I mourn the loss of Patrick Swayze and offer condolences to his family and friends. He starred in some of my favorite movies like Dirty Dancing, Roadhouse and Ghost and I think the world has lost someone kind, gentle and extremely talented.
I was scrolling through his bio last night after I heard the news, and I’d forgotten he was in The Outsiders. I remember reading that book when I was a kid and being so affected by the war between the greasers and the soc’s (I pronounced it ‘socks’ back then. Hey, I was a kid. How was I supposed to know it was ‘soshes’, or short for society kids? Heh). Anyway, I was talking to my husband about the movie and he told me he’d never seen The Outsiders.
I was appalled. He grew up in Tulsa. S.E. Hinton is from Tulsa. The Outsiders was filmed in Tulsa. Then he further horrified me by telling me he’d never read the book, either. Duuuuuude! Sometimes I just don’t understand men. But I immediately went to Amazon and ordered the movie, mainly because it’s been years since I’d seen it and now I’m going to force him to watch it with me. Hey, it’s my tribute to Patrick Swayze’s younger years.
And while I absolutely loved Dirty Dancing and owned the movie in VHS form and probably watched it eleventy million times, there’s just something about Roadhouse that’s just so sexy and cerebral at the same time. Maybe it was the character of Dalton, played by Swayze, and the internal war he carried out between his fists and his mind. Love love love that movie. And it didn’t hurt that Sam Elliott was in it, too. Yum.
Or To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything, Julie Newmar. It takes some kind of man to play a full on drag queen in a movie. And Swayze did it so well. I loved his sweet and heartbreaking portrayal of Miss Vida. And he made a damn fine looking woman, too.
And Ghost. *sigh*. I still cry at the end of that movie. Every. Single. Time. And I don’t mean little sniffles, either. I mean great heaping sobs.
Or North and South, the miniseries? I swooned. Seriously.
What was your favorite Patrick Swayze movie?