List of Fives Part Eight
Five Favorite Patrick Swayze films:
For you, partner...
1. Roadhouse -- cheesy as all hell but Patrick shows off his martial arts skills, it features the late Jeff Healey's band, and Sam Elliot shows up. It's a Sunday afternoon/guilty pleasure film. Not much of a plot: Swayze plays Dalton, a cooler at a rough and tumble bar and he ends up cleaning out the entire town.
2. Red Dawn -- this one goes way back to the days of Reagan and the Red Scare. Swayze leads a team of teenagers as they fight Russians and Cubans who have invaded the United States. It's as fascist as they come (makes Starship Troopers look progressively socialist in comparison) but it is a John Milius film, so what can you expect? Swayze does a good turn as (again) a big brother looking out for his unit.
3. Tall Tale -- this film will make you wonder why Patrick Swayze didn't play cowboys more often on film. Here, he plays Pecos Bill to comedic perfection, helping out a young boy deal with the land baron intent on stealing his family farm. Swayze looks good as Pecos Bill and seems to be having a ball playing the part.
4. Point Break -- another Sunday afternoon/guilty pleasure film, this one is about surfing bank robbers. But who can resist Swayze's Bodhi, who spouts proverbs while hanging ten and pushing the adrenaline envelope in search of the perfect wave. I don't remember the exact quote but an idea that has stayed with me is spoken by Bodhi, who reminds us that every now and then, Nature likes to show us just how small and insignificant we truly are.
5. To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar -- mouthful of a title, I know. This film was made after the huge success of Australian film "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" wowed audiences. Three drag queens travel across country only to end up stranded in a small town with small town ideals and issues. Not the best film ever made but Swayze, Wesley Snipes, and John Leguizamo play the drag queens. I don't think I will ever truly be able to forgive Patrick for making a better looking woman than I will ever be.
Honorable mention:
I know everyone will, in speaking of Swayze, mention "Ghost" and "Dirty Dancing" as his big films. Yes, they both were huge successes.
But if you want to see a truly great Patrick Swayze performance, check out the film City of Joy.
Swayze plays Max Lowe, a disillusioned surgeon traveling the world to find his sense of purpose, comes across Hazari Pal and his family who have come to Calcutta to find a new life. These two men could not be any more different and yet they forge a surprising friendship in one of the poorest and most populous cities in the world. It's a great film and one not to be missed.
Or, you could just rent North and South. Swayze is good in that, too.
For you, partner...
1. Roadhouse -- cheesy as all hell but Patrick shows off his martial arts skills, it features the late Jeff Healey's band, and Sam Elliot shows up. It's a Sunday afternoon/guilty pleasure film. Not much of a plot: Swayze plays Dalton, a cooler at a rough and tumble bar and he ends up cleaning out the entire town.
2. Red Dawn -- this one goes way back to the days of Reagan and the Red Scare. Swayze leads a team of teenagers as they fight Russians and Cubans who have invaded the United States. It's as fascist as they come (makes Starship Troopers look progressively socialist in comparison) but it is a John Milius film, so what can you expect? Swayze does a good turn as (again) a big brother looking out for his unit.
3. Tall Tale -- this film will make you wonder why Patrick Swayze didn't play cowboys more often on film. Here, he plays Pecos Bill to comedic perfection, helping out a young boy deal with the land baron intent on stealing his family farm. Swayze looks good as Pecos Bill and seems to be having a ball playing the part.
4. Point Break -- another Sunday afternoon/guilty pleasure film, this one is about surfing bank robbers. But who can resist Swayze's Bodhi, who spouts proverbs while hanging ten and pushing the adrenaline envelope in search of the perfect wave. I don't remember the exact quote but an idea that has stayed with me is spoken by Bodhi, who reminds us that every now and then, Nature likes to show us just how small and insignificant we truly are.
5. To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar -- mouthful of a title, I know. This film was made after the huge success of Australian film "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" wowed audiences. Three drag queens travel across country only to end up stranded in a small town with small town ideals and issues. Not the best film ever made but Swayze, Wesley Snipes, and John Leguizamo play the drag queens. I don't think I will ever truly be able to forgive Patrick for making a better looking woman than I will ever be.
Honorable mention:
I know everyone will, in speaking of Swayze, mention "Ghost" and "Dirty Dancing" as his big films. Yes, they both were huge successes.
But if you want to see a truly great Patrick Swayze performance, check out the film City of Joy.
Swayze plays Max Lowe, a disillusioned surgeon traveling the world to find his sense of purpose, comes across Hazari Pal and his family who have come to Calcutta to find a new life. These two men could not be any more different and yet they forge a surprising friendship in one of the poorest and most populous cities in the world. It's a great film and one not to be missed.
Or, you could just rent North and South. Swayze is good in that, too.
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