Where to begin? Ah yes - In the role of the novelist: Patrick Swayze....You can tell he is intellectual, because he made the daring character choice of wearing glasses.Fortunately for Swayze, Melanie Griffith was cast opposite, making him Olivier by comparison.Her character - Lulu - begs to be strangled. I seriously scraped my knuckles trying to reach through the screen to choke her. She's supposed to be this schizo - a tender, profound soul with an impulsive, child-like disposition - but it comes off as the most affected crap you've ever seen.It especially drove me crazy as I live in New York surrounded by NYU girls that are equally desperate to seem quirky.If you see this on television, don't watch it. Turn off the TV, get up, leave your house, wait AT LEAST 3 hours (Just to be safe - these movies can really get stretched out with commercials), and then kill yourself.

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.

Where this film isn't a masterpiece by any means, it is certainly worth the time. Melanie Griffith shines in her role as Lulu and Joseph Gordon-Levitt stands out yet again in the role of Martin. Unfortunately, his time is much too brief in the film, as I think he's probably the most underrated actor today. He's extremely believable in his role and he showed us exactly how one would act in the situation his character was in.Give the film a shot, it's worth the time- forget some of the characters Swayze has played in the past and look at him for the character he's playing now. Watch Melanie become Lulu... And lastly, you'll believe Gordon-Levitt is Martin in the awkward situation he's been thrown into.Acting is an A, film is a B.

Along for the Ride (or "Forever Lulu") is not a special film by any means. It's quite average like most films it has its moments. The only really surprising thing about it is how powerful the source music is at the end. Other than that the plot is pretty much predictable. Melanie Griffith does an absolutely amazing job in this film yet again and if you're a fan of hers its the only reason to see this film. Penelope Ann Miller is also quite good in a supporting part. If you have some time to kill this ain't bad.