First of all: Eric didn't appear in MC2 because the scriptwriting gods thought that another second banana besides Sam Fuller was one too many.
His actual dumping of Gracie ON THE PHONE suddenly made it clear what a rotten jerk he was! Didn't even have the guts to do it in person. By the way, that phone scene is a heartrending acting masterpiece by Sandy ("Is it the sex? I could buy a manual..."). Later dialog revealed that Eric was being transferred. Couldn't he have used that as a reason for the break-up,
instead of the tired "we need space" cliche?
Knowing what we know in MC2, it becomes clear there are forshadowings in the original MC.(1) After the Russian mafia operation, Eric sez to Gracie, "By the way, you look like hell". A totally unnecessary and insulting comment, since EVERYBODY looked like hell after that operation - Eric included. (2.) The pool sequence. We can't entirely blame this on Eric. The scriptwriting gods decree that when a nicely dressed character is by a pool, she must fall or be dragged into it. Nonetheless, it was Eric that did the dragging. (3.) When the FBI is wrapping up in Texas, and Gracie begs to stay behind, Eric won't support her, giving as his reason his desire to retire "in 20 or 25 years, thank you very much".
By the way, Sandy's character was not depressed in "28 Days". Boozy yes, but not depressed.
In "Lake House" she may have been SLIGHTLY depressed; but the ending snapped her out of that nicely. A complex movie but sweet; watch it again. There will be a pop quiz.
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