-hick-27149/) In November 2011, Phase 4 Films took North American distribution rights and scheduled a spring 2012 release.[12](https://www.screendaily.com/distribution/phase-4-takes-north-american-rights-to-hick/5034271.article) The production companies were Lighthouse Entertainment and Taylor Lane Productions, with Frank Godwin as cinematographer, Mark Yoshikawa as editor, and Larry Campbell composing the score.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/68671-HICK) • [13](https://www.tvguide.com/movies/hick/cast/2030143722/)
## Release and reception
*Hick* premiered at the 2011 [Toronto International Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/toronto-international-film-festival) on September 10, 2011.[2](https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/2160014-hulu-blake-lively-alec-baldwin-gritty-road-drama-movie-today) It opened in New York and Los Angeles on May 11, 2012.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/68671-HICK) A Japanese theatrical release followed on November 24, 2012, under the title *HICK ルリ13歳の旅*, marketed as Moretz's first solo starring role.[14](https://eiga.com/movie/77373/)
Critical response was strongly negative. On Metacritic the film scored 28 out of 100, with 7 of 10 surveyed reviews negative and 3 mixed.[3](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/hick/critic-reviews/) Rotten Tomatoes later listed a 5% rating.[7](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/hick) Reviewers repeatedly singled out Moretz's performance as the film's main asset while faulting the script and direction. Roger Ebert of the [Chicago Sun-Times](https://www.edgepedia.org/chicago-sun-times) gave it two stars, writing that it contains effective performances and evocative empty landscapes but asking what the film is for; his Metacritic excerpt reads, in full, "I cringed."[6](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/hick-2012) • [3](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/hick/critic-reviews/) Rachel Saltz of The New York Times wrote that Portes's script "strains credulity," and Mark Olsen of the Los Angeles Times called it a mix of road movie and coming-of-age story that mostly plays as a "creepy-perv fantasia" built on Moretz's presence.[3](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/hick/critic-reviews/) Screen's festival review found the central performances compensatory but the story disjointed, noting that Moretz and Redmayne were early in promising careers the film would not advance.[15](https://www.screendaily.com/hick/5031952.article) The Rotten Tomatoes critics' consensus reads, "Hick's talented young star is ill served by a film whose story wavers between discomfitingly inappropriate and simply muddled."[2](https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/2160014-hulu-blake-lively-alec-baldwin-gritty-road-drama-movie-today)
Audience measures were milder than the critics' scores: IMDb users rated the film 5.5 out of 10 from about 22,000 votes.[7](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/hick)
## Later availability
The film streamed on Netflix USA from February 14, 2015 to February 14, 2017.[16](https://usa.newonnetflix.info/info/70209160) As of recent listings it is available on subscription services including Prime Video, Hulu, Sundance Now, and AMC+, with rentals from $3.99 and digital purchases from $14.99 on Apple TV, Google TV, and YouTube in the United States.[17](https://www.moviefone.com/movie/hick/10058950/where-to-watch/)
## References
1. [Hick (2012), AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/68671-HICK)
2. [Hulu Adds Blake Lively And Alec Baldwin's Gritty Road Drama Movie Today, ComingSoon.net](https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/2160014-hulu-blake-lively-alec-baldwin-gritty-road-drama-movie-today)
3. [Hick critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/hick/critic-reviews/)
4. [Hick (2011) full cast and crew, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1205558/fullcredits)
5. [Content Film Acquires International Sales Rights for Coming-of-Age Drama 'Hick', TheWrap](https://www.thewrap.com/content-acquires-international-sales-rights-coming-age-drama-hick-27149/)
6. [A damaged girl on a dangerous trip, RogerEbert.com](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/hick-2012)
7. [Hick streaming: where to watch movie online?, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/hick)
8. [Franklinmovie #1041: Hick, 2011](https://franklinmoviereviews.blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/hick-2011.pdf)
9. ['Hick', The Japan Times](https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2012/11/23/films/film-reviews/hick/)
10. [The Rumpus Interview with Andrea Portes, The Rumpus](https://therumpus.net/2012/06/29/the-rumpus-interview-with-andrea-portes/)
11. [Hick, Flicks UK](https://www.flicks.co.uk/movie/hick/)
12. [Phase 4 takes North American rights to Hick, Screen Daily](https://www.screendaily.com/distribution/phase-4-takes-north-american-rights-to-hick/5034271.article)
13. [Hick full cast and crew, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/movies/hick/cast/2030143722/)
14. [HICK ルリ13歳の旅, 映画.com](https://eiga.com/movie/77373/)
15. [Hick review, Screen Daily](https://www.screendaily.com/hick/5031952.article)
16. [Is 'Hick' on Netflix?, New On Netflix USA](https://usa.newonnetflix.info/info/70209160)
17. [Where to Watch Hick, Moviefone](https://www.moviefone.com/movie/hick/10058950/where-to-watch/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Coming-of-age films › Coming-of-age films released 2010 onward*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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