Baggage, we’ve all got it. Sometimes we push it down so deep, we almost forget about it. It’s the kind of thing that comes out when you’re sitting on the sofa with a sibling at 2:00 AM. Whether you call it baggage or just history, it’s there. In some ways we are who we are because of it…or in spite of it. None of us are a clean slate.
Lisa (Mary Stuart Masterson) is a successful business executive who has gotten used to being alone but doesn’t like it very much. Abandoned by her birth parents, she then spent most of her life being raised by Stanley (S. A. Griffin). Stanley was her abusive foster father who never really loved Lisa after her adopted mother died. One day Lisa is on an important business trip and gets a call that Stanley has died. At first she doesn’t feel much. She goes about making arrangements and visiting the grave almost by rote, but she comes home exhausted and finds her pet fish dead as well. The dam bursts and Lisa releases years of emotion in racking sobs. Lewis (Christian Slater) is taking another of his nocturnal walks and looks up to see Lisa through a window. Christian is so moved by her grief that he follows her to work the next morning, finds out her name and delivers a beautiful arrangement of flowers to her office. Lisa has a boyfriend (Josh Brolin) who is just as self-absorbed as she is and their relationship is primarily one of convenience. Mary becomes obsessed with finding out who sent the flowers since her boyfriend didn’t, and goes on a mission to find the giver. She eventually finds Lewis and a relationship begins.
Lewis has baggage of his own. He owns a florist business…for a reason. He loves to deliver his flowers just to see the happiness on the faces. Of course, as in any good romance, Lewis is not a schlock. He is educated and had been very successful in another life, the self-absorbed life he lived before his own tragedy. He understands Lisa.
Bed of Roses is a beautiful story about letting go and living. It’s one of my all-time favorites in the romance category even though it was released in 1996. Mary Stuart Masterson and Christian Slater are both amazingly talented. They are also believable because they are a bit quirky, and relatable because they’re not necessarily considered two of the Hollywood “beautiful people.”
So when the weather starts to turn chilly and a fire in the fireplace sounds appealing, make some popcorn and curl up on the sofa for a wonderful evening of entertainment. It won’t knock your socks off but it just might let you have some pleasant dreams.
My hope is that you’ve all found someone in your life in which you can trust your “baggage.” As always, I invite your comments at chastings@rockcliff.com.
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