Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes

Joe Bell

Play trailer 2:23 Poster for Joe Bell R 2021 1h 34m Drama LGBTQ+ Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
39% Tomatometer 130 Reviews 73% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
From filmmaker Reinaldo Marcus Green (MONSTERS AND MEN; upcoming KING RICHARD), along with the Academy Award-winning writing team behind BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN (Diana Ossana & Larry McMurtry) and Academy Award nominee Mark Wahlberg, JOE BELL tells the intimate and emotional true story of an Oregonian father who pays tribute to his gay teenage son Jadin, embarking on a self-reflective walk across America to speak his heart to heartland citizens about the real and terrifying costs of bullying.
Watch on Fandango at Home Stream Now

Where to Watch

Joe Bell

Joe Bell

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Good Joe Bell's heartfelt message -- and Reid Miller's stirring breakout performance -- are unfortunately undermined by formulaic storytelling.

Read Critics Reviews

Critics Reviews

View More
K. Austin Collins Rolling Stone 07/30/2021
3/5
Joe Bell is painful, sincere. Its most optimistic and substantial strand is its belief in the possibility of, not forgiveness for the unaccepting, but acceptance in itself Go to Full Review
Mark Feeney Boston Globe 07/29/2021
2.5/4
Wahlberg, who's one of the producers, presumably saw the film as a departure. He's required to do more emoting here than in maybe all of his previous movies combined. He's up to the challenge. Go to Full Review
Katie Walsh Los Angeles Times 07/28/2021
2.5/4
Though it sometimes feels treacly and hackneyed, or even predictable,"Joe Bell" resists expectation, and where this true story ends up is far more poignant and devastating than any work of fiction could be. Go to Full Review
Sarah Vincent Cambridge Day 08/16/2023
2/4
The title implies that Joe’s story is the focus, yet the unnecessarily convoluted narrative bounces too much between past and present as well as the POVs of father (Mark Wahlberg, playing against his usual jacked, macho persona) and son (Reid Miller). Go to Full Review
Zach Pope Zach Pope Reviews 07/26/2023
Didn’t expect to be this emotionally wrecked this morning. Mark turns in what might be one of his best performances of his career. Go to Full Review
Tyler Strandberg InSession Film 07/19/2023
C
The entire film is unfocused, creating a bit of a mess that left me rotating between rolling my eyes and having tears steaming out of them. Go to Full Review
Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View More
Kimberlee 08/09/2021 Absolutely amazing so much depth! See more Jim w 08/07/2021 It was a little hard to follow at times with the jumping around back and forth on the timeline. Naturally hated the ending, but it was based on a true story, so had to be told. See more Linda L 08/06/2021 Wonderful inspiring movie See more Zaida 08/05/2021 Better than expected! Beautifully done See more Romy 08/04/2021 The movie delivered an important message on the impact of homophobia and intolerance on individuals, families and society. The acting was superb, although the plot was somewhat plodding. The flashbacks and imagined conversations helped move the storyline forward. See more bob c 08/03/2021 Very moving and deep movie , ending was tragic but very rewarding! Great movie! See more Read all reviews
Joe Bell

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW
Moonlight 98% 79% Moonlight Watchlist TRAILER for Moonlight The Inspection 88% 91% The Inspection Watchlist TRAILER for The Inspection Uncle Frank 77% 83% Uncle Frank Watchlist TRAILER for Uncle Frank Beach Rats 84% 57% Beach Rats Watchlist TRAILER for Beach Rats We the Animals 92% 76% We the Animals Watchlist TRAILER for We the Animals Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis From filmmaker Reinaldo Marcus Green (MONSTERS AND MEN; upcoming KING RICHARD), along with the Academy Award-winning writing team behind BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN (Diana Ossana & Larry McMurtry) and Academy Award nominee Mark Wahlberg, JOE BELL tells the intimate and emotional true story of an Oregonian father who pays tribute to his gay teenage son Jadin, embarking on a self-reflective walk across America to speak his heart to heartland citizens about the real and terrifying costs of bullying.
Director
Reinaldo Marcus Green
Producer
Daniela Taplin Lundberg, Riva Marker, Eva Maria Daniels, Cary Joji Fukunaga, Ryan Ahrens, Mark Wahlberg, Stephen Levinson
Screenwriter
Diana Ossana, Larry McMurtry
Distributor
Roadside Attractions
Production Co
Argent Pictures, Closest to the Hole Productions, Nine Stories Productions, Hercules Films Ltd., Stay Gold Features, Rhea Films, Parliament of Owls, Leverage Entertainment, Endeavor Content, VisionChaos Productions, Solstice Studios
Rating
R (Offensive Slurs|Some Disturbing Material|Language|Teen Partying)
Genre
Drama, LGBTQ+
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jul 23, 2021, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Aug 10, 2021
Box Office (Gross USA)
$1.4M
Runtime
1h 34m
Most Popular at Home Now