A Love Song for Bobby Long
September. 02,2004 RA headstrong young woman returns to New Orleans after the death of her estranged mother.
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Reviews
hyped garbage
This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.
Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.
By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.
I haven't seen much from Scarlett or Travolta, So I didn't had much curiosity or anticipations from this movie, but when I watched it, It completely blew me off. Amazing direction, superb performance from the cast, terrific script and apropos pace. In my opinion, The best thing about this movie is the pace with which everything is moving, in fact you might as well start thinking that everything is still as rock and you are kind of settled with a Gin in your rocking chair out in your porch, just sitting there idle, with no agenda in your mind. Though you are not gay, you aren't sad as well. I loved this melancholy nonchalant clip I had with myself while watching this beautiful movie. The careful selection of soundtrack couldn't have been better. Loved it to pieces.
"A Love Song for Bobby Long" is the essential film one can truly appreciate. The story is compelling, the script is an editorial delight, the ensemble containing a talent pool of outstanding performers and characters that are three dimensional interesting to enjoy. Purslane Will (Scarlett Johansson) travels to New Orleans to attend her mother's funeral, oblivious to the fact that she inherited a house from her will. But she must also share the abode with two other people; a greying literature professor Dr. Bobby Long (John Travolta) and his young assistant Lawson Pines (Gabriel Macht). Both are attempting to usurp each other with quotes and booze. As Pursy cleans up their acts and the house, a bit of a bond ensues between them even through their quarrelling. As the three live in peace and harmony (yeah right!), more secrets are discovered in Pursy's late mother's will that only Bobby and Lawson know of and another secret that all three don't know about. It was an all-around emotional roller-coaster ride. It contains humor, intelligent dialogue, sentimental moments and scenes that will lift up your hearts if only a tad bit obscene in some areas. Sure it was a frugal budget, but I've seen high budget movies turn into god-awful clunkers before. I admired the transformation of the house going from a condemned house whose makeover could've been solved by a wrecking ball to an artistically crafted piece of architecture. Where they got the dough is a mystery since the triad are jobless. The bayou setting in New Orleans never looked so sophisticating and the neighborhood they lived in was a landscape's paradise. John Travolta was terrific from the the likable tough guys he's played like Tony Moreno and Vincent Vega to a more subtle Southerner like Bobby Long, though he was still a bit tense at times. The other leading characters were amazing here too. Scarlett Johansson was really into the character she played and it was hard not to sympathize with her and still looked good, even in shabby apparel. Gabriel Macht shows what he can do with a clever script and at times can out-perform the other two leading performers. And the chemistry between Macht and Johansson didn't feel forced or scripted, but real and natural. This is a movie for the intellects and one to watch if you are a true movie fan.
Just saw it on TV. Great, great movie.It makes me want to read the book.It is an absolute shame that it did not receive the publicity it needed and not be shown in all the big theaters.Also, in my opinion, it has a silly, unappealing title. Should have stuck to the title of the book.I hope it will get renewed interest now that it is showing on television.If it does get a second life, maybe the actors will not feel the disappointment they must have when it did not do so well in the past.
The European market is overflowing with US productions and most of the times we - the European public - manage to appreciate what is thrown at us from Hollywood. However, some movies truly get lost in translation. This one is a perfect example. New Orleans and the Louisiana are almost always depicted in movies as a country quite different from the rest of the US. The folks living down there are portrayed as unpleasant, racist, Gothic, mysterious and incredibly weird. Not mention drunkards. Given this background we are also given two big stars (Travolta and Johansson) and a couple of minor characters. The whole story is basically about Travolta trying to win an Oscar and Johansson trying to do the same. Both characters talk a lot and everything else sinks under the weight of their lengthy and boring dialogs. There should be something involving painful stories from the past and a bit of redemption, but nothing in the plot goes beyond mediocrity.What gets lost in translation is the whole Southern setting which probably should bring something to the story, but to me it meant only that people in Louisiana are not very elegant.The main thing I retained from this movie is that two big stars accepted to appear in less than attractive make-up and clothing and to look like regular people (a refreshing sight, I have to admit). Unfortunately, I felt not the slightest involvement in their allegedly sad story exactly because in these days huge stars alway play OTT (the secret agent, the slick assassin, the millionaire seductress) and are quite unbelievable as normal people.Boring, boring, boring movie.