In the first feature directed by Shainee Gabel, John Travolta delivers a hammed-up scenery-chewing variation of the brainy good ole boy he played in Primary Colors.
A Love Song for Bobby Long (2004)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:98
Fresh:42
Rotten:56
Average Rating:5.5/10
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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Reviews for A Love Song for Bobby Long
[Johansson] gives Pursy the combination of hope and determination that makes her journey worthwhile.
If there's something a little bit moldy about the setup, the movie is no less charming or involving for it, and it's no less pleasant to succumb to its wayward allure and wastrel lyricism.
One of those stylized Southern writing deals that doesn't come off the least bit realistic, but can be mighty fine fun to just kick back and listen to.
It must be said that the Hollywood Foreign Press, in this case anyway, was dead-on: the movie belongs to Scarlett Johansson.
So well-intentioned and heartfelt that it might have been a great film if only it were interesting.
might be a story with greatest appeal to those who like their conflicts and issues soft, quiet, and unexplosive
Conjuring memories of my own student days in the bayou belt, I recall English professors on Southern campuses who were the spitting image of everything Mr. Travolta says and does in this film.
John Travolta and Scarlett Johansson make this tale of misfits thrown together an agreeable enough time-passer despite newcomer Shainee Gabel's flowery dialogue and pedestrian direction.
Better in sections than as a whole, and those sections don't arrive at a steady enough pace to undo its failings.
No great surprises in this story, including the fact that Scarlett Johansson is excellent as usual.
A Love Song For Bobby Long is a heart-affecting drama about an improvised family fashioned with love, care, and creativity by writer and director Shainee Gabel.
Scarlett gets a GED and Travolta plays an old drunk with a black toe.
Moves as slowly as a Southern drawl, but features affecting performances by its three leads
Saturated with fertile colors and great regional rock and blues, the unhurried atmosphere seems as intoxicated as its characters.
Latest News for A Love Song for Bobby Long
January 06, 2005:
John Travolta and James Gandolfini Join Lonely Hearts
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