Monday was a very sad day. As I am sure you have heard by now, Patrick Swayze finally succumbed to pancreatic cancer and passed on at the age of 57. Having grown up with so many of his movies, I thought it appropriate to give a tribute to him here at Mbird, as we so often do for the fallen heroes of our youth.
I have to say that, while I recognize his movies were not masterpieces, I always found them thoroughly entertaining. From his earliest stuff like The Outsiders and Red Dawn to his biggest hits Dirty Dancing, Ghost, and Point Break, there was something about watching Swayze kick some “a”, whether that be on the dance floor or on the beach. He was simply cool.
I know a lot of people out there would call a lot of his work cheesy, but the amazing thing about him was that he went about his roles without the slightest sense of irony, which allowed him to shine in a part that otherwise would have flopped. Dirty Dancing, Ghost and Point Break never would have been what they were had he not brought the sincerity and vulnerability that he did to those roles. He made them cool. “No one puts Baby in a corner.”
My wife and I joke all the time about the fact that whenever Road House is on TV (and it is on a lot) I watch it, without exception. She marvels at how I can enjoy such a “ridiculous” (her word not mine) movie. To be honest, I don’t know what it is about it, but that movie rocks! It even has a monster truck scene in it! How many movies can you say that about? Basically, Swayze’s movies confidently fulfill their primary role in the world as pieces of entertainment. With all of the movies out there that are trying to say something all the freakin’ time, I find it delightful to sit back and be entertained by a guy who seemed very comfortable in his own skin.
He also was not a bad actor. He acted the role of Bodhi so perfectly in Point Break that it carried the whole film (with a little help from Gary Busey of course). I still consider it one of my favorite movies of all time because it is just so much fun to watch! It also has one of the best lines about fear ever: “Fear causes hesitation and hesitation causes your worst fears to come true.” Talk about an endorsement for living freely and spontaneously:) If you haven’t seen it lately, or ever for that matter, rent it and watch it tonight. Sit back, relax and enjoy Swayze doing his thing. You won’t regret it;)
And finally:
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COMMENTS
4 responses to “A Tribute to Patrick Swayze”
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Great article sean – love the clip!
Bodhi!!!!!
His best performance was "Point Break". So sad he left us. His family are in my prayers. God bless him.
🙂
I think Point Break definitely had a message.
I wanted to call my mom and tell her that I finally found my calling.