In LaGrande, Oregon teenager Jadin Bell (played by Reid Miller) tells his father, Joe (Mark Wahlberg), that he is being bullied in school because he’s gay. Joe tells him that he should know how to defend himself and to let nature take its course and it will work itself out. Jadin’s mother, Lola (Connie Britton), disagrees and assures Jadin that they love him. Joe and Lola let Jadin join the cheerleading squad, but Jadin recognizes his father’s embarrassment. Later, Joe tells Jadin that he loves him and will try to be a better person.Joe Bell 2021
Jadin is harassed by a group of jocks. At the football game, Jadin performs, but is heckled by the crowd. Joe does nothing, only taking Lola and leaving the stands. At home, Jadin receives harassment on social media. His younger brother Joseph comforts him.Jadin is assaulted by the jocks in the locker room. He and his parents meet with a school administrator, who advises Jadin to perhaps transfer schools or go to therapy. She counsels them not to press charges, and the boys continue to harass Jadin across social media. One morning, Lola finds Jadin’s suicide note as a jogger comes across Jadin’s body, having hung himself on the football field goalpost. Distraught, Joe tells Lola he’s decided to walk across America to New York City, to raise awareness about bullying, and that he’s doing it for Jadin.
Nine months later, Joe gives a presentation about tolerance and the harmful effects of bullying at a high school. Jadin, a guide in Joe’s mind, watches from the back of the auditorium. Afterward, Joe and Jadin set up a campsite along the highway to sleep for the night. Jadin criticizes him for his speech being a lie.Joe and Jadin walk the highway in Idaho and then stop at a diner to eat. In the diner, the news on the TV mentions same-sex marriage, which receives mockery from the patrons. Despite Joe’s attempts to inform the diners of his mission, Jadin tells Joe that it’s won’t change those men, that it’s not the attendees of the lectures but people like that and their kids.