A Love Song for Bobby Long (2004)

A headstrong young woman returns to New Orleans after the death of her estranged mother.

Director:

Shainee Gabel

Writers:

Ronald Everett Capps (novel), Shainee Gabel (screenplay)

Stars:

John Travolta, Scarlett Johansson, Gabriel Macht

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Travolta	...	Bobby Long
Scarlett Johansson	...	Pursy Will
Gabriel Macht	...	Lawson Pines
Deborah Kara Unger	...	Georgianna
Dane Rhodes	...	Cecil
David Jensen	...	Junior
Clayne Crawford	...	Lee
Sonny Shroyer	...	Earl
Carol Sutton	...	Ruthie
Walter Breaux	...	Ray
Warren Kole	...	Sean (as Warren Blosjo)
Bernard Johnson	...	Tiny
Gina 'Ginger' Bernal	...	Waitress
Douglas M. Griffin	...	Man #1 (as Douglas Griffin)
Earl Maddox	...	Man #2

Storyline

Upon hearing of her mother's death, jaded teenage loner Purslane Hominy Will 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, a former literature professor, and his young protégé, Lawson Pines. 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.

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Plot Keywords:

professor | book | funeral | reference to t.s. eliot | camera | 

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Taglines:

The heart is a lonely hunter.

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language including some sexual references

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 January 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bobby Long

Filming Locations:

New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$28,243 (USA) (31 December 2004)

Gross:

$159,171 (USA) (11 February 2005)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lions Gate Films, Destination Films, El Camino Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The production ran into budgetary problems halfway through. Several background extras were brought to a New Orleans location, fitted for costumes, fed dinner, and then sent home without pay because their scene had been cut. Some New Orleans retailers complained that thousands of dollars worth of clothes were returned unused because the scenes they were bought for were never filmed.

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Goofs

When first meeting Pursy in his garden, Cecil snips a piece of purselane and offers it to her with his right hand. In the next shot she takes the purselane from Cecil's left hand.

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Quotes

Bobby Long: Think she'll come right home?
Lawson Pines: Where else would a teenage girl go but straight home to her endlessly entertaining middle-age room mates?

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Connections

Featured in The 62nd Annual Golden Globe Awards (2005)

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Soundtracks

"Charlie Love and the Country Girl"
Performed by Stavin' Chain
Written by John Lawrence
Courtesy of Ruf Records

User Reviews

A Bitter Tale of Love, Friendship and Synergy of Invisible People

In Florida, the teenager Purslane Hominy Will (Scarlett Johansson) is lately informed by her mate that her mother passed away. She returns to her hometown, New Orleans, for the funeral and decided to live in her mother's house. However, she finds that the completely decayed house has two drunken dwellers: the former English professor Bobby Long (John Travolta) and his former assistant Lawson Pines (Gabriel Macht), who has unsuccessfully been trying to write a book about the life of Bobby Long for nine years. She decides to share the place living together with them and after their initial difficult relationship, they disclose deep secrets and improve their lives.

"A Love Song for Bobby Long" is a bitter tale of love, friendship and synergy of invisible people. With many citations of important writers, the dramatic story has excellent lines and is very positive, with good messages and a well resolved conclusion. The irregular John Travolta and always perfect Scarlett Johansson are splendid in the role of broken, suffered and hopeless characters, and the story is never corny. The music score with typical blues, songs and bands from New Orleans completes this surprisingly good movie. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Uma Canção de Amor Para Bobby Long" ("A Love Song for Bobby Long")