Movie Review: Point Break (1991)

Genre: Crime Thriller  

Director: Kathryn Bigelow  

Starring: Keanu Reeves, Patrick Swayze, Gary Busey, Lori Petty  

Running Time: 122 minutes  

Synopsis: In Los Angeles, rookie FBI Agent Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves) is partnered with veteran Agent Angelo Pappas (Gary Busey) and tasked to investigate bank robberies committed by men wearing masks of ex-US Presidents. Pursuing clues suggesting the criminals may be surfers, Johnny goes undercover and meets Tyler (Lori Petty), who teaches him to surf and becomes his lover. Johnny's suspicions eventually centre on legendary surfer Bodhi (Patrick Swayze), who leads a group of friends pursuing the easy life.

What Works Well: This is a bold, loud, and larger-than-life thriller, sacrificing plot coherence for the spectacle of brash men embracing insane risks. Not satisfied with tackling monstrous waves, director Kathryn Bigelow takes long detours to a couple of skydiving highlights, and finds time for one unrelated gang shoot-out, several bank robberies, and a few high energy chases. Donald Peterman's expansive cinematography enhances the breathless action, and while Reeves and Swayze never really have to act, they do ride the thrill waves with alpha male authority.

What Does Not Work As Well: After some early perfunctory police work, any pretense of a disciplined investigation is jettisoned in favour of Johnny and Bodhi circling each other like a couple of territorial bulls in the wild. The action diverges from logic at an alarming pace, and the uniformly humorless tone suggests protagonists unaware of their increasingly ridiculous context.

Conclusion: Boisterously bloated bravura. 



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Movie Review: Ghost (1990)

A fantasy romance mystery drama with a touch of humour, Ghost hits all the right notes in the story of love's endurance despite death's interruption.

In New York City, Wall Street banker Sam Wheat (Patrick Swayze) and pottery artist Molly Jensen (Demi Moore) are deeply in love and thinking of getting married. Carl Bruner (Tony Goldwyn) is a friend of the couple and Sam's colleague at work. One night after a theatre performance, Sam and Molly are confronted by a mugger, and Sam is shot and killed in the confrontation. But he is not ready to fully depart to the afterlife: he hangs around as a ghost, able to observe everything but unable to communicate.

Sam's ghost is shocked when the mugger Willie Lopez (Rick Aviles) returns to Molly's apartment for an attempted theft. He realizes that the mugging was actually a murder related to money laundering at the bank, and Molly is still in grave danger. Sam connects with psychic Oda Mae Brown (Whoopi Goldberg) and she becomes his means of communication, but convincing Molly that Sam's ghost is still hovering and looking after her well-being will not be easy.

Directed by Jerry Zucker and written by Bruce Joel Rubin, Ghost is a perfectly conceived and exquisitely constructed film. Finding an impeccable combination of romance, mystery, and spectral interaction with a complementary dusting of comedy, the film weaves an irresistible two-hour magic spell filled with tears and laughs.

The romance elements are the powerful magnetic force at the core of the film. Ghost is first and foremost a love story about the bond connecting two people across multiple dimensions. The pottery scene set to the tune of the Righteous Brothers' Unchained Melody is the most heartfelt expression of the passion between Sam and Molly, and one of cinema's most famous romance moments. But Zucker also fills the film with wistful moments, as the lovers frequently sense each other without quite being together.

Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze are both at the peak of their star power and find instantaneous chemistry. Neither will ever be accused of achieving acting greatness, but they both deliver what Ghost needs in terms of an attractive, confident couple who nevertheless have some difficulties expressing what sometimes needs to be said. Swayze of course gets several shirtless scenes, and Moore's practical yet stylish haircut is one of the most prominent symbols of the end of the 1980s.

The humour arrives courtesy of the Oda Mae Brown character, Whoopi Goldberg's finest big screen role. Oda Mae is a fraud psychic when Sam first meets her, but his presence awakens her genuine ability to communicate with the dead, very much a case of be careful what you wish for. Oda Mae's shock at her newly discovered powers opens the door to plenty of comic moments, none more so than when her small but suddenly popular Brooklyn store is overrun by both grieving family members and the recently deceased.

An angry ghost who haunts New York's subway cars and takes umbrage at Sam's intrusiveness injects a few more laughs of the more dangerous kind.

The special effects are decent for the era, but more impressive is Zucker inserting Sam into most scenes and allowing the other characters to carry while ignoring his presence. Most of the film plays out in two dimensions at once, the real world oblivious to the presence of spirits, and yet observed by a present ghost desperate to communicate but unable to. When Sam learns the art of interacting with physical objects, the more traditional noisy apparition is suddenly explained.

The money laundering conspiracy story at Sam's workplace adds an edge to Ghost, introducing nefarious antagonists and giving Sam his reason to hang around and meddle in the world of the living until the real reason for his death is uncovered and Molly is safe. Zucker also has fun showing an alternative to the bright-light-upon-death, for those whose actions mean they go down rather up at the end.

Ghost is unabashedly fanciful, unapologetically romantic, and indisputably a classic.

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Movie Review: Road House (1989)

An action film set in the rough and tumble world of bouncers, Road House is a good bad film.

Bar owner Frank Tilghman (Kevin Tighe) hires professional "cooler" Dalton (Patrick Swayze) to help clean up the rough environment at the Double Deuce club in a small rural Missouri town. Dalton, an expert martial arts fighter, is considered the best in the business, and quickly sets about getting rid of corruption and rowdy behaviour. Gradually the Double Deuce is elevated to a respectable establishment. Dalton also starts a relationship with local doctor Elizabeth Clay (Kelly Lynch) and a friendship with band leader and ace guitarist Cody (Jeff Healey).

Dalton: Pain don't hurt.

Dalton's progress is not appreciated by corrupt rich businessman Brad Wesley (Ben Gazzara), who runs the town with an iron fist and demands protection money from all businesses. Wesley's goons start to pressure Dalton to leave town, leading to violent confrontations. Dalton calls on his old buddy Wade Garrett (Sam Elliott) for back-up.

Garrett, referring to Elizabeth: That gal's got entirely too many brains to have an ass like that.

Directed by Rowdy Herrington and produced by action film master Joel Silver, Road House is one bad movie that is undeniably entertaining. Filled with cringe-inducing dialogue, superfluous nudity, ridiculous and frequent fight scenes and a total detachment from reality, Road House is nevertheless enjoyable for its sheer bravado as it luxuriates in its awfulness.

Dalton, instructing the other Double Deuce bouncers: I want you to be nice...until it's time...to not be nice.

The plot borrows heavily from that most basic western cliche, the mysterious stranger with one name, a dark past and few words who cleans up a town run by baddies and frees the long-suffering local residents. The Road House script adds bone crunching and bloody violence, nudity and foul language to meet the expectations of the low-brow market in 1989. And just because this is a Joel Silver film, somehow an impromptu and utterly needless striptease makes its way onto the screen.

Making it all worthwhile is Patrick Swayze, displaying star magnetism through sheer looks, flowy hair, a singular expression and coiled energy in his frequently shirtless body. Dalton drivers a Mercedes instead of riding a horse, and is supposed to have a philosophy degree from NYU. Through screen presence alone, Swayze almost makes that achievement believable.

Dalton: Nobody ever wins a fight.

Musician Jeff Healey somehow ends up in this cluttered mess, and adds to a soundtrack rocking out to energetic country blues. Best of all is Sam Elliott as Dalton's mentor, wandering in for the sole purpose of kicking ass with the wisdom of an older man who built his life's purpose on ass kicking.

Tilghman: It's a good night. Nobody died.
Dalton: It'll get worse before it gets better.

Road House is an unpretentious exercise in lowest common denominator action filmmaking, where star charisma, familiar plot elements, and the hot button of simplistic justice are served on a chipped plate with a greasy spoon.

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Movie Review: To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995)

A culture clash comedy drama, To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar goes for road trip laughs but rarely shifts out of neutral and runs out of gas early.

In New York City drag queens Noxeema Jackson (Wesley Snipes) and Vida Boheme (Patrick Swayze) are declared joint winners of a beauty contest. Their prize is a trip to Hollywood to compete in a national event. Before they depart Vida takes pity on Chi-Chi Rodriguez (John Leguizamo), a less confidant contestant, and the trio buy an old Cadillac and embark on a cross-country road trip. On the backroads of the hinterlands they tangle with bigoted Sheriff Dollard (Chris Penn) before their car breaks down and they are rescued by Bobby Ray (Jason London), a young man who provides a ride to his tiny community of Snydersville.

As they await car repairs, they get to know the locals, including innkeeper Carol Ann (Stockard Channing), who is suffering abuse by her husband Virgil (Arliss Howard), a mechanic and tow truck driver. Meanwhile a group of thuggish men threaten to rape Chi-Chi, who falls in love with Bobby Ray. The drag queens do what they can to help the community, including working with Beatrice (Blythe Danner) and other women to organize the annual Strawberry Social event.

Directed by Beeban Kidron and written by Douglas Beane, To Wong Foo must have looked good on paper: transform three macho male movie stars covering three ethnicities into drag queens, stuff them into a car and wait for riotous laughs to ensue. It never really works. While the costumes and makeup are brilliant and the men do their part in the acting department, the script is a limp exercise in contrived situations drawing on basic stereotypes exploiting the urban-rural divide.

With weak character development and the flimsiest of backgrounds afforded to Noxeema, Vida and Chi-Chi, the film defaults to a rather condescending story of three sophisticated urbanites invading a backwards rural community to make it better. Everything about Snydersville is in need of rescue, from spousal abuse to several sub-plots of awkward or unrequited love, plus the old lady who is thought to be mute but really just needs someone to talk to about old movies. And they are all threatened by the seemingly parentless local sneering hoodlums who have nothing else to do except rape and pillage.

Of course none of the locals are smart enough to notice that Noxeema, Vida and Chi-Chi are guys in women's clothing, and the drag queens set about to make everything better, because they know best how to fix all that ails small town USA. Once the film falls into the trap of its own making there is nothing to do except tediously await the obvious climax featuring the awakening of the great unwashed among the ramshackle structures that pass for a town.

Despite the weak material Swayze and Leguizamo do a fine job as drag queens. Snipes is over the top both in terms of looks and behaviour, his Noxeema Jackson reduced for long stretches to sideline quips. Robin Williams contributes an uncredited single-scene appearance.

The movie's title is derived from a signed memorabilia photo of actress Julie Newmar. The photo, the signature and the title have next to nothing to do with the film other than add to the general sense of clumsiness. To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar gets the fashion right, but everything else is a shambles.

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The Movies Of Patrick Swayze

All movies starring Patrick Swayze and reviewed on the Ace Black Movie Blog are linked below:

The Outsiders (1983)

Red Dawn (1984)

Dirty Dancing (1987)

Road House (1989)

Ghost (1990)

Point Break (1991)

The Player (1992, cameo, as himself)

To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything! Julie Newmar (1995)

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Movie Review: Dirty Dancing (1987)

A romantic musical about young love and the transition to adulthood at a vacation resort in 1963, Dirty Dancing catches lightning in a bottle. The music, dancing, romance and social class tension subtext come together in a scorching package.

It's the summer of 1963, and teenager Frances "Baby" Houseman (Jennifer Grey) joins her father Dr. Jake Houseman (Jerry Orbach), mother Marjorie (Kelly Bishop) and older sister Lisa (Jane Brucker) at a family vacation resort in the Catskill Mountains. Baby is bored by the programmed activities for the wealthy guests, and soon sets her eyes on the dangerously hunky Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze), the lead dancer in the working-class troupe hired to provide dancing lessons and entertainment.

In their own quarters, off limits to the guests, Castle and his dance friends including Penny (Cynthia Rhodes) hold sweaty parties centred on rock and roll music and sexy dance moves. As a romance heats up between Baby and Johnny, he teaches her how to dance. Penny finds herself in abortion trouble, Baby calls on her Dad's medical skills to help, and Johnny is accused of causing trouble just because he looks like a likely troublemaker. As the vacation draws to a close, Baby and Johnny face an uncertain ending to a tumultuous summer.

Filmed with a cast of mostly unknowns on a tiny budget by Vestron, an unknown video distribution company, and filled with unplanned scenes that could have been out-takes but were instead turned into movie magic, Dirty Dancing is the little film that came from nowhere to cause a cultural sensation. Unashamedly celebrating the sexual rock 'n' roll revolution just about to sweep the 1960s, and mixing in some 1980s hairstyles, outfits and dance moves with Shakespearean impossible love ingredients, the film is a classic feel good coming of age romance.

Director Emile Ardolino skips past some rudimentary dialogue and contrived plot elements, and just immerses the film in the dreamy state of adolescence softly breaking free from childhood and making the inevitable transition into the adult world. This is Baby's summer, when she will apply the lessons of her father in unexpected ways, while charting her own path and exploring previously forbidden fruit. And Johnny Castle provides the perfect gateway into the new world, the boy from the wrong side of the tracks, a legend among his peers but certain that he will never be accepted in better circles.

Despite a reportedly rocky off-screen relationship, Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey positively sizzle on the screen. Their romance is sinewy, smouldering and sexy, born on the dance floor, nurtured through dance lessons, and reaching an outstanding pinnacle at the very end of the film. Dirty Dancing's final scene is a sizzling, goosebump-inducing climax, set to the immortal (I've Had) The Time of My Life, Johnny finally taking charge of his life, freeing his girl from a corner, and showing the world how it's done. The film launched Swayze into superstardom, but Grey unfortunately could not capitalize on the opportunity and faded into obscurity, not helped by the ill-advised decision to alter her distinctive nose.

Jerry Orbach as Baby's father and Cynthia Rhodes as the other lead dancer in Johnny's company provide able support. Orbach gives Dr. Houseman the gentle authority to lament his daughter's transition into womanhood, while Rhodes' energetic dancing contributes an additional spark.

The film's best selling soundtrack album revived interest in early 1960s rock 'n' roll hits, including Be My Baby (The Ronettes), Big Girls Don't Cry (Franki Valli and the Four Seasons), Do You Love Me (The Contours) and Love Man (Otis Redding). In addition to The Time Of My Life, a couple of other modern songs helped to propel the soundtrack's popularity: Eric Camden's Hungry Eyes, and Swayze himself singing She's Like The Wind, the former accompanying the film's montage sequence featuring Johnny teaching Baby how to dance. It is a textbook example of how to pull off a stellar montage sequence with humour and clever editing while celebrating unguarded moments. Johnny repeatedly and unintentionally tickling Baby (outtakes that proved to be must-keeps) and Penny helping with Baby's posture are exceptional highlights.

Dirty Dancing burns up the dance floor with a combustible mix of honest emotion, sweat and body heat.

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Movie Review: The Outsiders (1983)

The adaptation of S.E. Hinton's youth-in-peril novel, The Outsiders is a sombre affair. Francis Ford Coppola finds the drama amongst the scrappy youth caught between childhood and adulthood, but cannot locate the soul of their anguish.

It's 1965 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and the Greasers are a gang of tough kids from broken homes on the wrong side of the tracks. Ponyboy (C. Thomas Howell) is quiet and sensitive but still a Greaser, while his eldest brother Darrel (Patrick Swayze) is violent and struggling to cope with head-of-the-family responsibilities now that their parents are dead. Middle brother Sodapop (Rob Lowe) is often caught between Ponyboy and Darrel. Ponyboy's best friend is the knife-wielding, baby-faced Johnny (Ralph Macchio), and the other Greasers include Two Bit (Emilio Estevez), Steve (Tom Cruise) and Tim (Glenn Withrow). The unofficial leader of the Greasers is Dallas (Matt Dillon), who has only recently been released from jail.

While walking home, Ponyboy is attacked by members of the Socs, a rival gang of wealthier kids. Later, after Ponyboy and Johnny spend some time with middle-class girls Cherry (Diane Lane) and Marcia (Michelle Meyrink), the Socs show up to settle scores. With Ponyboy outnumbered and almost being drowned by the Socs, Johnny springs into action and uses his knife to kill one Soc and scare away the others. Dallas helps Ponyboy and Johnny to escape and hide-out in an abandoned church. But the Socs want revenge in the form of an all-out brawl between the gangs, while Ponyboy, Dallas and Johnny encounter an unexpected opportunity for heroism that takes a tragic turn.

Coppola assembled what proved to be quite the spectacular cast of young talent for The Outsiders. Rarely has a film brought together so many young actors who would go on to have long and successful careers. Ironically, Howell and Macchio, the two most prominent Greasers, would eventually have relatively lower profile adult success compared to Cruise, Swayze, Dillon, Lowe, Estevez and Lane. The talent on display enhances The Outsiders, as even small roles like Two Bit, Sodapop and Cherry are well worth watching.

In terms of the drama, The Outsiders recounts a sad story but without finding a spark to elevate it onto any sort of emotional plain. The Greasers are deserving of empathy, kids cast adrift with not a capable parent in sight, but not enough is ever revealed about them to make them anything other than kids who are likely to get into trouble. There are some touching and quiet moments as Ponyboy and Johnny hide out in an isolated church for several days, reading Gone With The Wind and sharing their innermost thoughts, but the serenity is delivered at some cost in plausibility: street-tough 14 year old kids suddenly behaving like rational adults requires quite the mental leap.

And the film cannot do much to overcome the weaknesses and derivatives in the original narrative. There are some strong whiffs of Romeo And Juliet without the romance and West Side Story without the music, while the brawl appears to mostly serve as an artificial kinetic jolt to enliven an otherwise downbeat final 60 minutes.

The 2005 "Complete Novel" re-release, a director's cut by another name, reinserts deleted scenes and adds 22 minutes to the running time. Most of the additions occur at the front end to better establish Ponyboy, the Greasers, and the context of the gang rivalry, creating a more cohesive experience. However, the complete abandonment of Carmine Coppola's evocative orchestral score, replaced by contemporary high-tempo mid-1960s hits, is a change with debatable merits.

The Outsiders has talent behind and in front of the camera that surpasses the material. The Greasers are worth a look, but the experience is not all that slick.

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Movie Review: Red Dawn (1984)

World War III starts with Soviet and Cuban soldiers invading the United States and occupying large swaths of the land of the free. But America is also the home of the brave, and in a small rural Colorado town, a group of high school teenagers take refuge in the mountains and wage guerilla warfare against the occupiers.

Red Dawn deserves some credit for imagining an outlier Cold War scenario, and examining the consequences of bringing a foreign war to the United States. The portrayal of citizen resistance against foreign occupiers in a modern global conflict is inherently intriguing. The premise could have been worthwhile, except that Red Dawn does not help itself with an asinine script courtesy of director John Milius and Kevin Reynolds.

The occupying Cuban and Soviet forces are generally portrayed as vicious buffoons, despite somehow possessing the skills to pull off a successful invasion to begin with, and the lines of dialogue throughout the movie would make an eighth grader proud. The combat sequences have a lot of bullets perforating any sense of reality with non-survivable wounds. Red Dawn does earn back some respect by not flinching from the ultimate outcome: victory has to be found within the ashes of annihilation. 

The cast features emerging and veteran talent. Patrick Swayze leads the teenage rebels, joined by his brother Charlie Sheen. C. Thomas Howell, Jennifer Grey and Lea Thompson are also in the group. Powers Boothe joins them briefly as a downed fighter pilot, and Harry Dean Stanton has a single but memorable scene as the incarcerated dad of Swayze and Sheen. Deep into the cast Ben Johnson and William Smith add colour to secondary characters.

Red Dawn's tragedy lies in the lingering impression that with an injection of just some quality, a classic was at hand. Alas, this resembles a comic book for juveniles.

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