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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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21 - 40 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 >> >|
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The movie's climactic plot twist seems inevitable from about 10 minutes in.

Full Review Source: Oregonian | comment Comment
01/28/05
Marc Mohan
Marc Mohan
Oregonian

A Love Song for Bobby Long travels all the worn-out roads.

Full Review Source: Miami Herald | comment Comment
01/28/05
Connie Ogle
Connie Ogle
Miami Herald

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

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

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

In the earnest A Love Song for Bobby Long, [Travolta] is a veritable cinematic pollutant.

Full Review Source: Contra Costa Times | comment Comment
01/28/05
Mary F. Pols
Mary F. Pols
Contra Costa Times

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
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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

When A Love Song for Bobby Long concentrates on moving its plot forward, it aims too wide and clumsily lays bare all its secrets and twists.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
01/28/05
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

Nothing special.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
01/27/05
William Arnold
William Arnold
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

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

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

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

It isn't until the movie's almost over that it becomes clear the many directions it takes are all important, because Bad Education is about making decisions that can't be reversed.

Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment Comment
01/27/05
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press

Qualifies, barely, as a guilty pleasure...with its generous scrapbook of literary wisdom and pleasantly overcooked performances.

Full Review Source: Groucho Reviews | comment Comment
01/27/05
Peter Canavese
Peter Canavese
Groucho Reviews

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

its inflated view of its own insights and its essential phoniness make it a long slog to the unsurprising surprise ending.

Full Review Source: Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies | comment Comment
01/27/05
Nell Minow
Nell Minow
Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies

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

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

It's like reading through a handsomely illustrated book of quotations.

Full Review Source: Internet Reviews | comment Comment
01/27/05
Steve Rhodes
Steve Rhodes
Internet Reviews
 
 
21 - 40 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 >> >|
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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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