Patrick Swayze made muscular men credible when they were tender, with a dancer's control and little embarrassment about strong feeling. We value that sincerity in Ghost, even when the film works too hard to make us cry.
Fi1m perspective
When Sam Wheat realises he is dead in Ghost (1990), Patrick Swayze makes his confusion easy to believe. We were moved because he plays the shock so plainly, without asking us to admire Sam's suffering. His earnestness is the reason to watch him here: Sam's devotion never seems to make him pleased with himself. Demi Moore gives Molly's grief the same directness, and together they keep the romance credible when the film grows too sweet. The film earns its tears, although it takes too long to get to them.
The dancer's control of his body gave Swayze's toughness an unusual grace. Dirty Dancing (1987), his breakthrough as Johnny Castle, made direct use of that training; Road House (1989) and Point Break (1991) put his physical assurance into action leads. He could look capable of handling himself and still make tenderness seem natural.
Jerry Zucker makes good use of that sincerity in Ghost, though he does not always know when to leave Swayze and Moore alone. Maurice Jarre's score presses for sympathy that their performances have already earned, and the slower plotting gives the sentiment too much time to gather. Walter Murch's editing works better when Whoopi Goldberg interrupts the yearning with comedy. Swayze benefits from those interruptions: we can believe in Sam's devotion without spending the entire film being asked to admire it. The actors make the separation matter even when the story stalls.
His enthusiasm could become hammy in more serious drama, as City of Joy (1992) suggests. Later parts took him away from the familiar romantic and action leads, including Jim Cunningham in Donnie Darko (2001). For an evening with Swayze, we would start with Ghost, provided there is an appetite for sentiment and some patience for the stretches in which the plotting stalls.
Biography
Patrick Swayze was an American actor, dancer and singer-songwriter. He was born in Houston, Texas, on 18 August 1952 and died of pancreatic cancer on 14 September 2009.
He received early recognition for roles in The Outsiders (1983), Red Dawn (1984) and the miniseries North and South (1985–1986). His breakthrough came with Dirty Dancing (1987), followed by leading parts in Road House (1989), Ghost (1990) and Point Break (1991). He earned three Golden Globe nominations for his performances in Dirty Dancing, Ghost and To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995), and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1997. He also appeared in Donnie Darko (2001).
Swayze co-wrote and recorded the song "She's Like the Wind" for the Dirty Dancing soundtrack.
