Comments on: Review: A Love Song for Bobby Long

By: Emma

Emma — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 03:35:18 +0000

I don’t agree with the negative criticism from some prior remarks. However, an opinion is an opinion. I thought the characters as well as the scenes were very well developed. Maybe I understood them because of my perspective. I was born and raised in New Orleans, enjoy literature and understand how alcohol can engulf a person’s life causing the destruction in Lawson and Bobby’s lives. I thought it was interesting how we never really knew who Pursy’s father was until the end. There were a few times that I thought the musician and the gardener were but never did I think Bobby was. It was beautiful how Bobby embraced Pursy as a daughter with no doubts and with so much love and honor. All of the actors were incredibly believable in their southern charm and characteristics. I did cry a few times and it was because of a combination of the scenary, acting, music and directing! Again, I’m not sure where the bad hype is coming from but it is undeserved in my humble opinion.

By: Administrator

Administrator — Fri, 06 Jan 2006 08:45:26 +0000

Hi Melinda,

Thanks for your perspective on Bobby Long. You could be making it up but the movie leaves a lot to the imagination. I haven’t seen a Q&A session with the director - maybe she did one.

I think it could’ve been a better movie if it wasn’t for certain “gaps” or should we call them “underdeveloped scenes”. Maybe it was budgetary problems as some of the rumors seem to indicate.

By: melinda

melinda — Thu, 05 Jan 2006 21:59:55 +0000

This is one of the best movies I have ever seen.
I don’t agree with the above reviews though.
Concerning some of the above comments-
You see Bobby Long’s black toes in the beginning which looks like diabetes and would eventually lead to blood poisoning if not amputated. Bobby therefore stays on Lawson about finishing his story because he knows he is dying. He doesn’t tell Lawson anything the doctor has said except that he needs to dry out.
Lorraine never went back for Pursy because she fell back into the blackness after neither showed up for her show post mental hospital.
Only after Lawson and Bobby help Pursy is Lawson able to see clearly the truth about Bobby which was summed up in the last lines of his book seen in the close of the movie.

By: Administrator

Administrator — Tue, 22 Nov 2005 13:37:30 +0000

Hi Ralitza, thank you for the comment. I do appreciate your perspective on the movie. I felt it had a lot of potential too but was somehow a bit misguided.

I didn’t cry though… it’s a woman’s thing. Boys don’t cry!

By: Ralitza

Ralitza — Tue, 22 Nov 2005 12:35:05 +0000

I like the movie and your review!

To be honest the plot is a bit thin. I’m amazed that you managed to
summarize it considering there isn’t much to summarize. If someone asks
me what this film is about, I simply couldn’t tell him.

I like the feeling in every scene though. I like the way each shot was
taken. Even the simplest shot stays with you like a beautiful
photograph, part of a wonderful album: the nature, the color of the
grass, the clouds… I’m jealous. I have seen this in real life but I
could’ve never taken it.

In your “lessons” you discuss scenes that start but go nowhere. I agree
with you on these but they seem like tiny plot holes when you compare
them to the giant one - the Mother.

Everyone loved her, she loved her daughter but she left her just the
same. She never sent those letters but kept writing them. Why? Nobody
knows - me neither.

Another example is Pursy’s ex-boyfriend who came only to show her the
lawyer’s letter and then disappeared. Who would travel so many miles to
his “newly rich” girlfriend without trying to “claim” a part of the
house?

It would’ve been better to keep the story short and let Pursy find a
letter in the mailbox before Bobby could hide it. There are a lot of
scenes that go nowhere and a lot of questions that don’t get the answers
they deserve.

I didn’t “feel” that the film reflected real life. It does not build a
real portrait of an alcoholic/professor or of a young lady that starts
as a waitress and becomes a good student. Even the hours that three of
them spend learning English ring a bit false.

For me the film has another mission - to show the beauty of New Orleans’
nature(covers all seasons), the beauty of literature (the quotes are
great), and the beauty of every single moment, however mundane.

I cried a lot at the end. Not because of the story - I didn’t find it
touching. Bobby turns out to be her father? Great, but this smells like
a soap opera to me. I didn’t cry because I empathize with the
protagonist either. I cried because of the melancholy that fills the New
Orleans landscape and permeates the movie.

Thank you for your review. I saw the movie because I read it. I think
we’re on the same page. Well, almost. I think I’m adding some (much
needed) woman’s touch… and a tear. A tear for Bobby Long, that’s the
title of my review.