Joe Bell

Name: Joe Bell
Released: 2020-09-14T00:00:00.000000Z
Rating: 6.5

Redemption is a journey you can't take alone.

2020 • 93 min • ★ 6.5 (265) • Released

Drama

The true story of a small town, working class father who embarks on a solo walk across the U.S. to crusade against bullying after his son is tormented in high school for being gay.

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Original title: Joe Bell
Language: EN
Country: US
Budget: $3,500,000
Revenue: $1,700,000

Reviews & Ratings 1

CinemaSerf

Apr 13, 2022 · via TMDB

★ 6.0

Reid Miller is quite engaging here as the bullied gay youngster Jadin Bell. His time at school is torrid, and he seems unable to secure any help to protect him from the bigoted assholes he must face each day. His father (Mark Wahlberg) is supportive, but in a 'don't ask don't tell" sort of fashion, the appalling position also taken by the principal at his school. Eventually, the pressure all just proves too much and the young man takes his own life. This inspires his father to try to walk from their home to New York raising the issues of homophobia and bullying as he goes. Wahlberg's name is what will do the work here; his participation in highlighting these issues of both physical and psychological intimidation ought to resound with whomever watches this, reads about it, or sees any of his publicity blurb. As a piece of cinema, though, it's pretty mediocre. Barring a scene with the two leads doing a bit of a Lady Gaga routine, the drama and the acting are fairly sterile and it takes recourse to a few handsome, but cop-out, power ballads when the script runs out of anything meaningful to say. It's a shocking testament that this still goes on in 2022 in a nation that purports to be civilised - and though this film, in itself, is largely forgettable, let's hope the message isn't.

User reviews courtesy of TMDB.

Keywords 20

anti-bullying based on true story bullying cheerleader depressing empathetic flash forward flashback gay theme gay youth grieving father high school high school student lgbt melancholy suicide teenage sexuality teenage son tragic writing

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