Two legends, both alike in infamy, playing the roles of their lives. Ted Theodore Logan and the spiritual bouncer come together as Special Agent Johnny Utah and zen surf master/bank robber Bodhi. We're talking about Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze in Point Break. We can't listen to the whole "it's so bad it's good" epithet that's been slandered about this movie. Why? Because, that would be a waste of time.
For our purposes, we have to focus on all the lines that can still be used today. Bear in mind, people still reference Point Break regularly. A few nights ago, Daniel Tosh had the retarded surfer on for a web redemption and the opening had Tosh asking surfing guy, "Where's Bodhi?" whilst wearing a Ronald Reagan mask.
For starters, Katherine Bigelow deserves a lot of credit for taking the could-be-comical bank heists seriously. Surfer dudes wearing masks of ex-presidents could very well be set to an 80's power ballad or the premise of a Lonely Island music video. Here's a theory about film bank heists: If there's a simple score with a fast paced beat like a rising pulse and the robbers mention how they're here for the bank's money and that it's insured, it's automatically badass.
"Oh Ron? I've got Nancy on the line!" can be used during any former POTUS analogy in reference to any sort of buzzkill. A more current reference would be, "Oh Bill? I've got Hillary on the line!"
For the side characters, Gary Busey and John C. McGinley are icing on an already beautiful cake. Busey's Angelo Papas, the 22 year FBI vet gets a little extra juice from Utah before he takes his rent a cop night security job and tells Nam stories. He's been in the bureau since McGinley (Harp), his boss, was poppin zits on his funny face and jacking off to the lingerie section of the Sears catalog. And while Harp likes to make sure his boys eat a solid breakfast, don't drink and sure as hell don't smoke, Papas will always trade oranges for Meatballs...Utah, get me two!
If you ever need two of ANYTHING, it has to be asked the way of the Busey: "Utah, get me two!" I'm also pretty convinced that Bill Paxton in Apollo 13 stole the "I could eat the ass end of a dead Rhinoceros" line from Busey in this very scene. I can't prove it yet, but I will. So Paxton kind of ruins that Busey classic, but do the "two" as often as you can.
Now for Harp's tirade on Papas and Utah with surfboard in tow. It's routine for any sort of cop movie to have a hard-ass boss, but McGinley brings a special kind of intensity to this role, which potentially/inadvertently landed him several Marine/Swat team roles in the following years before he became part of the whole Scrubs douche bag factory. Nevertheless, let's say he's comically intense here:
Strive to become the boss if only for the opportunity to ream out your employees with a nugget like this: "This is not some job flipping burgers at the local drive-in". If and when you do become the boss, you'll no doubt have an employee who, in one way or another, just wants to be different. Here's how you apply the rest of the scene" "Yes, the (whatever the employee has that's differently annoying about him/not her, don't yell at women) bothers me. Yes your approach to this whole goddamn [job] bothers me. AND YES, YOU BOTHER ME!" God help anyone who wants to defend themselves with personal production. How many traders or brokers or salesmen have heard this: "NO NO no no no NO! Over the last two weeks, you two have produced exactly squat! SQUAT!" For Christ sake, when you get promoted and need to drop a little dick on your staff, please roll your sleeves up to your armpits and get after it
Ok now for the potatoes in the meat and potatoes of this movie. Special Agent Utah has a special acting talent. His ace in the hole will always be the ability to play Ted as in "Way, Ted". I'm sure this scene was written into the movie after Reeves and Bigelow were bullshitting about their past and how he was trying so hard to break out of the Bill and Ted typecast. Better luck next movie! It'll be a long time until The Matrix makes you NBA sex crime sums of money. Here's the script excerpt, the scene is modified somewhat. But you get the idea.
I've used it before and I'll use it again - anytime you do anything to prevent another person from harm, physical or otherwise, drop this on them: "Saved your life, bro. Close one!" No, no. Ted demands to be taken seriously. Come on, such gripping drama underneath the earthly, rue-some tone. We can't help BUT take him seriously...
Utah is an asshole to fill the shortage out west. He's young, dumb and full of cum. A real blue flame special. That is of course until he meets Bodhi. An instant competitive frenemies friendship forms after an overthrown pass intercepted by the former Buckeye QB.
Slightly less gay than the volleyball scene in Top Gun, this is what beach football is all about. Guys with good bodies popping their shirts off and girls with guy haircuts scoring TD's. The quarterback punk wastes no time infiltrating the oddly college football obsessed band of robbers. What's more, he's beginning to believe...sigh. If only there were no spoon.
Spirituality and metaphysics are left to the late great Patrick Swayze in this movie. Here is one of his great sermons on his existence in this world:
Point Break Skydive Scene by gamecamera
Before I actually went skydiving, I thought you could talk like this while soaring through the air at over a hundred miles an hour. This is actually a crucial factual error, one which is gladly accepted for purposes of the plot. Here's a tip: do something really cool like jump out of a perfectly good airplane and afterwards say - It's the closest you'll ever get to God.
In addition to having the greatest chase scene since Bullet, there's the myth of the 50 year storm. "It's kind of a legend". But according to Bodhi, "It's real. It's absolutely real." The storm itself turns Bells Beach, Australia into the biggest surf this planet has ever seen. Keep in mind, we're in the pre-tow-in surfing era where 100 ft megawaves weren't ridden. So let's think of the 50 year storm as a dream within our own human spirits - something worth living for. Worth dying for. After all, it's not tragic to die doing something you love. Even if we're part of the metal coffin crusaders, we can have our own version of the 50 year storm. So kick back and enjoy the last part of an ending so unforgettably vivid, I picture Patrick Swayze's real life death from cancer as this triumphant exit. Enjoy some death on a stick out there, mate. Vaya con dios.
Point Break (1991) - 4 - by Sebmagic
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