Patrick Swayze Movies
An athlete practically from birth, Patrick Swayze was a football player in high school and then earned a gymnastics scholarship to pay for college. His father had been a dancer/choreographer, and Swayze began to study dance early on, eventually working with the prestigious Harkness and Joffrey Ballet companies. He made his professional debut as a dancer with the lead role of Prince Charming in a traveling company of Disney on Parade, but an old knee injury from his football days threatened to cut his dancing career short at any moment. Hedging his bets, Swayze opened his repertoire up to acting and made the transition to Broadway, landing the role of Danny in the hit musical Grease before heading to Los Angeles to make yet another transition, this time to the screen.Swayze cut his teeth on TV guest appearances, scoring a memorable role as a dying soldier in an episode of M*A*S*H. Finally, he got a role in Francis Ford Coppola's youth ensemble film The Outsiders (1983), a film of massive critical acclaim and box-office success. Steadily continuing his upward trajectory, he followed The Outsiders with the Cold War classic Red Dawn (1984) and with the Civil War TV miniseries North and South (1985). His real big break came in 1987, however, with a starring role in the hit Dirty Dancing. The film gave Swayze the chance to showcase both his acting and dancing abilities and, additionally, he wrote and performed one of the film's songs, "She's Like the Wind," which went on to become a major hit. The role made Swayze an undisputed star, and he scored big again with a tough-guy role in the movie Road House, as well as the romantic lead in the supernatural drama Ghost (1990), a box-office smash that ended up grossing more than $200 million.
The '90s had started out for Swayze with a bang, but with so much of his success wrapped up in the films of the 1980s, the actor soon found himself fighting against the mentality that he was out of date. He found iconic roles like surfer Bodhi in the police thriller Point Break and even played a drag queen in 1995's To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar, but transitioning into the next phase of his career proved challenging. In 2001, Swayze found a film to help him facilitate this change with the role of twisted self-help guru Jim Cunningham in the dark mystery drama Donnie Darko. There was an element of self-parody in Swayze's portrayal of the über-positive, deceptively clean-cut Cunningham, and audiences found the role refreshing. He continued to pick up projects as they appealed to him, appearing in everything from the romantic drama One Last Dance to the quirky British comedy Keeping Mum.
Sadly, however, by the late 2000s some upsetting news arrived. Swayze announced to the press in March 2008 that he was suffering from inoperable stage IV pancreatic cancer. The star battled his illness for a reported 20 months, but in the end it took his life. He died at the relatively young age of 57 in September 2009. ~ Cammila Collar, Rovi
The megalomaniacal rise and fall of filmmaker Troy Duffy is chronicled by one-time friends and colleagues in director Mark Smith's documentary. The film takes its title from the "overnight success" that befell Duffy in 1996, when the then-bartender was signed by Miramax president Harvey Weinstein to direct his killers-on-a-mission-from-God script The Boondock Saints. Smith's cameras follow Duffy from pre-production -- when he battled with executives over casting and financing decisions -- on through to the lackluster release of the film. What's more, Duffy expected his relative cinematic success to translate over to his burgeoning rock band as well -- and the tension created by the presupposed deal caused him to alienate just about everyone involved with both projects. ~ Michael Hastings, Rovi
Kathryn Bigelow's fourth action film follows FBI agent Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves) as he goes undercover to infiltrate a cache of Southern California surfers suspected of robbing banks. Utah, a former football player, is assigned to Los Angeles. There, four bank robbers, who wear rubber masks and call themselves "Ex-Presidents," have executed a series of successful robberies which embarrassingly have the FBI stumped. Utah, and his partner Pappas (Gary Busey) suspect that the robbers are surfers and hatch a plan for catching them. ~ Linda Rasmussen, Rovi
- Starring:
- Patrick Swayze, Keanu Reeves, (more)
Ray Liotta, Forest Whitaker, and Jessica Biel topline this ensemble drama regarding intersecting lives on Christmas Eve from writer/director Timothy Linh Bui (Green Dragon). Liotta plays an ex-convict who tracks down his estranged daughter (Biel) after serving a 25-year jail sentence. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ray Liotta, Forest Whitaker, (more)
Set at an indeterminate point in the future, this drama with an overt anti-communist message begins as an ostensible war movie: Russian and Cuban forces have invaded the U.S. and are viciously eliminating the inhabitants of a small town, when a group of teens escapes and plans a counterattack. Jed (Patrick Swayze), Robert (C. Thomas Howell), and six of their friends watch in amazement as soldiers parachute into their town and start shooting. The teens grab a pickup truck, stock up on supplies at the local store, and head for the hills. Meanwhile, the men in the town -- after a minimal resistance -- are rounded up and held at a drive-in theater converted into a concentration camp. The sadistic Soviet military then make them watch acclaimed Russian director Sergei Eisenstein's 1938 classic Alexander Nevsky, as their punishing rehabilitation begins. Meanwhile, after minimal resistance from the adults, a Cuban, Bella (Ron O'Neal), is put in charge and is not certain how he can really defeat the teen army. The Soviets and Cubans have so far defeated the American Army, Navy, Marines, and Air Force, but these teens are really something else. After a successful ambush, the teen guerrillas gear up for future forays, when they are suddenly betrayed by one of their number and by doubts about the morality of what they are doing. Red Dawn is noteworthy for being the first movie released with the PG-13 rating, created by the MPAA after public outcry over violent content in the PG-rated Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Gremlins. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Patrick Swayze, C. Thomas Howell, (more)
- 1981
Mary Beth Allen (Barbara Eden), the widow of a member of the long-defunct Eagle Rock Rebels motorcycle gang, supports herself by running a small campground. Unfortunately, the future of this enterprise is endangered by the arrival of several young punks who have been scaring off the customers and leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. Riding to the rescue are Mary Beth's old pals, the ex-members of the Rebels, who have gathered at the camp for their 25-year reunion. Along the way, Mary Beth falls in love with the Rebels' now middle-aged leader, Sonny (Don Murray). The fun to be had in this made-for-TV movie is seeing such sitcom stalwarts as M*A*S*H's Jamie Farr and Soap's Robert Mandan in black leather jackets astride their souped-up Harleys. Return of the Rebels made its CBS network bow on October 17, 1981. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Love, treachery, and broken furniture are the hallmarks of this rollicking action drama. Dalton (Patrick Swayze) has a Ph.D., but rather than make a living teaching Socrates at some university, he's opted to become a top-drawer "cooler" -- an expert barroom bouncer who can break up fights without getting himself killed in the process. Dalton is hired to keep the peace at the Double Duce, a rough-and-tumble honky tonk in Jasper, Missouri, where beer-soaked free-for-alls are a nightly event. Dalton is hurt on his first night on the job, and he is patched up by "Doc" Clay (Kelly Lynch), a beautiful woman working as the town's physician. Dalton and Doc immediately hit it off, but Dalton learns that another man, Brad Wesley (Ben Gazzara), already has his eye on her. Wesley is a man used to getting his way; he's an extortionist and crime boss who has nearly everyone in Jasper under his thumb, and he sets out to teach Dalton a lesson, while Dalton is determined to clean up the town like he breaks up brawls at the Double Duce. Sam Elliott plays Dalton's mentor Wade, and Red West, a one-time member of Elvis Presley's "Memphis Mafia," appears as Webster; Canadian blues-rock guitarist Jeff Healey leads the Double Duce house band. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Patrick Swayze, Kelly Lynch, (more)
- 1990
This 1990 episode of Saturday Night Live is hosted by Patrick Swayze and features musical guest Mariah Carey. ~ Skyler Miller, Rovi
- Starring:
- Patrick Swayze, Mariah Carey, (more)
- 1979
- PG
The short-lived roller-disco craze of the late 1970s served as inspiration for this dated comedy, which follows the patrons of a popular roller-disco palace as they prepare for a major race. Naturally, the climactic showdown features a wholesome, upright hero (Greg Bradford) facing the fearsome challenge of a leather-clad villain (a pre-fame Patrick Swayze). ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi
- Starring:
- Scott Baio, Flip Wilson, (more)
Documentarist Christopher Monger's Special Thanks to Roy London profiles famed acting coach London (1943-93), a man with resounding professional success (including a litany of former pupils who graduated to A-list Hollywood triumph), but who remained guarded about his teaching methods and philosophies on acting. In this program, Monger examines London through the eyes of many of the said pupils, including Jeff Goldblum, Hank Azaria, Garry Shandling, Geena Davis and Patrick Swayze. The title, of course, refers to the much-deserved "special thanks" that many of these celebrities have given London in speeches and credits. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
This futuristic drama offers the classic story of Shane seved up with a few Mad Max moments and some interesting twists. The tale is set in the smouldering, decimated post-World War III town of Meridian, where locals scrabble to keep their meager farms watered in the midst of a desert wasteland. Bad-guys - a powerful landowner and his cronies - try to monopolize the precious local water supplies by bullying, kidnapping and even murdering citizens. To this beleaguered place comes the enigmatic swordsman/ warrior Nomad who has come in search of his mentor's killer. The town takes him on as their "Peacemaker" and he is able to end their problems and get his revenge to boot. The story was filmed on location in the deserts of South Africa. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Patrick Swayze, Lisa Niemi, (more)
This ambitious Disney movie uses a remarkable screenplay from Steven L. Bloom and Robert Rodat to tell a rollicking tale of America's transition from a close-to-the-land culture of mythic heroes to a corporate world of real estate tycoons. The strong theme about the decline of folk culture is expressed through a series of high octane adventures experienced by 12-year-old Daniel Hackett (Nick Stahl) at the dawn of the 20th century. Daniel's father, Jonas Hackett (Stephen Lang), runs a farm in a place called Paradise Valley, but his land is coveted by a greedy developer, J.P. Stiles (Scott Glenn). Daniel looks longingly at postcards of New York City while growing increasingly skeptical of his father's tales of legendary folk heroes. Then, through a series of incredible adventures, Daniel meets up with the legends that his father has spoken about -- cowboy Pecos Bill (Patrick Swayze), lumberjack Paul Bunyan (Oliver Platt), and finally, ex-slave and strongman John Henry (Roger Aaron Brown). Each of these heroes hooks up with Daniel and becomes involved in an increasingly bitter and boisterous fight against Stiles, whose plans to buy up land threaten the very strength of the folk heroes and the well-being of the common people. Pecos Bill has a horse named Widowmaker and can lasso a tornado. The giant Bunyan is accompanied by his famous blue ox, Babe. At one point, another legend, the cowgirl Calamity Jane (Catherine O'Hara), joins in the adventures. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi
- Starring:
- Patrick Swayze, Oliver Platt, (more)
The series The Beast stars Patrick Swayze as a freethinking but always effective FBI officer who's training a new recruit in the ways of the Bureau. Razor sharp and brutally clever, he'd be at the top of his game if he weren't the constant subject of an Internal Affairs investigation. ~ Cammila Collar, Rovi
- Starring:
- Patrick Swayze, Travis Fimmel, (more)
- 1980
Made for television, a former professional baseball player (John Ritter) coaches a team of misfits to the little-league crown. ~ John Bush, Rovi
Fame threatens to come between the two friends who go together like dogs and fleas in this animated follow-up to the beloved Disney classic The Fox and the Hound. Tod and Copper are still the best of friends, but when Copper gets a chance to join a popular pack of hound-dog howlers it seems as if their purebred bond is about to be put to the ultimate test. Featuring the voices of Jeff Foxworthy, Reba McEntire, and Patrick Swayze, and original music by Trisha Yearwood and Lucas Grabeel, The Fox and the Hound 2 has something special for viewers of all ages. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Reba McEntire, Patrick Swayze, (more)
Teen rivalry in a small Southern town sets the stage for this dramatic interpretation of the novel by S.E. Hinton. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola, The Outsiders tells the story of the ongoing conflict between the Greasers and the Socs in rural Oklahoma. C. Thomas Howell stars as Ponyboy, the youngest of three orphaned boys who pal around with the local hoods known as the Greasers. When Ponyboy and his friend (Ralph Macchio) get into a deadly confrontation one night, the two go on the run from the cops, and they grow up quickly and soon realize the insignificance of their petty posturing. Matt Dillon stars as the tough-as-nails leader of their group and Patrick Swayze appears as Ponyboy's oldest brother. A host of other 1980s Brat Pack celebs fill out the cast. Dillon later appeared in another Coppola adaption of a Hinton book, Rumble Fish. ~ Bernadette McCallion, Rovi
- Starring:
- C. Thomas Howell, Matt Dillon, (more)
- 1982
In this drama, undercover investigators are recruited from the streets to prevent arms smugglers from getting their weapons to street gangs. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
In this offbeat comedy set in the 1950s, Patrick Swayze plays Jack McCloud, a drifter and beatnik who enters the conservative suburban life of the Holman family after Jeanne Holman (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) accidentally hits him with her car. Jeanne takes Jack into her home while he recovers from his injuries. McCloud offends the neighbors and friends of the Holmans with his unorthodox behavior, including nude sunbathing and Buddhism. He tells the children, Tom (Joseph Mazzello) and Gunny (Seth Mumy), stories of a genie who has taken the form of a dog. Jeanne and her kids come under his sway as Jack's mystical powers help the kids' Little League team win a big game. Martha Coolidge directed the film from a script by Elizabeth Anderson, based on a short story by Ellen Green. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi
- Starring:
- Patrick Swayze, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, (more)
Chuck "Tiger" Warsaw (Patrick Swayze) returns to the steel town of Sharon, Pennsylvania hoping to be reunited with his estranged family after 15 years. He spent his time away from home in Miami in a perpetual fog of drugs and alcohol and is struggling to remember what prompted his departure. Tiger eventually remembers seeing his sister Paula (Mary McDonnell) naked. Her premature and hysterical cries of attempted incest prompted an argument with his father Mitchell (Lee Richardson), and in the melee Tiger shot Mitchell and fled. Upon his return home, Tiger finds that as a result of the shooting, his dad's injuries are such that he can't remember anything except his love for high-school sports. Frances (Piper Laurie) is Tiger's sympathetic mother who along with his former high-school sweetheart Karen (Barbara Williams) and buddy Tony (Bobby DiCicco) readily accepts him. His spiteful sister and her yuppie fiancee Roger (James Patrick Gillis) join with other irate relatives to ruin the happy family reunion for Tiger. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Patrick Swayze, Piper Laurie, (more)
- 1995
- PG13
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Patrick Swayze plays Vida Boheme, a classy and long-reigning drag queen. With his understudy Noxeema Jackson (Wesley Snipes), Vida wins a New York drag stage contest and an all-expenses-paid trip to Hollywood. But when Miss Chi Chi Rodriguez (John Leguizamo) cries at having lost the contest, soft-hearted Vida cashes in the airline tickets so the three of them can take a car out West. The film becomes a strange sort of buddy road movie, with the three cross-dressers traveling across the American heartland in a shiny yellow Cadillac. First they tangle with Sheriff Dollard (Chris Penn). He stops them for a minor traffic violation, puts the moves on Vida, and Vida knocks him out, so they flee. Later, they are stranded by car problems in a small town in Nebraska. Renting a room in a hotel, they put some life into the town and its annual strawberry festival. They provide a mousy local woman, Carol Ann (Stockard Channing), with new role models of assertiveness. They also insist on chivalrous treatment from the local good old boys and give lessons on courting to a teenage girl. This film was released on the heels of the more outrageous Australian film The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, which featured Terence Stamp as a drag queen. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi
- Starring:
- Wesley Snipes, Patrick Swayze, (more)
Ted Kotcheff continues his First Blood fervor with Uncommon Valor. Gene Hackman stars as Cal Rhodes, a former Marine Colonel who has been getting the run-around for ten years from the government concerning the disappearance of his son and his buddies - all Marines who enlisted years prior and served in Vietnam. Rhodes' son was last seen in Laos, where he was fighting in the war and captured as a POW. When word gets back to Rhodes that the men may still be alive and held in prison camps, but the government still has the men listed as missing in action, Rhodes decides to take matters into his own hands. Contacting an old friend, oil baron MacGregor (Robert Stack), Rhodes is granted financial backing to form his own incursion force. He assembles a crack team of men, puts them through an intensive period of training. and heads back with them into the Laotian jungles to search for the MIAs. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gene Hackman, Robert Stack, (more)
Country singer Dwight Yoakam is a co-producer of this Miramax comedy about marital infidelity among the Southern redneck set. Auto dealer Lonnie Earl (Billy Bob Thornton) and his wife, Darlene (Natasha Richardson), are best friends with good-natured Roy (Patrick Swayze) and his spitfire wife, Candy (Charlize Theron), who's ovulating and trying to become pregnant. When the quartet of Arkansas natives decides to take an SUV cross-country to a monster truck show in Reno, NV, an alarming secret is revealed: Lonnie Earl and Candy have been having an affair. The revelation comes as a shock to the guileless Roy and much put-upon Darlene, who absconds with her husband's credit cards for a spending spree that includes designer boutiques and a Tony Orlando concert. Meanwhile, Candy's quest to have a baby takes on a new dimension in light of her extracurricular activities with Lonnie Earl. Waking Up in Reno (2002) is based on a script by longtime screenwriting partners/actors Brent Briscoe and Mark Fauser, who also play supporting roles in the film. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
- Starring:
- Billy Bob Thornton, Charlize Theron, (more)
Rob Lowe stars as the title character, a young hockey prodigy with a gift for scoring, but no such penchant for pugilism -- when the gloves drop, so does he. Despite his fragility, Coach Chadwick (Ed Lauter) takes him on the roster for his stick-handling ability alone. However, he ends up being sent home after being singled out by a particularly nasty goon, Racki (George Finn), who pummels the "pretty boy" in brutal fashion. Disheartened, Youngblood heads back to the rural Canadian farm he calls home, where his father (Eric Nesterenko, a former player for the Chicago Blackhawks) and older brother (Jim Youngs) teach him the invaluable lesson that hockey is "no place for a nervous person" (to quote a famous NHL announcer). Overseen by his elders, he immediately begins a combat-training regimen to prepare for his return and imminent showdown with the evil Racki; meanwhile, he strikes up a relationship with the coach's daughter (Cynthia Gibb). ~ Jeremy Beday, Rovi
- Starring:
- Rob Lowe, Cynthia Gibb, (more)
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