Prayers for Bobby

Prayers for Bobby is a televised drama film that premiered on the Lifetime network on January 24, 2009. The film is based on the book of the same name by Leroy F. Aarons, which is itself based on the true story of the life and legacy of Bobby Griffith, a gay young man who killed himself in 1983 due to his mother's homophobia. Ryan Kelley stars as Bobby Griffith and Sigourney Weaver portrays his mother Mary. The film was watched by more than 6 million viewers during its two-day initial run. It received positive reviews from critics and was nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards: Outstanding Television Movie and Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie for Weaver, who was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. Plot Mary Griffith is a devout Christian who raises her four children—Ed, Bobby, Joy and Nancy—according to the evangelical teachings of her local Presbyterian church in the late 1970s and early 1980s in Walnut Creek, California. Ed finds Bobby resisting temptations to overdose on Aspirin as an initial suicide attempt before Bobby confides to him that he is gay. Life changes for the entire family after Mary learns about his secret. In hopes of converting him, she takes him to a psychiatrist, who explains to Bobby's parents that a person's homosexuality is the result of lacking a close relationship with their parents. She then advises Bobby to pray harder and seek solace in Church activities, as well as to arrange a special bonding time with his father. While spending such quality time with his father, Bobby explains his desire to become a writer, to which his father suggests "some dreams are just not realistic."