A Love Song for Bobby Long (2004)

42% of critics liked it
(99 reviews)
79% of users liked it
(21,726 ratings)

Bobby Long (John Travolta) is a washed up former literature professor with a voracious drinking habit. He lives in a rundown house in New Orleans with Lawson Pines (Gabriel Macht of The Recruit), his former star pupil, also an alcoholic. Lawson is allegedly writing a novel about Bobby. Their… More Bobby Long (John Travolta) is a washed up former literature professor with a voracious drinking habit. He lives in a rundown house in New Orleans with Lawson Pines (Gabriel Macht of The Recruit), his former star pupil, also an alcoholic. Lawson is allegedly writing a novel about Bobby. Their depressive little corner of the world is disrupted when Lorraine, the beloved eccentric singer who owns their house, dies. Her teenage daughter, Pursy (Scarlett Johansson), who hasn't seen her mother in years, arrives in town too late for the funeral, and crashes at the house. Afraid of being thrown out on the street, Bobby convinces Lawson to tell Pursy that the house has been left to all three of them. Pursy, having little else to do, decides to move in, and starts cleaning up the place, making it her own. Lawson is involved with Georgianna (Deborah Kara Unger), who works at the local bar, but he quickly develops a crush on the comely Pursy. The cantankerous Bobby seems determined to drive the girl away. As Pursy settles into the diverse little community, all of Lorraine's old friends tell her how much she looks like her mother, and she begins to uncover some startling truths about her family history. A Love Song for Bobby Long is based on the novel Off Magazine Street, by Ronald Everett Capps. It was adapted for the screen and directed by Shainee Gabel, who co-directed the documentary Anthem. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 59 min.
Directed By: Shainee Gabel
Written By: Shainee Gabel
Genres: Drama

In Theaters: Dec 29, 2004 Wide
On DVD: Feb 22, 2005
Studio: Lions Gate Releasing

Critic Reviews

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post
Traffics in nearly every trite cliche of the 'colorful' South one can think of.
Carla Meyer, San Francisco Chronicle
Engaging and transparent at once.
Eric Harrison, Houston Chronicle
First-time director Shainee Gabel generally does a good job of moving things along, though the story feels disjointed at times.
Robert Denerstein, Denver Rocky Mountain News
The movie can't save itself from stewing in some awfully familiar juices.
Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post
For all its atmospherics, this love song never quite sings.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
It's remarkable to listen to dialogue that assumes the audience is well-read.
Nell Minow, Common Sense Media
Not for kids, and not worth it for adults.
Shirley Sealy, Film Journal International
The film's liabilities outweigh its assets.
Nick Schager, Lessons of Darkness
A Love Song for Bobby Long's trio of lead performances are surprisingly believable.
Brent Simon, Now Playing Magazine
With the audience so much farther ahead of the curve than its characters, the movie then becomes an exercise in tedium...
James Plath, Movie Metropolis
Johansson's performance is riveting, and Travolta, playing off her and reveling in the role of an aging, alcoholic sage, turns in one of the best performances of his career.
Pablo Villaca, Cinema em Cena
Mais um daqueles independentes norte-americanos cuja presunção de soar profundo logo revela sua verdadeira intenção: emocionar através do melodrama.
John Beifuss, Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)
Tries the patience of sober viewers, who are likely to envy the onscreen eccentrics their ever-present plastic cups of Abita...
Philip Martin, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
We should take it no more seriously than we would Bobby Long himself. Like the old professor, it talks such amusing nonsense.
Sean Burns, Philadelphia Weekly
The film shares many qualities with its rambling and at times honestly endearing characters: it's sloppy, decent-hearted and most often embarrassing.
Jeff Vice, Deseret News, Salt Lake City
It's little more than a collection of cliches about the Deep South, alcoholism and the literary arts.
Sean Means, Salt Lake Tribune
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.
Rob Thomas, Capital Times (Madison, WI)
This, incidentally, is one of the rare movies about authors in which the character's writing actually seems good enough to be publishable.
Ross Anthony, Hollywood Report Card
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.
David N. Butterworth, Movie Boeuf
Delights as often as it dulls the senses.

Read all 20 critic reviews

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Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

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Featured Audience Ratings

Al S

One of John Travolta's best performances ever. He's smart, funny, brilliant, incredible and unforgettable. An Oscar caliber performance. He has never delivered a better performance than he has here. Scarlett Johansson is sensational. Gabriel Macht is terrific. The entire… More
One of John Travolta's best performances ever. He's smart, funny, brilliant, incredible and unforgettable. An Oscar caliber performance. He has never delivered a better performance than he has here. Scarlett Johansson is sensational. Gabriel Macht is terrific. The entire cast works with such energy and dedication. An outstanding movie. Riveting, enjoyable, proficient and wonderfully entertaining. This is such an marvelous film. A beautiful piece of film that never misses a note. A masterpiece plain and simple. Simply magnificent and unforgettable. It's moving, intelligent and well-crafted.
Rachel F

Brilliant. John Travolta is so utterly lovable in this. The whole plot of the movie is fantastic and all of the actors perform amazingly. One of my favorites, for sure.
Cassie H

Dissapointing and it wasn't good that I was tired that night as well.
Luke B

Starts fairly promisingly. It looks good and John Travolta is giving one of his best performances in years. Johansson shows up and doesn't let her looks become a distraction. It soon becomes just more sentimental crap trying it's hardest to tug at the heart strings. It tugs… More
Starts fairly promisingly. It looks good and John Travolta is giving one of his best performances in years. Johansson shows up and doesn't let her looks become a distraction. It soon becomes just more sentimental crap trying it's hardest to tug at the heart strings. It tugs so hard that they simply snap and are rendered useless. Every character starts blurting out their inner feelings and emotions via long winded speeches. The ending is also a quick exit for the writer. It would have been great for a less dialogue heavy version where you can contemplate on the characters yourself. Instead we just get more forced drama shenannigans and of course Travolta just HAS to dance.
Jens S

The story of a young woman moving into a run down house she inherited together with two drinking losers has potential for all kinds of movies. This is a humorous but calm family drama with three really convincing main roles. Travolta and Johansson are great as always, newcomer Gabriel… More
The story of a young woman moving into a run down house she inherited together with two drinking losers has potential for all kinds of movies. This is a humorous but calm family drama with three really convincing main roles. Travolta and Johansson are great as always, newcomer Gabriel Macht isn't any worse. The story of the two misfits taking care of the girl's school career is sometimes slow, maybe even too slow in the middle of the film, but easily carried by the humor and the acting performances. The film is also very beautifully shot, especially the New Orleans summer heat is almost palpable in most scenes. And the end, when the real reason for their connection is revealed, is actually really sweet and touching. Puts a smile on your face.
Mouhannad S

This was different and generally an interesting character study of three people.The down side was too much profanity, too much bickering and too much "attitude.So, if you like good acting and appreciate outstanding cinematography, which this movie boasts and don't mind… More
This was different and generally an interesting character study of three people.The down side was too much profanity, too much bickering and too much "attitude.So, if you like good acting and appreciate outstanding cinematography, which this movie boasts and don't mind soap-opera-type stories, you should like this film very much. This has a certain fascination to it, but I got tired of the constant profanity and negative personalities of two of those three main characters so I lost interest by the halfway mark.
Walter M

[font=Century Gothic]"A Love Song for Bobby Long" starts out just after the death of Lorraine Will, a singer, in New Orleans. Her daughter, Pursline(Scarlett Johansson), is a high school dropout living in a trailer park in Panama City, Fl. She finds out about the funeral a… More
[font=Century Gothic]"A Love Song for Bobby Long" starts out just after the death of Lorraine Will, a singer, in New Orleans. Her daughter, Pursline(Scarlett Johansson), is a high school dropout living in a trailer park in Panama City, Fl. She finds out about the funeral a day too late. Once she arrives in New Orleans, she finds two alcoholic friends of her mother's living in her house - Bobby Long(John Travolta), a former literature professor and his loyal sidekick, Lawson(Gabriel Macht), who occasionally works on the Great American Novel. The men reveal that the house has been willed to all three of them.[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]"A Love Song for Bobby Long" is overall a mediocre movie that ends on a bad note. There is a nice message about the importance of education and some good dialogue(just the thought of teaching William Burroughs in a Catholic school...) but the film resembles nothing more than a middling stage play. That having been said, it does a very good job of capturing the ambience of New Orleans. Scarlett Johansson does show some range but John Travolta's performance is too mannered. [/font]
Jeffrey M

Travolta at his best, and Scarlett Johansson looking as sexy as ever in this moving, authentic, and quite brilliant drama. Set in New Orleans, it has a charming, old, and worn look. Maybe too slow for some, but well worth it for those that can relate.
Joseph E

"On Magazine Street" is beautiful portaryed, and Johansson and Travolta make this Dramatic-Heartfelt story a good one. An Instant Classic. "Johansson is utterly amazing in this film. Travolta is classy, and stingy as a well educated , yet unhappy scholar from years… More
"On Magazine Street" is beautiful portaryed, and Johansson and Travolta make this Dramatic-Heartfelt story a good one. An Instant Classic. "Johansson is utterly amazing in this film. Travolta is classy, and stingy as a well educated , yet unhappy scholar from years ago. The stars in this film are exceptional and rarely miss a note. This film was full emotions, and heartfelt feeling. It is full smart dialouge. This film is full Pervasive Sexually Explict Dialouge and refferences. This film is a great story, told with an old southern backdrop and feeling. Four out of Four" Stars. Strong Reccomendation.
Erin C

I really liked this movie. The acting was good, and the cast worked really well together. I liked how the story was told.
Sunil J

Great performances by Scarlett Johansson and John Travolta.