A Love Song for Bobby Long (DVD)

I missed this one in theaters and despite mixed reviews the fact that it had both Scarlett Johansson and John Travolta in it made me want to see it, and while I can say this is by no means a horrible movie it just doesn't have enough to make me ever want to watch it again.

The story begins as we find Pursy (Johansson) living in Florida with her boyfriend when she learns that her mother has passed away. Pursy sets out to New Orleans to claim her childhood home and finds that it isn't exactly as lifeless as she had expected. Living in the house are Bobby Long (Travolta) and Lawson Pines (Macht).

These two men have been living in the house with Pursy's mother for years and don't exactly have any intentions on leaving causing the three to form an awkward living space that soon doesn't become so awkward, but things can't always be roses under this roof. As time wears on and Pursy begins to find her life on the right track personal secrets soon begin to come to the surface and the happy threesome are forced to confront demons all three of them probably wish had never come home to roost.

A Love Song for Bobby Long was written and directed by Shainee Gabel and is her first directorial outing and while nothing about her ability to tell the story she has written goes wrong the story is just not appealing enough to warrant a second viewing. What is impressive is the look at feel of the film, and while I have never been to New Orleans it seems Shainee and her crew have managed to capture a unique look and feel that certainly puts you in the moment.

As for the special features on this disc you will be greeted with a few deleted scenes, a standard behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film and an audio commentary with Gabel and her cinematographer Elliot Davis. The deleted scenes and behind-the-scenes feature give you exactly what you would expect but the audio commentary is certainly a bit different than most as the two don't talk as much about the film as I thought they would as far as the story and the acting is concerned, but they get more into the look of the film and the color palette used in each scene. This is understandable considering the cinematographer is part of the commentary but he really does dominate a lot of air time.

Overall, I do think this film is a good rental, but not necessarily worth spending your cash on. Johansson and Travolta turn in good performances and Gabel will certainly be back with a second feature even though her first didn't get the highest of marks.