Review of Prayers for Bobby (2009) by Steven S — 09 Oct 2011

Moving, poignant and it goes to the heart of the matter! I think Sigourney Weaver once more delivers a magnificent performance as Mary Griffith, the conservative deeply religious mother of Bobby Griffith (Ryan Kelley) who after discovering her son is gay, is determined to change his ways with the "help" of the church.

.this is also a sad story because certain tragedies could have been prevented! My God, how can some parents be so blind, so callous, so narrow-minded to deny their children just because they are GLBT? Its not a sin in my book but in the eyes of Mary Griffith, her son was committing a horrible sin and he would burn in hell.

Mrs. Griffith was obsessed with ensuring her entire family would meet in heaven in the afterlife and with Bobby's "sinful nature", her plan would not take place. Mary Griffith is a woman who found herself in an extraordinary circumstance.

Instead of collapsing under pressure and the weight of the world, she does turn a corner (albeit too late) and on her own took on the challenge, dedication to go out there and change people's minds but I deeply believe she did it out of GUILT because let's face it, she was responsible for her son's death.

After watching this movie I still believe Mary Griffith killed her son but I don't want to be a hateful person and tell her that; I believe she has suffered enough for her ignorance, prejudice, and lack of understanding.

After Bobby commits suicide by jumping off a bridge right into an 18 wheel truck because he realized he could never live up to his mother's expectations, Mary's guilt is consuming her and she wants answers.

..She reads Bobby's diary and pays a visit to the Metropolitan Community Church (MCC), there she meets a gay reverend who gives her a new perspective on the Bible, its scriptures...Mary Griffith finally realized her mistakes and now is determined to make the world a better place for gay/lesbian/bisexual and transgender youth.

She does not want other youth to cut their lives so short like Bobby did..the highlight of this motion picture is at the end when Mary Griffith gave a moving and powerful speech about tolerance, understanding and love.

She came to find out too late that there was nothing wrong with her son, he was a normal kid like any other kid. She had three other kids who were straight, only Bobby was gay. Prayers for Bobby was the recipient of the GLAAD award and Sigourney Weaver shed tears as she went up to the stage to receive the coveted award.

She was thrilled to portray Mary Griffith because this role was important to her, to bring to the screen her life and Bobby's. This was a Lifetime movie and if you rent the dvd you will find special features like the GLAAD award presentation, interviews with Ms.

Weaver, Mrs Griffith, the producer and director of the movie. It took 13 years to bring this film to light! Well worth it...It is alarming that the suicide of gay youth is so high and something MUST be done to stop it dead on its tracks! If you like this movie and learn from it, then I recommend you watch "The Truth About Jane" - similar situation but luckily Jane's parents changed their ways thanks to one of Jane's high school teachers who saved Jane' life before the inevitable happened.

Accept your children regardless of their orientation because you will risk losing them for good and life is TOO short to hate family. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!