Bridegroom

I'm old. I'm not young like Tom and Shane. I'm fat and homely; I'm not fit and beautiful like Tom and Shane. I've never been to Egypt or Paris or Machu Picchu or any of the other marvelous places they went together. I've never been in love, never had a serious lover or a husband or a partner or a relationship anything like theirs. I've lived alone all my life.

I tend to envy and resent people who have what I don't have; so what surprises more than any of you can know is that I'm not jealous of them, at all. I don't resent their youth or their beauty or their passion or their happiness or the adventures they shared or the delight they had in each other.

From my point of view, their story is a beautiful story of REAL love, of a blessed life, a holy life together that very, very, VERY few people ever know - maybe one in a hundred million, if even that many.

At my age I tend to see things long term, not because I'm wise but only because I'm old. I can't help it. When I look at things I see them in the context of centuries, not years. So when I look at Tom and Shane I don't see tragedy; I don't see injustice; I don't see the hateful, ignorant, fearful cruelty in some of the people around them.

Like it or not, those things are ephemeral. They don't last forever. LOVE lasts forever. Joy lasts forever. Beauty lasts forever. What Shane and Tom had will last forever, because, folks, Tom is not dead in any way that matters.

Bodies die, but the persons who live in the bodies never die. Tom is as real and as alive now as he was when Shane kissed him in front of the Eiffel Tower. He left here early, but a thousand years from now that won't matter at all, because they'll have been back together a lot longer than they were apart. That's the wonderful gift this movie gives to anyone who can receive it.

I had followed Mr. Crone's story on YouTube so I was prepared with a package of tissues when I went to the premiere. What I was not prepared for was the amazing amount of humor captured in the first half of the film. It completely disarmed my tension, and made the remarkable connection between these two men that much sweeter. The story of what happens to this couple is,for me, is as moving as the very special love they shared - their connection, their love of life, their strength, and the against-so-many-odds fact that they found each other, if only for a short while.

This film is a gift.

(I would have rated it 10 but for two edits that were so jarring I was taken out of the experience momentarily during the viewing - both came off like mid-sentence interruptions to the speaker being cut-away from)

A bona fide tearjerker! I am oblivious of Shane's youtube videos, which kickstarts this feature- length picture, but the film needs to be seen by literally everyone, whether for or against the same sex equity, it is deeply heartfelt and perspicaciously educational, I think whoever as long as hold a small fraction of mercy in their hearts, regardless of their religious convictions, after watching this film, it will be a game-changer for the prejudiced and a touchstone for a mightier love above social class, creed, race, color and gender.

The documentary is about Shane and Tom, a gay couple being together for 6 years until Tom died of falling from a rooftop accidentally in 2011 (aged 29), the interviewers (Shane, his families and their friends) chart the story of their lives from Shane's childhood, his bullied school days and his struggling self-identification of being a gay man while Tom attended a first-rate high school albeit his blue-collar family background, and turned out to be an all-American boy, handsome, macho, outgoing, a role model excels both in sports and academy. After fate let them meet in L.A., their relationship epitomizes the most desiring lover-cum-soulmate perfection one could ever dream of, which causes the ensuing tragedy far more harrowing to bear.

A familiar juncture for almost every gay person, the coming-out process, particularly to Tom's parochial family, it was an incubus, which sheerly contrasts with the understandable reaction from Shane's family, however, it is all evinced secondhand by Shane and their friends, since Tom's family adopted the silent treatment to the invitation of the production team to be part of the film, surely we will never know the story from the other side, which is a minor glitch in this otherwise viscerally affecting picture.

Nevertheless, a more contingent fact is how the young soul's passing provoked much more indignation when Tom's family flagrantly shut down Shane out of the funeral and expunged their entire life together as if it never happened, it is an atrocious transgression towards our very basic canon as human beings, it is love unites us, differentiates us and sublimates us from other creatures on earth, and propels our society to move on to a better world, so even though BRIDEGROOM (which is Tom's family name, what a pertinent one!) is hardly a ground-breaking piece of art work (SMS interaction, video footages, travel photography is all it has to render the narrative aside common interviews with apt editing), it is a film should not be missed and I do hope the cost of a young life can be at least in some level compensated by awakening more conservative minds to evaluate the world with a more humane mind and encouraging more individuals to embrace their true color. Also, best wishes to Shane, you are lucky enough to experience true love and don't lose hope, live long and prosper!

This movie spans the chasm of emotions touching every one of them! Love does not discriminate- neither should people. This should get your blood to boil to act! This could happen to anyone and this very situation is worrisome to me on a daily basis. When I began to watch, I had no idea what I getting into but as it progressed I was absolutely glued in one place my mind spinning in place like a monopoly wheel not sure which emotion to land on. I'm disappointed in the MPAA for rating this R for 'some language' when so many other movies are so much worse and get a lower rating! Watch and spread the word- love is equal, it is not reserved for the heterosexuals!

I watched Bridegroom tonight in Netflix. I have to admit I cried my eyes out. I highly recommend everyone to watch this documentary. Toms and Shanes love is so pure you can just see it through their videos and photos. Its the type of love that everyone wants. Hopefully this documentary will open up the eyes and the hearts of many people and they will learn to accept who they are and who their friends and family members are. Doesn't matter if you are gay or straight. Life is too short. Love the people that love you back and enjoy your life. Get a camera and record all your amazing moments. Thank you Shane and Tom for showing the world what true love is like.