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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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61 - 80 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 >> >|
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A bowl of overcooked but bland cinematic gumbo...heavy on stars who are all wrong for their parts.

Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | comment Comment
01/04/05
Frank Swietek
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion

A Love Song for Bobby Long is a nice story about dysfunctional people made whole by each other.

Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
01/03/05
Robin Clifford
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews

It's tough to sell a drama, though, if it doesn't find some natural way to rise above the ordinary, and that's this movie's biggest challenge.

Full Review Source: Window to the Movies | comment Comment
01/02/05
Jeffrey Chen
Jeffrey Chen
Window to the Movies

I appreciate the way this movie's fine cinematography and music gave me such a strong sense of place.

Full Review Source: ReelTalk Movie Reviews | comment Comment
01/01/05
Betty Jo Tucker
Betty Jo Tucker
ReelTalk Movie Reviews

[T]he perfect little Christmas gift we didn’t know we wanted, genuinely poignant and full of a celebratory spirit of family.

Full Review Source: Flick Filosopher | comment Comment
12/31/04
MaryAnn Johanson
MaryAnn Johanson
Flick Filosopher

A Love Song For Bobby Long features a movie-by-numbers plot, which makes the movie a waste of time and a huge waste of talent.

Full Review Source: WaffleMovies.com | comment Comment
12/31/04
Willie Waffle
Willie Waffle
WaffleMovies.com

Poor John Travolta acts his award-craving heart out, practically begging for acclaim.

Full Review Source: About.com | comment Comment
12/31/04
Marcy Dermansky
Marcy Dermansky
About.com

Ponderous, maudlin tale of a seedy, dysfunctional Southern family

Full Review Source: Modamag.com | comment Comment
12/31/04
Susan Granger
Susan Granger
Modamag.com

Ponderous, maudlin tale of a seedy, dysfunctional Southern family

Full Review Source: Modamag.com | comment Comment
12/31/04
Susan Granger
Susan Granger
Modamag.com

This film tries to be lyric and succeeds at times but it is not a classic like the books they reference... Their heart may be in it, but their song is slightly out of tune.

Full Review Source: TheMovieChicks.com | comment Comment
12/31/04
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
TheMovieChicks.com

A Faulknerian idiot man-child of a Southern Gothic.

Full Review Source: Film Freak Central | comment Comment
12/31/04
Walter Chaw
Walter Chaw
Film Freak Central

Suffers from a galloping case of Southernitis.

Full Review Source: L.A. Weekly | comment Comment
12/30/04
Ella Taylor
Ella Taylor
L.A. Weekly

The film is a good try, but it does not do what it sets out to do.

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
12/30/04
Mark R. Leeper
Mark R. Leeper
rec.arts.movies.reviews

The best reason to see Love Song, a typical Southern tale, is Scarlett Johansson in yet another astonishing performance as a misfit with magical powers of redemption.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
12/30/04
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

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

This smooth concoction goes down with a pleasant tingle and leaves behind a warm glow.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
12/29/04
Maitland McDonagh
Maitland McDonagh
TV Guide's Movie Guide

[The screenplay] never exactly brings these people to life.

Full Review Source: Reel.com | comment Comment
12/29/04
Pam Grady
Pam Grady
Reel.com

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

[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

Love Song is one of those actor-oriented movies that was probably fun to shoot, but isn't nearly so enjoyable to watch.

Full Review Source: Newark Star-Ledger | comment Comment
12/29/04
Lisa Rose
Lisa Rose
Newark Star-Ledger
 
 
61 - 80 (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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