Remembering Patrick Swayze: Road House, Point Break, Red Dawn, Donnie Darko

Posted on September 14, 2009 by Lolita Carrico

Patrick Swayze, who died today at age 57, is most famous for his work in the movies Dirty Dancing and Ghost.  But Swayze was a hard working actor who carved out a niche as a romantic lead who could also play a tough guy.  You may have loved Swayze for not “putting baby in a corner” but I loved watching Patrick Swayze in these movies too:

Road House – One of my all time favorite weekend couch potato movies!  Swayze plays Dalton, the toughest bar bouncer around.  The movie has been called “the best bad movie ever made” and if you let yourself watch Road House, you’ll find yourself immediately sucked in.  Like a super-sized box of popcorn with lots of butter, you know you shouldn’t be watching Road House but you just can’t stop.

Point Break – This flick was one of the hot movies of 1991.  Patrick Swayze  played Bodhi, a surfer/bank robber dude. Keanu Reeves co-starred with Swayze in this early 90′s blockbuster about an FBI agent who goes undercover to catch a gang of bank robbers who are also surfers.  Swayze is a hunk of a chunk of a surfer dude in this movie and it’s a must rent if you haven’t already seen it.

Red Dawn -  The story of the start of World War III in mid-western America. Swayze played the leader of a group of teenagers who defend their town, and their country, from invading Soviet forces.  Swayze’s role was funny, sad and in parts horrifying. Red Dawn is a good movie and Patrick Swayze, who looks so young, is fabulous.

Donnie Darko – Swayze played a creepy motivational speaker in this sleeper hit and won raves for his performance.  As the local celebrity Jim Cunningham, Patrick Swayze plays a pillar of the community—with a hidden kiddy porn dungeon. EW!  Swayze was excellent in Donnie Darko, and really showed his talent in this movie.

Swayze, known as a down-to-earth, nice-guy actor, died today at age 57, 20 months after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Rest in peace, Patrick. We will miss you and your wonderful movies.