I was saddened when I learned earlier this week that Patrick Swayze had died, after losing a hard-fought battle against pancreatic cancer. I knew there’d been at least one false report of his death since he announced his illness last year, so I was skeptical when I saw the first tweet about his passing from one of the news feeds I follow on Twitter. My heart sank when reputable news outlets started to report that his publicist had indeed announced his death. I knew it was going to happen soon, but it doesn’t make me any less sad to see another icon from my childhood suddenly gone.
The moment I learned of Swayze’s death, I knew this week’s column would have to center on one of his films, and I didn’t even give a second thought to which one — it had to be To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995). I’m sure many of you would prefer that I’d dug up the soundtrack to Road House (1989) or Point Break (1991) — and I still might some day — but as passionate as some of you are about those cult classics, I have equally strong feelings about this little movie and Swayze’s performance in it. Before you laugh, hear me out.
