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Movies / On DVD / A Love Song for Bobby Long
A Love Song for Bobby Long

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A Love Song for Bobby Long (2004)

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Reviews Counted:27

Fresh:12

Rotten:15

Average Rating:5.3/10

Rated: R [See Full Rating] for language including some sexual references

Runtime: 2 hrs

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:Dec 29, 2004 Limited

Box Office: $121,476

Synopsis: Lions Gate Films' A LOVE SONG FOR BOBBY LONG is the poignant story of a wayward girl and two men, each scarred by their pasts, who struggle to mend their broken lives and create a home together in... Lions Gate Films' A LOVE SONG FOR BOBBY LONG is the poignant story of a wayward girl and two men, each scarred by their pasts, who struggle to mend their broken lives and create a home together in a forgotten section of New Orleans. Starring John Travolta, Scarlett Johannson, Gabriel Macht and Deborah Kara Unger, A LOVE SONG FOR BOBBY LONG is the feature film directorial debut of Shainee Gabel (ANTHEM), who wrote the screenplay based on Ronald Everett Capps' soon-to-be-published novel, Off Magazine Street. The film is produced by Bob Yari, R. Paul Miller and David Lancaster. Upon hearing of her mother's death, jaded teenage loner Purslane Hominy Will (Scarlett Johansson) returns to New Orleans for the first time in years, ready to reclaim her childhood home. Expecting to find her late mother's house abandoned, Pursy is shocked to discover that it is inhabited by two of her mother's friends: Bobby Long (John Travolta), a former literature professor, and his young protégé, Lawson Pines (Gabriel Macht). These broken men, whose lives took a wrong turn years before, have been firmly rooted in the dilapidated house for years, encouraged only by Lawson's faltering ambitions to write a novel about Bobby Long's life. Having no intention of leaving, Pursy, Bobby Long and Lawson are all forced to live together. Yet as time passes, their tenuous, makeshift arrangement unearths a series of buried personal secrets that challenges their bonds, and reveals just how inextricably their lives are intertwined... A story about love and human frailty, A LOVE SONG FOR BOBBY LONG is at once a lyrical ode to the rich, decaying romanticism of New Orleans and a powerful drama about lives haunted by the past. -- © Lions Gate Films [More]

Starring: John Travolta, Scarlett Johansson, Gabriel Macht, Deborah Kara Unger

Starring: John Travolta, Scarlett Johansson, Gabriel Macht, Deborah Kara Unger

Director: Shainee Gabel, Bob Yari

Director: Shainee Gabel
Screenwriter: Shainee Gabel
Producer: Brad Krevoy, Randall Emmett, George Furla
Director: Bob Yari
Producer: R. Paul Miller, David Lancaster
Studio: Lions Gate Films

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Release:

Apr 19, 2005

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Reviews for A Love Song for Bobby Long

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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Traffics in nearly every trite cliche of the 'colorful' South one can think of.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
01/28/05
Ann Hornaday
Ann Hornaday
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Engaging and transparent at once.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
01/28/05
Carla Meyer
Carla Meyer
San Francisco Chronicle
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First-time director Shainee Gabel generally does a good job of moving things along, though the story feels disjointed at times.

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
01/28/05
Eric Harrison
Eric Harrison
Houston Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The movie can't save itself from stewing in some awfully familiar juices.

Full Review Source: Denver Rocky Mountain News | comment Comment
01/28/05
Robert Denerstein
Robert Denerstein
Denver Rocky Mountain News
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For all its atmospherics, this love song never quite sings.

Full Review Source: Denver Post | comment Comment
01/28/05
Lisa Kennedy
Lisa Kennedy
Denver Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It's remarkable to listen to dialogue that assumes the audience is well-read.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
01/28/05
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
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A Love Song for Bobby Long works hard to give quirk a bad name.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
01/28/05
Ty Burr
Ty Burr
Boston Globe
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Travolta's performance is idiosyncratic but not particularly appealing. He's hampered by an overbearing, sophomoric script and, worse, it's apparent that he doesn't believe in the character, not for one second.

Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
01/27/05
Bill Muller
Bill Muller
Arizona Republic
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Bobby Long makes you want to reach for a classic New Orleans cure -- let's say, a Sazerac in a go-cup -- and drink yourself to sweet oblivion.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
01/27/05
Desson Thomson
Desson Thomson
Washington Post
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Helmed by first-time feature director-screenwriter Shainee Gabel, the movie dawdles a bit and relies heavily on stereotypical Southern eccentricity. In the long haul, it wins you over -- although it does seem like a long haul.

Full Review Source: Dallas Morning News | comment Comment
01/27/05
Philip Wuntch
Philip Wuntch
Dallas Morning News
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An accomplished feature debut with stunning cinematography (by Elliot Davis), a jambalaya story line and yet another heart-stopping performance by Scarlett Johansson.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Inquirer | comment Comment
01/27/05
Carrie Rickey
Carrie Rickey
Philadelphia Inquirer
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It's a film that feels lived in, confident despite its conventions.

Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
01/27/05
Robert K. Elder
Robert K. Elder
Chicago Tribune
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It's a self-conscious Southern Gothic, awash in literate eccentrics with stories to tell and songs to sing.

Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | comment Comment
01/27/05
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Actors do love their colorful Southerners, don't they? The accents, the sexy sheen of sweat on skin, the permitted enjoyment of booze and cigarettes...

Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
01/19/05
Lisa Schwarzbaum
Lisa Schwarzbaum
Entertainment Weekly
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: New York Magazine | comment Comment
01/15/05
Logan Hill
Logan Hill
New York Magazine
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper | comment Comment
01/13/05
Ebert & Roeper
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Cliches keep banging into one another.

Full Review Source: Rolling Stone | comment Comment
01/06/05
Peter Travers
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone
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Over the course of a pressing-it two hours, we learn some deep, dark secrets that aren't that deep if you've seen a lot of movies.

Full Review Source: USA Today | comment Comment
12/29/04
Mike Clark
Mike Clark
USA Today
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The acting by Scarlett Johansson is so raw and sincere that the film leaves an impact despite its deficiencies.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
12/29/04
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

[Has] a cast magnetic enough to make you overlook the movie's hothouse-flower flimsiness as melodrama.

Full Review Source: Newsday | comment Comment
12/29/04
Gene Seymour
Gene Seymour
Newsday
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
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