MovieChat Forums > Bully (2001) Discussion > Did anyone actually feel sorry for Bobby...

Did anyone actually feel sorry for Bobby?


I don't know, this movie sparked a sense of sympathy with me towards him. I know, he was an immense jerk who had severe anger problems and Marty and Lisa wanted out, but that doesn't mean he deserved to die. He had problems and his aggressive and rude behavior was how he dealt with it, like a lot of teenagers do in reality. He needed help, not death, and I know the film was trying to show the destabilization of today's youth, but I just really could not find it believable at all, even if it is based on a true story.

I still enjoyed the movie though, and it was entertaining and well played out per say, but I'm still wondering if people here had a bit of heart for Bobby and wanted to give him a big hug/gift basket or something.

Also, my whole outlook on all the gay themed material and subjects expressed in the movie is that I indeed thought Bobby had a crush on Marty, even if he didn't think he was gay. He was too angry and obsessed with everyone he knew's expectations and viewpoints of male sexuality, like his father, who if I recall was expecting much of him in life. He did gay porn with Marty and played it while he screwed a girl who he refused to look in the face, gave evil glares towards Lisa when Marty was screwing her and washed his hands almost like he was disgusted after he screwed the girls. He might have been going through all this with Marty, like the gay bar, to turn him gay.

I'd rather be disemboweled with a toothbrush.

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Well put, I felt a lot of sympathy for Bobby Kent.
There is no way in which his killers could claim the moral high ground. Btw, it seems as if Marty Puccio also tended to be abusive towards others, so he was not completely blameless (even prior to the murder).
I do not condone bullying, but it's not as if the seven conspirators could not go a different route. In any case, vigilante justice should not be encouraged.

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Bobby was far from a saint and deserved to be punished for his acts but no one deserves the treatment he got from his peers, not even friends to all of them but basically a complete stanger to most. I would not have felt bad if they had beat him badly and left him to find a way home but killing him in cold blood is no payment its animal like.
I felt sympathy for him in both the book and the movie when Marty stabbed him and he said something like "whatever it is I did Marty Im sorry...". Yes he was a prick and I found it hard to have sympathy towards him in his treatment of others but at his death I found it hard to not be sympathetic to him. He was arrogant and wrong but he was young and deserved a chance to change, grow up, and live life.

What I dont understand is in this bunch of thugs are we supposed to feel sorry for Ali being raped? I feel sorry for people who get raped but I do not feel she deserves sympathy for killing Bobby - she was part of a teen prostitution ring, willingly went with Bobby in the dark for oral sex, and egged him on about sex using that as a way to lure him to his death. The "hit man" Derick, what was his intentions in all this? I have no sympathy for a wanna be gangster godfather of CMF. He did not even have a legit reason to be there much less a connection to any of them or Bobby to get involved. Lisa was just being selfish and co dependent. She did not care about Ali being raped that was just a ruse to get Ali and her drug head friends to go along - she attempted to get Ali to be the killer on more then one occassion. Heather who was she to Bobby, he never raped her or hung out with her and Donny again who was he to Bobby or Bobby to him? He may have been an ass to them all at one time or another but instead of getting away from him they kept going back to him, luring him in setting him up and endorsing his behavior. Marty I also do not feel sorry for - according to the book he broke from Bobby on more then one occassion. He and Bobby in high school became friends again cause he had to choose a school with a good time that allowed for surfing. Obviously he thought more about surfing then his desire to get away from Bobby. Marty was supposed to be this tough body builder who took steroids and did the same crap Bobby did (gay porn crap directing, ripping on mentally challenged etc), he even went as far as to listen to him instead of use his strength to beat the hell out of Bobby and show him he was not intimidated by him. No, he never did that instead he just let Bobby keep coming around and didn't attempt to stop it. Who has a friend they just can't get rid of? So really Bobby was an ass but no one had any reason to kill and in reality none had a legit reason to hang with him but they did.

I am in no way saying Bobby should be relieved of his actions but if he was such a threat to Marty why would Marty put surfing ahead of his desire to flee from Bobby once he had got rid of him by attending seperate schools? He had a choice but he chose to go back where Bobby would be. Am I supposed to believe this big bad bully forced him to spend hours at the Y working out, getting a job with him, hanging out with him and making him walk to his house? Am I supposed to believe he was that scared of Bobby that he did not take refuge when he had the chance to stay away by going to another school? Was he so afraid that he went back to Bobby as a friend and did extra curricular activities with him. The only sad thing about this entire drama besides everyone lost their life to a point and one lost his entire existance is Bobby is not hear to tell his side of the story. It is easier to blame a person not here and be the martyr then to give explanations for your own actions that led up to the horrific events. Yes I know Bobby was a bully but really was he that powerful?
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That his life was taken except I totally wanted him to get life in prison!


Shaggy NOT Dope & Silent J call themselves clowns cuz they look queer! *beep* ICP buy MY CD!-Eminem<3

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I felt pretty sorry for Bobby. I know he was a giant steroid monster but he had a loving family and all Marty, Ali, and Lisa had to do was just stay away from him. Besides he was probably mentally ill.

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I think his dad was a little off.
He just needed to stay away from girls and needed therapy for being violent.


Shaggy NOT Dope & Silent J call themselves clowns cuz they look queer! *beep* ICP buy MY CD!-Eminem<3

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I just finished the book yesterday and just watched the movie today. I felt sorry for Bobby largely because of how unsure I am that Bobby was as much of a bully as he was portrayed to be. The author never really discussed sources so I never knew whether there were unbiased witnesses confirming the accusations or if the author was just taking the murderers (most of whom seemed to constantly be on kind of "controlled substance") as fact.

There was one moment in the book in which I think Bobby was shown to bully Marty in front of a former friend of Marty's but the book never revealed whether this "friend" testified. I was left wondering if the scene in question (when Bobby forces Marty to play with his vicious dog) even really happened.

If all of the accusations have been verified, than I would feel a lot less sorry for Bobby, but because the way the author wrote the book I wound up having a lot of questions that were never answered.

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[deleted]

he was gross
but i cant watch his death scene


I hugged Twiggy/Manson, MM slapped my butt, I sat on Twiggys lap! I got 3 pics with both!

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Exactly, I wish that some of Bobby's friends and classmates would come forward and share stories about him. As the prosecutor rightly pointed out, "they [the Broward County conspirators] murdered him and now some people are trying to murder the memory of him". I am not convinced that peer-to-peer bullying is such a huge evil, you can stand up to someone without resorting to lethal force. You do not need to be a "nice guy" in order not to be forced to face a killing gang. Physical abuse inflicted on a significant other (as in Puccio's case when he slapped his girlfriend) is arguably worse than bullying.

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a special episode of Maury or something with friends and relatives of the real group of friends and victim


I hugged Twiggy/Manson, MM slapped my butt, I sat on Twiggys lap! I got 3 pics with both!

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I don't feel sorry for Bobby. & I think the gang that did that sloppy job of killing him deserve everything they got & then some. yeah, I believe bobby was a jerk, but those loser were no better. his dad tried to tell him stay away from marty, & look where it got him for not listening. usually parents r rite about certain things.
none of them just couldn't seem to stay away from 1 another. i don't get it.

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ok so eye for an eye


I hugged Twiggy/Manson, MM slapped my butt, I sat on Twiggys lap! I got 3 pics with both!

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I didn't feel sorry for Bobby. It's his own behavior that got him killed. But I'm also glad the killers went to prison, especially Puccio's girlfriend.






"Joey, have you ever been in a Turkish prison?"

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In the movie, no.

But in real life that's different, especially if he wasn't really the bully that the film portrays him as.

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For the movie version of Bobby I felt a little sorry for him. Killing him was *not* the right idea. When Lisa said "He's the source of everyone's problems" I thought to myself no way... The fact you are all on Drugs and high school dropouts is on you. Not Bobby.


To me in the movie version Bobby had OCD and Anger management issues. Look at how many times he washes his hands and goes off the handle when he doesn't get his way. it's hinted at that he is attracted to Marty. When the kids are sleeping together in the car he is too busy watching Bobby to focus on Alli.

However what movie version Bobby did to Ali and Marty and Lisa were despicable. But like I said murder was *not* the solution. I own the movie on DVD. I'm not sure why but I never get tired of watching it. I don't admire or glorify these "kids" behaviors but from a psychological viewpoint it's interesting to watch.

I should really try to track down the Book just to give it a whirl. I recently watched an episode of "American Justice" and it was very interesting.

~I love the rhythm it is my methoood!~

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the way he apologized as he was being murdered...saying "whatever I did, I'm sorry" to his friends...that hurts my soul every time.

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hes an idiot and so are they


We *beep* pain away-MIW Bang me Chris I love you (met Manson + Twiggy) http://tinypic.com/r/2evx9ad/6

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You could not have worded that any better, I thought he was a big jerk, but he did not deserve to die like that, and what was so messed up, there were SO many moments where they could have stopped and they went forward, as if it was something they had to do.

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