Movie Review - Joe Bell

This is based on a true story about a man who went on a cross-country walk in order to speak out against bullying in 2013. He did so because the man's gay son was bullied. The film depicts the six months or so that the man was on his cross-country walk, as well as the nine months leading up to the man making the decision to go on the walk. The film has its present-day in 2013 and its past in 2012. The film cuts back-and-forth between 2012 and 2013. In 2012, we see the homophobia that the man's son faced and experienced. In 2013, we see the reckoning that the man does about that homophobia, trying to address or fix it in some way.

Mark Wahlberg (The Fighter and The Departed) stars as Joe Bell, the aforementioned father whose son is gay. He's from Oregon. He's not a hipster though that one might find in Portland. He seems more like a redneck. He doesn't come off as totally backwoods. He's just your typical macho guy who likes beer, sports and country music. We don't really learn much more about his background like what his politics are or if he's religious. When his son comes out and says he's gay, Joe doesn't really have a negative reaction. He doesn't curse his son or rejects him. He doesn't respond in an overly loving way, showing any kind of affection, but maybe for some that's just as bad, although it's not clear what the son expected.

Reid Miller co-stars as Jadin Bell, the 15-year-old son of Joe. Jadin is gay and is a boy who was part of his high school's cheerleading team. He would cheer for his school's football games. It's not clear how open he was in school in general, but the fact that he was a cheerleader was enough to get people to bully him. People bullied him at school and online through social media. Apparently, the school did nothing to help him. The school's suggestion was simply for him to transfer. A lot of what we see of Jadin in school is reminiscent of Kurt in the series Glee (2009), but the school in that FOX series seemed more willing to help than the school here.

That appears to be the crux of the problem. Yes, this film is based on a real story and in the real story, Joe's solution is to go on a cross-country walk. Joe wants to go on foot from Oregon to New York. The reason is because Jadin always dreamed of going to New York City for college and to live his life. Along the way, Joe stops at various schools and gives speeches to the students about bullying and how they shouldn't do it. He tells them how they should accept all people. This is admirable, but it doesn't go to the crux of the problem. The crux is that the school needs to have a policy that is LGBTQ friendly and that has consequences for bullying, as well as administrators who are willing to execute those consequences.

Connie Britton also co-stars as Lola Bell, the wife to Joe and the mother to Jadin. She's supportive of both but has a bit of a drinking problem that's not really addressed. It's funny because Britton was in the Oscar-winning film Promising Young Woman (2020) and the Emmy-winning series Friday Night Lights (2006). In both those properties, Britton played a school administrator. If Britton's character in Friday Night Lights had a bullied gay kid complain to her, her character of Tami Taylor would have done more to help. Britton's character in Promising Young Woman probably wouldn't have done more to help, but, in that film, the fact that she wouldn't and didn't when it came to another student who was assaulted is called out and criticized harshly.

The idea that Joe would speak to students is great, but it's odd that he or this film, written by Diana Ossana and Larry McMurtry, the writers of Brokeback Mountain (2005), wouldn't think that the people to whom Joe should speak are the parents and school administrators whose job it is to make these kids accountable for their actions. Homophobia is a learned behavior and bullying will continue if there's no consequences or discipline from adults at home or at the institutions. This film probably understands that fact, but can't or won't do more with it. However, Joe's walk and his speeches at schools aren't really the focus. Fixing or truly addressing the problem isn't really the focus of this film. Ultimately, it's about Joe's guilt and his failure as a father.

Maxwell Jenkins (Lost in Space and Sense8) plays Joseph Bell, the younger brother to Jadin. The film doesn't really establish much of the relationship between Joseph and Jadin. It's not clear if Joseph was embarrassed by his brother or if he accepted his brother's homosexuality. I don't think the film even gives Joseph the space to see him grieve his brother. The film veers toward what could be seen as the toxic relationship between Joseph and Joe, as well as the love between them. When it comes to Joe's failure as a father, it also manifests with Joseph too. Jenkins though who's the youngest in the cast does hold his own and gives a heartbreaking performance, particularly in a scene where he's confronted with possible gun violence.

Director Reinaldo Marcus Green is doing only his second feature after Monsters and Men (2018). Like that Sundance Film Festival winner, this film is also a social justice film that is about people reckoning with a surprising death. Monsters and Men was about Black Lives Matter, whereas this film is about LGBTQ bullying, which often can lead to violence and suicide. Green's film and Wahlberg's participation make this film an important one to add to the conversation.

A lot has changed though since Joe Bell's walk in 2013. This June, Carl Nassib became the first active NFL player to come out publicly as gay. Yet, there's still a lack of mainstream or big-budget Hollywood productions that feature an openly gay character as the lead. The last was Love, Simon (2018) and the budget for that was reportedly under $20 million, which is still considered low-budget in current Hollywood standards. Any budget north of $80 million is big-budget and Hollywood has yet to make that kind of investment with an openly gay character as the lead. This film probably cost even less than Love, Simon but it does feature a brief, same-sex romance between Jadin and a cute, football player named Chance, played by Igby Rigney. That romance, though brief, on a widely released film does have some positive to it. It was also great to hear the end credits feature the Grammy-winning song "The Joke" by Brandi Carlile, the lesbian or openly gay country artist.

Rated R for language, offensive slurs, teen partying and some disturbing material.
Running Time: 1 hr. and 30 mins.

In theaters.