| Prayers for Bobby | |
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Film poster |
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| Directed by | Russell Mulcahy |
| Produced by | Damian Ganczewski |
| Written by | Katie Ford (teleplay) |
| Based on | Prayers for Bobby: A Mother's Coming to Terms with the Suicide of Her Gay Son by Leroy F. Aarons |
| Starring | Sigourney Weaver Henry Czerny Ryan Kelley |
| Music by | Christopher Ward |
| Editing by | Victor Du Bois |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Original channel | Lifetime Television |
| Release date | January 24, 2009 |
| Running time | 89 minutes |
Prayers for Bobby is a 2009 television film that premiered on the Lifetime network on January 24, 2009. It is based on the book, Prayers for Bobby: A Mother's Coming to Terms with the Suicide of Her Gay Son, by Leroy F. Aarons, which is itself based on the true story of the life and legacy of Bobby Griffith, a young gay man who killed himself due to his mother's and community's homophobia. The film stars Ryan Kelley as Bobby Griffith and Sigourney Weaver as his mother, Mary.
The film was nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards (Outstanding Made for Television Movie; Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie - Sigourney Weaver). In the same category, Sigourney Weaver was also nominated for the 2010 Golden Globe Award, as well as the 2010 Screen Actors Guild Award. The film won the 2010 GLAAD Award, and the producers were nominated for the 2010 Producers Guild of America Award. The film won the Audience Favorite Award at the Seattle Gay and Lesbian Film Festival.
Prayers for Bobby is produced by Once Upon A Times Films, Ltd in association with Permut Presentations and Sladek Taaffe Productions. Executive Producers are Daniel Sladek, Chris Taaffe, David Permut and Stanley M. Brooks.[1]
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Mary Griffith (Sigourney Weaver) is a devout Christian who raises her children with the conservative teachings of the Presbyterian Church. However, when her son Bobby (Ryan Kelley) confides to his older brother that he may be gay, life changes for the entire family after Mary learns about his secret. Bobby's father and siblings slowly come to terms with his homosexuality, but Mary believes that God can "cure" him. She takes him to a psychiatrist and persuades Bobby to pray harder and seek solace in Church activities in hopes of changing him. Desperate for his mother's approval, Bobby does what is asked of him, but through it all, the Church's disapproval of homosexuality and his mother's attempts to suppress his growing behaviors in public causes him to grow increasingly withdrawn and depressed.
Stricken with guilt, Bobby moves away with his cousin, hoping that some day, his mother will accept him. He moves to Oregon, giving up on his hopes of defeating homosexuality. He finds a boyfriend, David (Scott Bailey), at a gay bar. However, Mary makes it clear that she still does not want her son to continue as he is. Despite meeting David's parents, who assure them that things will change, Bobby continues thinking of his mother's words, and also sees David with another man. Finally, Bobby's subsequent depression and self-loathing intensifies as he blames himself for not being the "perfect" son, and one night, he lets himself fall off a freeway bridge into the path of an oncoming eighteen-wheeler truck, killing him instantly. The family receives the horrible news the following day, and is devastated.
Faced with their tragedy, Mary begins to question herself and her Church's interpretation of the Scripture. Through her long and emotional journey, Mary slowly reaches out to the gay community and discovers unexpected support from a very unlikely source. She becomes acquainted with a local gay reverend, who convinces her to attend a meeting of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG). It is there that she realizes that she knew Bobby was different from conception and that his true value was in his heart.
She becomes an advocate for gay rights and eventually gives a speech in a town council meeting in support of a local "gay day". She urges people to think before they say, voice, or support homophobia because "a child is listening". The measure is rejected, but she and her family travel to San Francisco with fellow PFLAG members and walk in a gay pride parade, during which she sees another young man just like Bobby observing the parade. She walks over and hugs him, finally coming to terms with her son's death and vowing to work hard for the rights of gays and lesbians.[2]
The final scene of the film features Leona Lewis' "Here I Am". In addition, other artist featured, "I Need You to Listen," arranged by Marty Haugen and "Bullseye," by Megan McCormick. The music use in the trailer was originally composed Steve Jablonsky titled My Name is Lincoln where originally the soundtrack of The Island.
Prayers For Bobby received 3.8 million total viewers during the film's January 24, 2009 premiere on Lifetime, with 2.3 million total viewers subsequently during the January 25, 2009 airdate. In addition, online, the Prayers for Bobby premiere increased mylifetime.com's web traffic by 169 percent in page views versus the same time period a week prior.[3]
On December 7, 2010, Prayers for Bobby came out on DVD on Amazon.com.
Sigourney Weaver received the Trevor Life Award from The Trevor Project for her participation in the film.
Charles Robbins, the executive director and chief executive officer of the Trevor Project, said in a statement, "Sigourney Weaver and Lifetime provide inspiration to young people and families who will see films such as Prayers for Bobby and understand the importance of celebrating diversity and life."[4]
Prayers for Bobby was nominated for two Emmy Awards for the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards:
On December 15, 2009, Weaver was nominated by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for a Golden Globe award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-series or Motion Picture Made for Television for her role in "Prayers for Bobby".
In the same category, Weaver was also nominated 2010 Screen Actors Guild Award.
In 2010, Prayers for Bobby won the GLAAD Media Award for "Outstanding TV Movie or Mini-Series" during the 21st GLAAD Media Awards.[5]
The film's executive producers Daniel Sladek, Chris Taaffe, David Permut, and Stanley M. Brooks were nominated for the 2010 Producers Guild of America Award.
The film won the Audience Favorite Award at the Seattle Gay and Lesbian Film Festival.
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