To Patrick Swayze, Thanks for Everything

In the film Red Dawn, Patrick Swayze fends off invading Communists. So bad-ass. In Road House, he gives the definitive club-bouncer performance. Totally bad-ass. In Dirty Dancing, he plays a dance instructor in the Catskills, which is not very bad-ass, yet somehow Swayze is in full-on bad-ass mode. No one ever put Baby in a corner again. Then came the biggest test of his onscreen bad-ass-ness: size 12 stilettos in To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar. We’re just saying, playing a drag queen who deals with small-town ignorance is a role only a bad-ass can play.

In real life, Swayze has been battling pancreatic cancer. But after reports he had only weeks to live, he now seems to be responding well to treatment. Why? Duh — because he's a bad-ass, and if you need further proof, the Cosford Cinema, on the University of Miami campus, will be holding SwayzeFest 2008 Friday through Sunday, when you can catch all four of the aforementioned flicks. Tickets cost eight bucks. For screening times, call 305 284-4861 or visit www.cosfordcinema.com.
Aug. 22-24, 2008