RIP Patrick Swayze

"It's kind of strange, isn't it? How the mountains pay us no attention at all. You laugh or you cry... The wind just keeps on blowing." -Jed Eckert

Patrick Swayze passed away last night, and while most will remember him from movies like Dirty Dancing and Ghost, I'll always think of him for his action hat trick of Red Dawn, Roadhouse, and Point Break. Red Dawn is just a classic, and if you're in your mid-30's, you can probably quote it all day long. Sure it was a Reagan era, anti-commie flick, but it was somehow solid, hard to describe, but it definitely squeaked through the cracks. It stands out as my favorite of Swayze's movies, with his portrayal of the reluctant hero, turned guerrilla freedom fighter and leader. It's a shame that they want to do a remake. If you ever played the original Twilight 2000, like I did, you know you've tried to get a Red Dawn campaign off the ground at one point or another. Maybe it's time to revisit the idea...

When you think of Point Break, Reeves' halting delivery of the line "I. Am. A. F. B. I. Agent." is the first thing that comes to mind. Secondly might be when you realize that was the lead singer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers taking a bullet through his high top. Thirdly, however, is Swayze's portrayal as the Zenned-out surfer antagonist criminal mastermind, who skirts the grey area between 'bad guy' and not. Point Break epitomizes action movies transitioning from the 80's to 90's, it doesn't take itself too seriously and is just plain fun.

Then there's Roadhouse, and be honest, if you're flipping through the channels, and it's on, you linger for a bit, if not the whole thing. With a tag line like, "A tough bouncer is hired to tame a dirty bar.", how can you go wrong? Swayze out-Seagals Seagal in this action beat 'em up pitting the noble good guy against the "evil" local crime boss.

So I definitely can't dance, and haven't had the the chance to fight for freedom against communist invaders on American soil (yet), I don't like the notion of prison so I won't be planning a series of bank robberies dressed as a president, and spin kicking the teeth out of a drunk bar patron is a no-no, so consider this my tribute to the late Swayze.