It can hardly be believed that it’s been several decades now since Patrick Swayze graced our screens. He hails from a roster of memorable and lovable 80s film stars, which also includes names like Kevin Bacon, Jack Nicholson, Michelle Pteiffer, Robert De Niro and Demi Moore, his Ghost co-star.
One of his most notable and memorable appearances was alongside Sam Elliott in the 1989 film Roadhouse.
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Much like a lot of films from the 80s and 90s, Roadhouse did not boast the greatest writing or plot and wasn’t exactly favored by critics.
The shining glory of classic 80s and 90s films are the stars in them. It may sound pretty shallow to enjoy a film just for the names in it, but this was the claim-to glory for many films of this era. You’d be surprised how average and underwhelming the critic scores for a lot of our favorite films are.
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For example, Home Alone gets a generous 7.5 out of 10 on IMDB despite being a cherished classic. Steven Seagal’s career-defining action movies are lucky to get a 6 out of 10 from critics, and so on and so forth.
Truly, it was the memorable actors and actresses that made these films as cherished as they are.
Their performances and classic lines did an exceptional job at distracting us from the otherwise uninspired and average writing. For instance : the idea of a town where dancing is illegal is laughably silly, but that doesn’t stop any of us from loving Footloose.
And the same can be said for many of Patrick Swayze’s films. Ghost is an unlikely and unexpected mix of romance, drama and horror, and it still pulls this off well enough to get us to remember it decades after. Much of this is thanks to Patrick Swayze’s charismatic and dedicated performance alongside Demi Moore.
So it’s pretty bittersweet that we had to say goodbye to him on September 14th of 2009, when the beloved actor lost his long battle with pancreatic cancer.
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His former co-stars, who are also his good friends, along with a good host of other celebrities were quick to mourn him when he passed.
Years later, his co-stars of old remember him in “I am Patrick Swayze”, a posthumous documentary celebrating the actor’s legacy. The trailer features all his Hollywood friends and co-stars from his career, sharing their fondest memories of the Roadhouse and Ghost actor.
Many of them verge on the same point – Patrick was a kind and soft soul behind a tough guy exterior. And that’s why they adored him so.
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From Whoopi Goldberg to Sam Elliott and Lori Petty, he left quite the mark on every person he worked with. And this says a lot about the kind of person he was. Sam Elliott, his Roadhouse co-star, wastes no time sharing his deeply held admiration and love for his old friend and co-star.
“He spoke to people. He was that kind of guy.”
And the rest of the documentary goes into more depth and detail on the actor’s life. Swayze loved to dance, had commendable athletic skill, and gave every performance his all. In a business where everyone is called a star, Swayze was among the ones who shined the brightest.
Whether he was pointing a gun, burning up the dance floor or sharing a pottery lesson with Demi Moore, Swayze never gave a dull performance.
So give the documentary, and maybe even one of his films, a watch if you want to see why he’s held in such high esteem by every person he’s worked with. Patrick is still very much alive in his legacy and the memories he left behind.
Watch the trailer below.
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