Movie Review: Bully

I went to see Bully on Sunday with a friend and her 13-year-old. This movie has been on my “movies to see” list for a while, but lately my trips to the silver screen have not been as frequent as I would like, so I consider myself lucky to be hanging out with my friend on the day she “insisted” on taking her tween. I thought there might be people standing up and clapping when the film was over, but I think everyone was wiping their eyes and gathering up their tissues. I know I was. I figured the movie would be emotional as the subject matter is heartbreaking, but I had no idea it would affect me and the rest of the theater the way it did.

I can’t imagine anyone who has any contact with the media not being aware of this documentary, but moviefone.com gives a synopsis: “Bully follows a group of tweens and teens who’ve dealt with persistent bullying: lonely 12-year-old Alex faces daily physical and verbal abuse (particularly on the bus) in Sioux City, Iowa; out-and-proud 16-year-old Kelby is constantly besieged by the homophobia of her classmates and teachers in Tuttle, Oklahoma; and two sets of grieving parents attempt to honor their sons, who each committed suicide rather than live another day with the merciless taunting of their peers.” I am sure it would be a bit of a tall task and production number to pull off, but it would be wonderful if this film could be a requirement in schools. I think the impact would be monumental. It’s sad to say bullying is nothing new, and the only thing more disturbing than what happens to these kids is how the adults in charge do little or nothing to rectify it. It had me thinking back about classmates and peers who were dubbed “odd ducks,” and wondering how many of them suffered the unimaginable cruelty similar to the children in the film. It’s sad, but odds are a lot of people have been or are closer to this cruelty than they are aware. I think everyone should grab any school-aged kid and take them to see this film, but people of any age would benefit from seeing this movie. The more people who are aware of this subject the better. This movie was simply heartbreaking and emotional; it made me sad and angry, but it was so informative. It may even bring up painful memories for adults or children suffering in silence. It could be healing for survivors of this terrible epidemic who have no idea how strong they were.