Summaries

Synopsis

Following the death of her mother from a drug overdose, 18-year-old Purslane (Pursy) Hominy Will (Scarlett Johansson) leaves a Florida trailer park, where she lives with an abusive boyfriend (who never told her that her mother died and made her miss her funeral), to return to her hometown of New Orleans. Her mother Lorraine was a jazz singer, whom Pursy felt neglected her for her career. Pursy had dropped out of high school and left the city.

The girl is surprised to find strangers living in her mother's dilapidated home: Bobby Long (John Travolta), a former professor of literature at Auburn University, and his protege and former teaching assistant, Lawson Pines (Gabriel Macht), a struggling writer. Both men are heavy drinkers and smokers. They pass time quoting poets, playing chess, and spending time with the neighbors; Long also sings country-folk songs. The two convince Pursy that her mother left the house to all three of them. But more exactly, the truth is that Pursy is the sole heir, and the other two are limited by her mother's will as to how long they can stay in the house.

Pursy wanted to move back to Florida but read her mother's book (given to her by Lawson) at the bus station (all night) and came back to her home the next morning while Bobby and Lawson are away from breakfast.Pursy moves in, acting as the most responsible member of the evolving dysfunctional family. The men's efforts to drive her away (by making unwelcome advances at her and making lewd conversations involving the word "pussy" in an effort to gross her out.) decline as they grow fonder of her. Pursy starts off by believing that her mother nothing more than a slut who sacrificed her for her own Jazz career.

She meets the neighbors including bar owner Georgianna (Deborah Kara Unger), where Lorraine used to sing and Lee (Clayne Crawford) who was close to Lorraine in her last days.Bobby wants Pursy to leave as he doesn't want Lawson to lose concentration on his novel, which he is writing. He pushes Pursy's buttons by saying that she needs to earn her way around the house (despite her having cleaned the toilet, and now painting it all by herself). Pursy pushes back to alleging that nobody respects Bobby, when Bobby says that Pursy has no respect for her mother (Pursy had said that Lorraine would whore around for a few dollars)..

Bobby - slovenly and suffering from ailments he prefers to ignore - tries to improve Pursy by introducing her to the novel The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter; he also encourages her to return to high school and get her degree (he pulls strings to get certificates that show Pursy passed the 11th grade, even though she only passed till 9th. she still needs to pass 12th).Lawson throws out all the alcohol as Pursy starts her school. Lawson is attracted to her but hesitates to become involved.The three have memories of Lorraine, especially Pursy, who feels that her mother ignored her to pursue her jazz career (she only has made up memories of having spent time with her mother). Pursy makes steady progress at school after initial hiccups.

Bobby is angry when he suggests that he wants to move in with Georgianna for the winter to make more progress on his novel. This makes bobby and Pursy uncomfortable, as it seemed that Lawson was infatuated with Pursy. Lawson says he has done enough by serving Bobby for 9 yrs and deserves his own life.

That night Lawson reveals to Pursy that back in Alabama, Bobby was a hot prof. Lawson was his student and loved a girl. Bobby's wife asked him to take their son to a softball game. Bobby and Lawson decided to have a beer. Thats when the dean's son came in and claimed that he was having sex with Lawson's girl. Dean's son took a swipe at Lawson, hitting Bobby in the face and cracking it open. Bobby beat him mercilessly. As a result, they were late to pick Bobby's son, who was a little boy and left by himself in the dark. He was hit by a truck on the highway on the way home. Bobby was kicked out of the house by his wife.

The next morning, Lawson and Bobby apologize to each other and make up. Bobby starts urinating blood but is afraid of doctors. Lawson forces him and it turns out to be a kidney infection. Pursy starts dating, as she can't wait for Lawson forever.One day Pursy's abusive boyfriend brings over her lawyer's letter which states that she has clear title to Lorraine's property. Pursy throws him out. Next, she throws out Lawson and Bobby's stuff. Next, she puts the property up for sale. The guys try to win her over by painting the exterior of the house.

When Pursy finds a cache of letters (while cleaning out the house) her mother wrote to her but never mailed, Pursy learns more about how Lorraine felt about her, and the identity of her biological father. The letter says Bobby is her father. This is why wanted all of them to live together for a while, so that they could get to know each other.Pursy and Bobby make up. She graduates and takes the house off the market. Bobby dies and Lawson gets his ending and finishes the book.