Throwback: ‘Point Break’ Is Proof We Need More Female Directors

It’s Keanu Reeves‘s 50th birthday. That means that Keanu Reeves has been inspiring memes and saying, “Whoa,” for fifty years. It also means it’s high time to revisit the epic surfer/bank robbery/skydiving/bromance thriller, Point Break.

I was about 8 years old when I first saw this very violent and extremely sexually explicit film. No, my parents didn’t let me watch it; my college-aged sister did. I hero-worshipped her and in return she exposed me to very mature and very “cool” things like Point Break. For some strange reason, I have become a fairly well-adjusted adult woman and I was not at all traumatized by seeing multiple men shot in the head, in the gut and in the back. In fact, I remember loving Point Break. I think I begged her to rent it multiple times with her Blockbuster video card and she totally obliged.  And so, Point Break took up this spot in my memory as one of my purest joys of childhood. It’s got a special place in my heart next to SweetTarts and Busch Gardens Williamsburg.

That said, I hadn’t seen Point Break since I was a kid. So, as a crime thriller fan I was anxious to see how it held up. Would the plot make sense? Would I consider Lori Petty‘s character irksome? Would I believe the plot? How good a job did Kathryn Bigelow do as director? What exactly was this film about? And finally, why is Hollywood anxious to remake Point Break?

2:19 – This is Johnny Utah. He’s shooting cardboard people in the rain because he’s in the FBI. Also, he’s a badass.

3:39 – Is this movie like Scrubs but for FBI surfers?

7:31 – Stuff like this is why people don’t trust politicians.

16:12 – Lori Petty just saved Johnny Utah’s life and and he’s all, “Hey, my name’s Johnny Utah!” And she literally says, “Who cares?” and surfs off. I love her. I think Johnny Utah loves her, too.

20:38 – LORI PETTY IS THE BEST. I no longer care about the crime plot. I don’t care about Johnny Utah. I just want this movie to be Lori Petty being a boss bitch.

27:00 – So, he’s trying to learn how surf to infiltrate a tribe of surfers, but the thing that gets him in is the fact that he played college football? Okay. Sure. Also, is Fast & Furious just Point Break with cars instead of surfboards? DISCUSS.

30:02 – I don’t know how these guys are logically getting away with pulling surfers’ hair out, but I’m going with it. I’m just going with it. That’s what Point Break is — a film about just going with it. And bank robbers. And surfers. And crime. And a big wave.

33:22 – Is Johnny Utah about to get beat up by the Red Hot Chili Peppers?

36:16 – Female directors are so underrated in our culture. Look at that shot. Look at that straight female gaze. Look how it makes action films better. Look at it.

54:24 – A naked babe — that is a technical term — just beat the shit out of Keanu Reeves. More proof that we need more female directors.

55:54 – Um, why did my sister let me watch this with her when I was 8? Keanu Reeves’s face is about to be pressed into a spinning lawnmower blade. This isn’t exactly the next step up from Beauty and the Beast, you know? But somehow, my sister let me watch it with her. Another question: how was my sister soooo cool?

1:00:07 – Never forget the time that Johnny Utah cracked a case by recognizing a dude’s butt from a few thousand feet away.

1:03:09 – Isn’t life funny? You’re just ordering sandwiches and lemonades and your zen surfer buds are just robbing a bank behind you? SO FUNNY!

1:13:39 – You see, Bohdi’s the good guy. It’s not about the money. It’s about the human spirit.

1:18:26 – I was about ask, “Where are these guys getting the money for all this?” and then I remembered, “Oh. They’re bank robbers. That’s the point of this movie. They’re bank robbers.”

1:21:36 – And then Captain Planet was born.

1:37:57 – “There’s a new thing called radar, maybe you’ve heard of it.” Good one, Johnny.

1:39:40 – Gary Busey at his most likable.

1:44:28 – Um, he just jumped out of a plane without a parachute, but with a gun. I’m just pointing that out.

1:50:31 – We know that time has not been kind to our hero, because now Johnny is wearing a Canadian tuxedo in Australia.

1:54:23 – Again, I saw this movie when I was 8 and I loved it.

1:57:58 – As we watch Bodhi surf off into destiny, I totally get why people want to remake this movie. It’s awesome. That said, I don’t think Point Break needs to be remade. I think it just needs to be rewatched.

Watch Point Break [GoWatchIt]

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Photo Credit: 20th Century Fox