She took the laughable Keanu Reeves as her star, made him serious in a role that was perfect for him. Shedding the silliness of Bill & Ted, as well as all the other youthful slacker roles prior, Reeves portrayed a very strict and disciplined, almost robotic, FBI agent, driven by ambition to succeed. His early attempts at showing any human elements were quickly dashed by his dickheaded boss, played brilliantly and convincingly by John C. McGinley. He was paired with his exact opposite, the wild and brash veteran agent, Gary Busey. Together, we explored their characters and were introduced to Reeve's ability to share chemistry with anyone on screen. Lori Petty was one of the earlier it's-okay-to-be-a-tomboy characters I remember and her sassy attitude and ability to push men around, while still having a big heart, made her a cult hero of sorts. Matching Reeves as a friend and secret foe with Patrick Swayze created a predictable, but memorable and heartbreaking climax.
Patrick Swayze was a real man's man who had the ability to appeal to both sexes on screen. Women loved him because he could pull romantic. Men loved him because he stood for being a real man and could beat the crap out of people. His on screen persona was more or less what everyone in my generation, having been raised and closer with their mothers than previous ones, wanted to be. He was that masculine role model we needed, but with all the feminine-aware virtues our moms wanted us to have, and it played out well on the screen. Not your typical bad guy, he had many heroic qualities, such as standing up for what you believe in, and completely avoided the sociopathic stereotypes we're given today. He robbed banks in the name of personal freedom from a mindless job, with no desire to harm others, himself becoming the victim of his own choices, having to kill in order to defend himself and his ideals.
The film had a beautiful subtext about finding your true self and shedding the skin of a male ego driven society that is imposed on you by cultural norms, and living a more carefree life doing what you love. If only I had listened earlier. It saddens me that someone felt this needed to be remade; it doesn't. Now if you'll excuse me, I called off work today for the first time ever in my life "due to snow" so that I could spend quality time with my VCR on the beach.
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