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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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43 %
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Reviews Counted:98

Fresh:42

Rotten:56

Average Rating:5.5/10

Runtime: 2 hrs

Genre: Dramas

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

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Reviews
Tomatometer Critic Review Category
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Shirley Sealy

The film's liabilities outweigh its assets.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Mar., 01 2007 03:33 AM

Film Journal International

tomato
4/5

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Dec., 06 2005 07:45 PM

Film Threat

N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Sep., 26 2005 03:16 AM

AV Club

tomato
B

Nick Schager

A Love Song for Bobby Long’s trio of lead performances are surprisingly believable.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | May., 03 2005 05:06 PM

Lessons of Darkness

splat
2/5

Pablo Villaca

Mais um daqueles independentes norte-americanos cuja presunção de soar profundo logo revela sua verdadeira intenção: emocionar através do melodrama.

comment Comment | Mar., 28 2005 08:20 PM

Cinema em Cena

splat
2/4

John Beifuss

Tries the patience of sober viewers, who are likely to envy the onscreen eccentrics their ever-present plastic cups of Abita...

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Mar., 14 2005 04:02 PM

Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)

tomato
B

Philip Martin

We should take it no more seriously than we would Bobby Long himself. Like the old professor, it talks such amusing nonsense.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Mar., 06 2005 04:31 AM

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

splat

Sean Burns

The film shares many qualities with its rambling and at times honestly endearing characters: it's sloppy, decent-hearted and most often embarrassing.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Mar., 05 2005 02:39 AM

Philadelphia Weekly

splat
2/4

Jeff Vice

It's little more than a collection of cliches about the Deep South, alcoholism and the literary arts.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Feb., 18 2005 03:19 PM

Deseret News, Salt Lake City

splat
2/4

Sean Means

Things move at a snail's pace in the humid bayou atmosphere writer-director Shainee Gabel creates, allowing Travolta to chew several yards of Cajun-spiced scenery.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Feb., 18 2005 12:15 PM

Salt Lake Tribune

tomato
3/4

Rob Thomas

This, incidentally, is one of the rare movies about authors in which the character’s writing actually seems good enough to be publishable.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Feb., 17 2005 08:43 AM

Capital Times (Madison, WI)

splat
2.5/4

Rob Blackwelder

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Feb., 06 2005 10:15 PM

SPLICEDWire

splat
2/4

Ross Anthony

John is a fine actor, he's not quite a match for this part, nor does his southern accent ring true. Perhaps Billy Bob Thornton would have made a better cast.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Feb., 05 2005 12:02 AM

Hollywood Report Card

splat
2.5/4

David N. Butterworth

Delights as often as it dulls the senses.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Feb., 02 2005 05:08 PM

Movie Boeuf

tomato
3/5

Peter Sobczynski

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Feb., 01 2005 10:01 AM

eFilmCritic.com

N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jan., 30 2005 03:38 PM

Boston Phoenix

splat

Ann Hornaday

Traffics in nearly every trite cliche of the 'colorful' South one can think of.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jan., 28 2005 06:41 PM

Washington Post

tomato
2.5/4

Moira MacDonald

Sentimental but occasionally moving drama.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jan., 28 2005 06:40 PM

Seattle Times

tomato
2/4

Carla Meyer

Engaging and transparent at once.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jan., 28 2005 06:38 PM

San Francisco Chronicle

tomato

Gary Thompson

An above-average independent movie that gives us an interesting version of a popular indie theme: difficult parents and the fallout for their neglected children.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jan., 28 2005 06:34 PM

Philadelphia Daily News

 
 
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Latest News for A Love Song for Bobby Long

January 06, 2005: John Travolta and James Gandolfini Join Lonely Hearts
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