Supelice Dreadfully Boring

Ella-May O'Brien Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Nicole I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Kinley This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

tomsview A meandering movie, saved by a strong second half, and a couple of powerhouse stars.When a young woman, Purslane 'Pursy" Will, (Scarlett Johansson), learns that her estranged mother has died, she travels to the house she owned in New Orleans. She meets ex-university professor, Bobby Long (John Travolta), and his friend Lawson Pines (Gabriel Macht), who also shared the house. Although both have scholastic achievements behind them, they are now near alcoholics.Believing her mother left the house to her, Pursy decides to stay although Bobby claims it was also left to him. Initially antagonistic, the trio settle into an uneasy alliance when Pursy attempts to renew her education. After a number of revelations, Pursy eventually gains a better understanding about her relationship with her mother and also with Bobby.Throwing a group of disparate people together into a household has been a staple of sitcoms for decades. However, "A Love Song for Bobby Long" is anything but a sitcom or a comedy. In reality, the addition of an eighteen-year-old girl into a household of much older, drunken males is something that would normally have a social worker rushing to fill out forms. However, the story doesn't really go in that direction.Shainee Gabel not only wrote the screenplay, but also co-produced and directed the film. Sometimes doing everything yourself works fine, and you are hailed as an auteur, but the flip side is when the work shows there was no one to turn to for some objective criticism.Actors seem drawn to Southern dramas. Maybe it's the challenge of the accents or the memories of Big Daddy, Stanley, Blanche and Stella. Whatever it is, the results are often over-the-top. As Bobby, John Travolta does his best with some odd passages, especially when he relates the story of his boyhood friend who had a special piece of pussy. It's hardly Mark Twain, and the film struggles to overcome this, plus some cloying monologues.Scarlett Johansson is an arresting presence. She projects that uber calm sultriness, drawing all eyes to her, especially males. She steps up a gear in a warm dance sequence with John Travolta. However the way she and everyone else in the cast smoke, you would think the film was made in 1944 not 2004.The second half of the film has some emotional twists that give closure, even if they do seem a little abrupt. The film looks good, capturing New Orleans the year before Katrina. The end result is a film that is likable, although I can't help feeling that the main reason for this is the charisma of Scarlett Johansson and John Travolta.

Hemo_jr I have rarely been able to make it through Tennessee Williams with his overblown hyper-dramatic characterizations. But, in imitation, "A Love Song for Bobby Long" is much more tolerable. The character of Bobby Long is overdrawn for sure. And the situation the movie drops he and his Protégé is way too unstable to have lasted the nine years the screenplay suggests. But those situations and characters are made interesting. And that is where the screenplay succeeds.If John Travolta brought more oomph to the part of a tragically broken genius, the movie movie could have been outstanding. As it was, Scarlett Johansson did more than her share to make up for it. Her performance here is exceptional and makes the movie.A bit uneven, but worth watching.

Pit57 I liked this film, but one thing I can't figure out is why the characters of Travolta and Macht gave no signs of being a couple. The explanation given for the fact that the teacher and student spent nine years living together is that the student, Macht, felt guilty about the death of the teacher's son. That and the fact that he had promised to write Bobby Long's (Travolta) biography. That's just not credible enough a motive for spending so much time together in poverty and booze.By any standards of plausibility, there should at least have been the insinuation of an amorous past between the two. Otherwise it just looks odd.

jordane-3 Travolta's unconvincing Cajun accent notwithstanding (I never cared for any of his "Southern" accents so was not expecting much), this is one of the better indie films of the past decade, and I thought the direction was steady. This is good storytelling. You find yourself caring about every character; not seeing Lorraine was a fine idea; it is enough to imagine this dissolute mother and New Orleans singer. The film very convincingly portrays three people who have almost always failed themselves. And here they get another chance to get life right. I thought Gabriel Macht and Scarlett Johansson did good work. Travolta did well when he wasn't hamming it up. This is one of those films that bears repeat viewings.