Prayers for Bobby

2009

Action / Biography / Drama / Romance

22
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 86% · 15 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 86% · 1K ratings
IMDb Rating 8.0/10 10 19036 19K

based on a true story coming out suicide based on novel or book parent child relationship homophobia

Plot summary

Bobby Griffith was his mother's favorite son, the perfect all-American boy growing up under deeply religious influences in Walnut Creek, California. Bobby was also gay. Struggling with a conflict no one knew of, much less understood, Bobby finally came out to his family.

Director

Russell Mulcahy Photo
Russell Mulcahy

Top cast

Jaime Moyer Photo
Jaime Moyer as Liz
Susan Ruttan Photo
Susan Ruttan as Betty Lambert
Sigourney Weaver Photo
Sigourney Weaver as Mary Griffith
Linda Boston Photo
Linda Boston as Marge
720p.BluRay 1080p.BluRay
821.4 MB
1270*720
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 29 min
Seeds 6
1.65 GB
1920*1088
English 5.1
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 29 min
Seeds 12

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by tj19 9 / 10

Poignant and effective, leaves you emotionally lethargic but also hopeful

BASED ON A TRUE STORY I'm not much of a fan of the Lifetime network. They usually produce wishy-washy and cliché titles usually about divorce, or pregnancy issues, or something that really has no plot or substance. However, being a fan of Sigourney Weaver and her work, and also interested in the story that actually has an actual important theme, I debated whether it would be worth two hours of my time. It was. It is 1979. Bobby Griffith (Ryan Kelley) is a teen who has a loving family and a pretty good life. However, he believes himself to be a homosexual. He fears that his mother, Mary, (Weaver) will not accept him and love him anymore, due to her clear and well-known loath and contempt of gay and lesbians due to her faith and literal interpretation of the bible. When Bobby tells his brother he thinks he is gay, his brother tells their mother, hoping his mother can help Bobby. Instead, she treats Bobby as if he has a disease that can be "cured" through God. Mary's overbearing and abrasive treatment towards Bobby distances him from his family out to Oregon to live with his cousin, who believes anyone should be allowed to love anyone. While in Oregon, Bobby meets a guy who makes him feel good about himself. When Bobby comes back from his vacation, he tells his family about the guy he met and his mother reacts as if he is a perverse and sick person. She tells him she WILL NOT have a gay son. This upsets Bobby enough to permanently move to Oregon without a goodbye from his mother. While in Oregon, feeling the isolation of the family he loves, he becomes suicidal and cannot take it anymore. He commits suicide. For the rest of the film, we see his mother go through some major character development and we see her try to overcome her ignorance. I never cried during a movie before until I saw this movie. Prayers for Bobby was truly an amazing movie. Watching Sigourney Weaver as Mary Griffith broke my heart. She was believable and perfect. Ryan Kelley also did a great job playing Bobby. He showed a lot of range and purity in his performance. The movie definitely has a made-for-TV and Lifetime channel feel to it. It WAS a made-for-TV Lifetime original movie, so get over that (I did). I am so glad I saw this and I urge anyone and everyone to see it. 9/10
Reviewed by oaksong 9 / 10

Will it reach them?

It would be so wonderful if the people that this piece is about actually watched it and understood what kind of hell they're putting their kids in for no particularly good reason.It should be required viewing in every Baptist church on the planet. And there are a few other evangelical organizations with strange ideas about human beings who might learn something.I will be surprised if Sigourney Weaver doesn't get at least an Emmy nomination, particularly given the speech she gives to the city council, both well written and well delivered.Ryan Kelly also delivers a believable performance as Bobby, regardless of some of the cutting required to get the film into a two hour programming window.
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