Rowdy Herrington directs Patrick Swayze, Ben Gazzara and Kelly Lynch in this action movie where a star bouncer cleans up a dive nightclub and then goes after the corrupt town patriarch.

The epitome of a guilty pleasure in that it really is a bad movie, with awful script choices and minimal reality yet it proves always Friday night pleasurable and not solely for reasons of camp or schadenfreude. Swayze is full of zen, one beat per minute swagger. His body, which is often shirtless, is undeniably sexy. He offers a different action tonality than the pure muscle of an early Arnie, van Damme or Stallone but shies away from the glib zaniness of Gibson, Willis or later Arnie. There is nothing sophisticated about Swayze – he is a body, a pretty face, a big hairdo, a discipline, a blank philosophy, a soul within an action. It is no surprise his best on-screen chemistry was when he handed over his (until then) unique mantle to Keanu in Point Break. The movie is sleek but erratic. It forgets its core hook after the bar is conquered and the girl is won. Gazzara makes for strange but always enjoyable villain. I wouldn’t say he goes at the role with relish but his half baked nastiness proves a decent counterweight to Swayze’s more soulful hero. The third act goes off the rails with spectacular trailer moments and essentially remakes Shane with muscle cars and titties. The big fight between Swayze and a chickensweat Jack Palance wannabe is homoerotic as fuck. “I used to fuck guys like you in prison.” In your dreams, pal. Say goodbye to your throat.

7

Perfect Double Bill: Point Break (1991)

I write regular features about live comedy for British Comedy Guide here https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/bobby_carroll/features/