OFF AND RUNNING

Murder, kidnapping, and a car crash bring together a theme-park mermaid/aspiring actress (Cyndi Lauper), a would-be golf pro (David Keith), and a streetwise kid (Johnny Pinto) who are making their way from Florida to Manhattan. The actors were not exactly prepared for their roles. To do her underwater mermaid scenes, Lauper had to learn to swim. Says costar Keith, “she certainly looked adept at it, and she was underwater with girls who do it for a living.” Keith, meanwhile, had to learn to play golf. ” I got to where I could hit it alright with the irons,” he says, ” I still slice pretty badly with the driver.”