I know I'm about 10 years too late, but some of the other comments are brimming with naivety and I feel that it's exactly that type of attitude toward parenting that is responsible for the problem that this film emphasizes. This movie was obviously not made to glorify guns or violence or anything of the like, but to put a spotlight on the very real problem of school aged bullying and it's effect on the victims.
I was only 10 or 11 when I first saw this movie; my mom stopped at a video store on her way home from work one night and picked it up. It really hit home for me when I watched it because I identified so closely with some of the characters. I was picked on alot as a kid and it only got worse as I went through middle school and high school. Looking back on it as an adult some of the things that were said and done to me don't seem like they were really a big deal, but it's different when you're a kid.
