"Patrick Swayze and Melanie Griffith are 'Ben' and 'Lulu'. Years ago, they had an intense passionate affair, a relationship that ended very badly. Now, fifteen years later, he's a successful, married writer who gets a desperate call
Lulu needs his help. Chaotic and confused, she reveals a huge secret that they alone must deal with. Together, on a fiery cross-country journey they will find a new direction that points to their future," according to the DVD sleeve's synopsis.
The irrelevant opening has Ms. Griffith and Ryan Bollman (as Freddie) in a San Francisco home for schizophrenics, estimating the number of blow-jobs "Lulu" has given (he calculates the number to be 500). Then, a connection is made between Griffith and Mr. Swayze, as they separately watch a television airing of the "The Hustler" (1961); Griffith and Swayze recite, verbatim, the dialogue delivered by Paul Newman (as Eddie) and Piper Laurie (as Sarah).
Writer/director John Kaye has a good melodrama with the weakly titled "Forever Lulu" (strengthened to "Along for the Ride" for DVD release). But, the film is poorly structured, and looks rushed. The first thing I wanted to re-edit was the bar scene where Swayze re-encounters Griffith; she should have been introduced in long and/or medium shots, followed by a close-up. A later Griffith nude pool scene is much to staid; it should have been shot like Marilyn Monroe's swim in "Something's Got to Give" (1962).
I have met both Swayze and Griffith, and these characters remind me so much of the actors (which is not to say they are exactly like the characters). When watching Swayze during the film's early scenes, I caught on to a layer of sadness he is using for the characterization of "Ben". As the film progresses, a plot revelation confirms something more (sad) about his character. Swayze had a distant melancholy about him, even before his illness was diagnosed; and, I believe this quality, along with an open naturalness, drew you to him. An engaging man.
Griffith is also a lovely person, though quite unlike Swayze (apart from the flashbacks, their characters do not have much "chemistry"). Since Griffith may read this sometime, I met her at a 1980s party - she was (you were) there via a hairdresser friend and I with a DJ friend. We left for the patio to chain-smoke (Hey, Melanie, I quit!), and spoke about life's challenges
I didn't "go" to movies then, and was not aware of how popular an actress Melanie Griffith was; seeing her films now, I admire her work, and see some of the "Melanie" I met in the "Lulu" character.
****** Forever Lulu (7/7/00) John Kaye ~ Melanie Griffith, Patrick Swayze, Penelope Ann Miller, Joseph Gordon-Levitt
