TIFF 2020: Good Joe Bell
tiff 2020Good Joe Bell tells a non-linear story of Joe Bell (Mark Wahlberg), and his gay son, Jadin (Reid Miller). In one storyline, we find Jadin struggling with his queer identity and being bullied at school. In the other, Jadin and Joe are walking across America from Oregon to New York City in an effort to raise awareness and combat homophobia. The film is well-intentioned but, because it views Jadin’s story from the lens of his straight father, it fails to properly convey its themes of love, tolerance and acceptance.
Frankly, the performances are the only redeeming aspect of Good Joe Bell. Reid Miller excels as Jadin, especially during the storyline where he’s struggling with his identity. When Jadin and a football player kiss for the first time, Miller is given the sole opportunity to portray Jadin as accepted. He also has a few female friends and the cheerleading team, but none of these relationships are explored enough. Unfortunately, the character is not given enough introspection, as most of Jadin’s personality is seen through his father. Jadin is never given the chance to speak for himself. Miller and Wahlberg have plenty of playful banter on their long walk, even singing Lady Gaga’s ‘Born This Way’ together on the side of the road. But in Jadin’s coming out, Wahlberg’s Joe Bell is clearly uncomfortable. He is never close with his son in these scenes. Instead of taking Jadin’s bullying seriously, he protests that he gave his son boxing lessons and that he should just fight back.
In theory, Good Joe Bell could be a career-best performance for Mark Wahlberg, but for anyone familiar with the actor’s past of bullying, Wahlberg taking this role feels iffy. It has also documented that he denied appearing in Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain, calling the script ‘creepy’. Perhaps Wahlberg sees the role of Joe Bell as a sort of personal redemption. It’s reminiscent enough of his past patriotic roles, that this brush of tolerance is probably just enough for the actor to bear.
Even though Good Joe Bell is based on a true story, and the characters of Joe and Jadin Bell were real people, Joe’s character fails to fully evolve. He barely changes from Jadin’s coming out storyline to the walking across America storyline. When he is giving speeches at schools in front of hundreds of students, he focuses on bullying as a whole, still uncomfortable with mentioning homophobia. When he overhears two men using slurs against the queer community, he refuses to properly confront them. Mark Wahlberg and Joe Bell provide just enough tolerance for uncomfortable people to feel good about themselves, but it’s not enough.
The clear problem with Good Joe Bell is the writing, which is a shame considering it was written by Diana Ossana and Larry McMurtry, part of the team behind Brokeback Mountain. It’s inconceivable that they could pen a queer story as great as Brokeback Mountain and then also give the world Good Joe Bell. Perhaps the story would’ve worked better in a linear fashion as the developing relationship between Joe and Jadin would be clearer. However, the problem with Good Joe Bell is that Jadin is only perceived through his father’s eyes, reducing him to cheerleading and Lady Gaga lyrics. This becomes an even bigger problem when you remember that Jadin was a real person. There is a twist in the film that does feel striking if one is unaware of the entire true story, and there are some heartfelt scenes and performances but, unfortunately, with relying on a straight lens and utilising the ‘Bury Your Gays’ trope, Good Joe Bell is a failure for anyone even remotely plugged into the LGBTQ+ community.