Love Song for Bobby Long DVD

A Love Song For Bobby Long
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, All Movie Guide

Cast John Travolta as Bobby Long Scarlett Johansson as Pursy Will Gabriel Macht as Lawson Pines Deborah Kara Unger as Georgianna Dane Rhodes as Cecil

Crew Adele Plauche - Art Director Linda Rae Favila - Associate Producer Anson Downes - Associate Producer Cathy Sandrich - Casting Amanda Mackey-Johnson - Casting Melanie Johansson - Co-producer Jamie Gordon - Co-producer Jill M. Ohanneson - Costume Designer William Paul Clark - First Assistant Director Shainee Gabel - Director Lee Percy - Editor Lisa Fruchtman - Editor Randall Emmett - Executive Producer Brad Krevoy - Executive Producer George Furla - Executive Producer Betsy Mackey - Line Producer Nathan Larson - Composer (Music Score) Jim Black - Musical Direction/Supervision Sharon Lomofsky - Production Designer Elliot Davis - Cinematographer R. Paul Miller - Producer David Lancaster - Producer Bob Yari - Producer Paul Miller - Producer Kathleen Cusack - Sound/Sound Designer Shainee Gabel - Screenwriter Ronald Everett Capps - Book Author

A Love Song For Bobby Long
Adapting a novel for the screen is a tricky process, and unfortunately it's clearly one that neophyte writer/director Shainee Gabel has not mastered. Early on in A Love Song for Bobby Long, the overly literary voice-over ramblings of Lawson Pines (Gabriel Macht) ("New Orleans is a siren of a city") begin to grate. Later in the film, someone asks Bobby Long (John Travolta), "Does every word outta your mouth have to be in character?" Bobby is a larger-than-life character who may have been fascinating on the page, but onscreen (embodied by Travolta), he and his story strain credulity. Appropriately bloated in this case but still over-the-top, Travolta can't muster the subtlety or grace to transcend the clichéd characterization of this cantankerous fallen Southern intellectual. On the positive side, Gabel does capture a certain gritty local flavor in her New Orleans locations. Macht is an appealing presence, and Scarlett Johansson brings a recognizably human soul to her portrait of Pursy. The actress has enough grit beneath that impossibly beautiful surface to make us believe that Pursy has had a difficult life and is more than a little bit lost. But the film itself is lost in translation. Full of grandiose literary references and tragic tall tales that are never dramatized, the story, despite an obvious red herring, makes its way to a predictable conclusion. Worse yet, it grows increasingly maudlin along the way, exemplified by one final, dreadful pan. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
 

Scarlett Johansson: Golden Globe, Best Actress - Drama (nominated)

General Specifications: Language Options: English, French, Por Subtitle Options: English, French, Spanish, Por Sound Processing: DD5.1: Dolby Digital w/ sub-woofer channel Additional Features: cc Audio commentary with director & cinematographer Deleted scenes Behind the scenes of A Love Song for Bobby Long DVD Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1: Theatre Wide-Screen MPAA Rating: R DVD Discs Included: 1 DVD Sides: 1 DVD DVD Region Code: 1 Content Length: 120 min   DVD Chapters: Side #1 -- 1. Start [4:20] 2. Lorraine Is Dead [3:19] 3. A Third of the House [6:02] 4. So Much Like Lorraine [2:56] 5. The Door of Her Heart [4:56] 6. The Wonderfully Elusive Something [7:23] 7. Productive Pursy [4:24] 8. The Senior Male [3:46] 9. Like Portraits on the Inside [3:39] 10. Duo [3:40] 11. Here for a Reason [5:16] 12. Learning What Matters [2:43] 13. "Take Away the Bottle..." [3:27] 14. Short Days [2:52] 15. Manufactured Memories [6:03] 16. Always in Character [5:20] 17. Plumbing Problem [2:15] 18. Cold Night, Dark Road [7:04] 19. Christmas [3:06] 20. Tests for Bobby [2:19] 21. Dating Again [4:56] 22. Jealous [1:49] 23. Sole Owner [4:56] 24. Go Away Forever [2:59] 25. Hidden in Letters [4:26] 26. "Would You Tell Me About Her?" [4:47] 27. Graduation [4:52] 28. Bobby's Romance [6:33]