You won't be disappointed!

A Disappointing Continuation

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

I remember hearing of the Matthew Shepard murder in October 1998 but didn't really know very much about it, only it seemed to stem from his being homosexual. This film, a dramatization in documentary approach, fills in most of the gaps.Shortly after the incident a group led by Moisés Kaufman and including members of New York's Tectonic Theater Project, several of them also homosexuals, went to Laramie, Wyoming, where the kidnapping and murder happened. Their focus was to interview as many of the locals they could, including pastors, teachers, and medical staff. They wanted to piece together the puzzle of why this happened when it did and where it did.It was originally an HBO film and never having HBO myself only had a chance to see it now by getting the DVD from my local public library. It is very well made and actors, most of them experienced and well- known, play the parts of the out-of-towners and the townspeople who were interviewed. Included is a dramatization of the trials of the two young men responsible for the kidnapping and murder, each resulting in two consecutive life sentences.Hard to watch at times because of the content but overall well made and worth a viewing.

The murder of young gay man Matthew Shepard shocked America in 1998. Less noted immediately was the response of Laramie's populace. Moisés Kaufman's play "The Laramie Project" focuses on this. The play consists of interviews conducted with citizens of Laramie in the wake of the murder and subsequent prosecution of the perpetrators.Kaufman also directed the movie version. It shows how the people of Laramie had never wanted to think of their town as a bastion of hate, but it is now known almost exclusively for Matthew Shepard's murder. One of the most revolting instances during the ordeal was when Fred Phelps brought picketers to shout "God hates fags".* All in all, this should serve as an example not only of the horrendous things that hate can drive people to do, but also of how no person can every totally know his/her community. I definitely recommend it.In a more recent development, attacks based on sexual orientation are now legally classified as hate crimes.*More recently, members of the Westboro Baptist Church picketed the funeral of Christina Green, the girl killed in the assassination attempt on Gabrielle Giffords.

This film is good, but it contains the same fundamental mistakes as the play: 1. It attempts to beat acceptance in to the head of it's viewers when, in reality, most of those who would view this are already tolerant towards those who are different. It emphasizes over and over the importance of tolerance, spends too much time trying to portray the same emotions in different character, and attempts to make the murder of Matthew Shepard worse than any other murder. All murders are hate crimes. All hate crimes tear communities apart. 2. It doesn't properly explore the murder. It automatically makes the murder a hate crime which, as I do not know all the facts, I cannot properly say whether it was or not. It doesn't allow for the audience to make up their own mind, and takes the views of only a select few. From many accounts that were not included in the play/movie, other factors came into play (money, the attackers's molestation as a child, drugs, etc.) that could greatly change ones opinion if they were included, or if they were mentioned more than just once. Of course, the familiar faces that pop up in the movie so often don't exactly add to it's effect. Overall, the message is a great gift, even if the wrapping is a little shoddy. Worth watching at least once.

I thought this movie was great. I give it 10 out of 10 stars. I loved everything about it, actors, acting, script, transcripts, production, photography and directing. The only people I hate are the ones who made nasty comments about Matthew, and talked a bunch of bullshit about him saying that he deserved it and was asking for it. That is all totally wrong. I especially hate that Fred Phelps, and his little group of people. I also hate most of all the two perpetrators, Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson. None of the negative talk about Matthew, was true at all. I think that both the perpetrators should have been given the death penalty. They may have life in prison without the possibility of parole, but that still was not enough at all. Remember the Golden Rule: "Do Unto Others As You'ed Have Done To You. Kudos to the cast, crew, and filmmakers! Two Thumbs Way Up!