Forever Lulu (2000)

Really Surprised!

Best movie ever!

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Lulu has had mental problems for years, but she is relatively stable and living in the Valley View home. Ben is a writer for an Emmy-nominated sci-fi TV series, married to Claire, a psychiatrist.Lulu gave up for adoption the son she had with Ben 16 years ago, though she never told Ben she was pregnant. She knows the boy's name is Martin and that he was adopted by the Ellsworths, a college professor and his wife living in Madison, Wisconsin. With his birthday coming up, she believes this is the perfect opportunity to take that road trip she wanted to back when they were dating. She sneaks out of the home and meets Ben, who is reluctant to drive from Los Angeles to Wisconsin. But Lulu gets a friend at the home to pretend to be the boy's father on the phone, so Ben thinks the meeting has been arranged.When Claire finds out what Ben has done, she is furious and decides to follow him. On the airplane, she tells her story to a stranger. She seems like such a witch, but it turns out she and Ben lost a son to leukemia, and she does show a vulnerable side.Ben and Lulu have a fun trip, with a few problems because of Lulu's mental state. Well, anyway, it's fun for us. Lulu does take off her clothes when a motel has a pool, and I think certain body parts were blurred on TV. Ben starts out uptight but ends up enjoying the experience.It is fortunate that Claire followed Ben and Lulu. She is able to provide a lot of help, especially when she finds out the Ellsworths don't know Lulu and Ben are coming. She really is a caring person, despite what we have seen so far.The meeting with the Ellsworths is pleasant enough at first, but it's not too hard to figure out what will happen. However, everything has a way of working out.Melanie Griffith is so wonderful as Lulu. Such a sweet girl, and so funny and easy to like, though somewhat troubled. Most of the leading actors give good performances. There are a couple of disturbing scenes, including one with blood from one of the several flashbacks of Lulu's earlier relationship with Ben.This is a cute but quirky adventure.

I have no idea why this film was listed as a comedy. It definitely is a romance and depicts several different loves - infatuation (in flash backs and memories), parents' love a child, a wife's love for a husband, a husband's love of a wife, and a love above other loves.Patrick Swayze is brilliant portraying a man torn between the burning memory of an earlier passionate love with Lulu (Melanie Griffith) and a love he feels for his wife. Swayze's character takes off across country with Lulu in search of his son with Lulu that he just found out about. Swayze is a handsome, moving leading man.It is an excellent film that portrays a beautiful woman (Griffith) who has struggled with mental illness for years. Melanie Griffith's seems to always be able to portray sweet vulnerability even when her characters should not be sweet and vulnerable - she is able to dig down and find the soul of her characters.Penelope Miller does a wonderful job as the wife of Swayze's character. Definitely worth watching - have tissues nearby!

Again. Does she ever fail? If you are reading this 'girl', please keep your humility - therein lies your brilliance and genuine qualities.How can you build a movie around one actor? You have to get the perfect actor-actress and then find the right script.This isn't a great movie. No. But watch the girl. Melanie is no youngster, but her spirit is too young, too brilliant to hide!You can't avoid watching her. She is compelling. Few players can match her on any level. Thespian espectacular!So, enjoy performance, even though a lot of the other film elements don't rise to excellence. Melanie is superb, and is she ever bad? It takes a very special quality of commitment to excel and elate when the material around you is only mediocre.

I recommend this movie to everyone. I think the actors all put in solid performances and were all believable in their characters. Melanie does an excellent job of portraying someone mentally ill and Penelope Ann Miller does a great job as the wife. Patrick proves he doesn't need to be in an "action" role, but can play a serious character also. The best scenes are when the three of them are interacting. I am glad I found out about this movie on the Imdb because I would have missed out otherwise. It is too bad this movie did not get more (or any) media attention because a lot of people are going to miss out on a great story.