Ask Buffa Anything: Finding a modern day equivalent for the late Patrick Swayze

Year 2 of City SC, 'Call of Cthulhu' adaptation, and my all time favorite movie.

Warner Brothers Motions Pictures Group

Good uncles ask good questions. I’ve known and beloved my Uncle Bobby since I was a kid. Riding around with him and my father as a kid was entertainment. Forest Park was their comedy canvas, and I was a passenger. He reminded me of a funnier Vince Vaughn--because they had the same rapid fire, Tommy-gun type laugh. Last August, I went to Florida with him, my dad, and Uncle Curt. We had a blast.

For this week’s mailbag dump, he asked a good (if easy) question, because that’s what good uncles do. Without further delay or bullshit, let’s get into the second edition of Ask Buffa Anything.

From Uncle Bobby (as he always prefers to be called): What is my all-time favorite movie?

As Ken Wilson used to scream at Blues fans, OH BABY! Giving me a reason to spill a mini-opus about Michael Mann’s Heat is like asking Mr. Pink to expound on why he doesn’t tip waitresses, only better. The 1995 classic that I first enjoyed at Esquire 8 cinema on Clayton Road never diminishes with age.

Each time through is like a different journey through the same turf, picking up new things and reasons to love the movie. It was the duality that Mann showed both the hero and villain, a common ground “we can talk face to face” mentality that I hadn’t seen done before in a movie--at least not exactly like this.

The gravitas and titanic, go-for-broke performances never fail to leave a dent. Pacino, De Niro, Voight, Williamson, Studi, Venora, Judd, Kilmer, Levine, Haysbert, and the list could go on. It’s a three-hour crime drama that rattles your cages ten minutes in, and then pulverizes you with the greatest action scene of all time. The bank heist shootout between Pacino’s badges and De Niro’s thieves made the theater at Esquire feel as if someone had cut loose an assault rifle in public.

From one Bobby to an Uncle Bobby, this was an easy but highly enjoyable question.

From Tracy on Facebook: Where is a quite inexpensive place to get away for a weekend for 2. Somewhere a few hrs away from St. Louis. Somewhere that will be talked about for a while. (At least between the pair going). And you did say ask anything sir. Lol.

From the greatest movie to a literal Midwest travel agent, this Q&A knows no bounds. Here’s what you do, Ms. Bate. Wait until college football returns to Columbia, Missouri, and take the family up there. Even if you can’t get tickets, go to the tailgate, paint your face, and do something completely different. Booches, Shakespeare, and that damn cheese bread at Gumby’s should keep your stomach full. Go explore Broadway, and get a different whiff of a college town. I think there can be an experience there.

Also, it’s where I met the love of my life, so let the romance fly.

From the truly awesome Angie Stamme on the Book of Face: What is your broadcast and/or writing background? Also, is Frank’s full name Francis?

I’ve loved to write high school, where I wrote sports and movie reviews for The Brentwood Eagle. From there, it grew at Mizzou, but grew into its own beast when I started my first website: Dose of Buffa. It was something I wanted to do as much as I could, even writing up articles and handing them out to my buddies at work. “How’s that sandwich? Here’s a piece on Rick Ankiel’s tumultuous downfall.”

When I fired up the Dose in 2011, that’s where the freedom of the hand truly took off, and became something. I started writing for different websites, and that’s where I was connected with my great mentor, Jordan Palmer, who brought me on at KSDK in 2013, and then with him to St. Louis Jewish Light and Fox 2 (briefly). Once KSDK started losing some good folks, I started the Ramble here.

Writing is something I will always do, no matter where. Along with finding fitness, it helped me find my words when they came stumbling out of my mouth erratically. While I couldn’t make a paid living out of it and don’t have a college degree to shine up my resume, I’ve put enough words on the internet to know that I’m doing something right.

Well shit, that was an opus. Never thought of Frank as a Francis, it’s too dignified. After all, he thinks his own shadow on the freezer is something else.

From Betty on Facebook: Best pet names: regular animal names or people names? My cat, Russell, wants to know your thoughts!

PEOPLE NAMES all the way. Do we need more Ruffy or Fluffy names out there? No. Let’s go with tough, proven names. Or completely wild and ridiculous names like Leeroy Bernthal Lankford Macklind Deli Jenkins Buffa. Pets can be as vital as humans, so they deserve the proper respect of a good name.

From my excellent-writing friend, Bill: Whitey Herzog is of the opinion that modern ballplayers are too lean and focused on nutrition, that a diet of cheeseburgers and fries, higher in fat, adds a bit of padding. Hence modern ballplayers are more prone to injuries. Bullshit or brilliant?

Half and half. I often wonder why guys like Bob Gibson, who looked like a Pilates major instead of a Gold’s Gym member, could hurl complete games like Jack Flaherty throws hissy fits. It’s not a “they don’t make that way anymore” or “drop the cannoli, pick up the protein powder” conversation, somewhere in between perhaps. I like to think a healthy diet goes a long way in helping someone last an entire season--but how do we explain Tyler O’Neill, a man who looks like he was chiseled at the History Museum once he hit puberty.

I think Whitey is onto something, but I don’t know if a few more David Wells would equal out the situation. My philosophy is that pitchers just don’t go deep into games, and the advanced stage of the game has led to players adjusting (sacrificing) their bodies more and more to keep up. This was just a long way of saying, damn, that’s a good question.

From my good friend, Paddy, via Twitter (not calling it that other dumb name): Do you think a Call of Cthulhu film following the same story/production route as Dungeons and Dragons can be successful?

My first thought was that I had no idea this thing existed before Paddy included the link above for James Wan to adapt the horror fantasy role-playing video game, but I am definitely intrigued. The Dungeons and Dragons adaptation was a whole lot of fun and gave Chris Pine a reason to rock his comedic swagger. I’d like Wan to do more of this and maybe a Death Sentence sequel over crap like Aquaman. Exciting.

Also from the indispensable Mr. Houlihan: Thoughts on the upcoming STL City SC season?

Year Two of MLS soccer in St. Louis should grow a couple levels of local insanity. As in, more people are going to be getting into it to keep up with the rest of the sport addicts when the team makes another playoff run. They set expansion team records and took over a proven sports town from its longtime mayors, the Cardinals and Blues. Something like that only grows.

As far as a real preview goes, I would look elsewhere because I haven’t kept up with the roster moves or action from the rest of the league. All I can do is tell you that there will be a lot of low-scoring games and kicking happening. They should just call it City SC Kicking Impossible!

From Gene Glass on Twitter: Where does the Great Escape rank on your list of War movies?

It’s been a while since I watched this classic so a true ranking would be futile, but it does make me want to do a Steve McQueen binge. He was a true movie star cut from the Bruce Willis/Paul Newman cloth: no big muscles or kung fu, just a real man taking care of business. I will be rewatching this one soon, because James Garner and Richard Attenborough are national treasures.

United Artists

From Tyler Byers: Who is the modern day version of Patrick Swayze?

Great fucking question. Without thinking about it too much when the Facebook comment came in last night, Channing Tatum came to mind. They were both built athletically: Not a bodybuilder, but not just yoga. Each can dance, and they take their chances. I can’t see Tatum doing Bodhi at first, but his villainous turn in The Hateful Eight gave a small peak of his darker side.

Having said that, if I had to think about it more, Zac Efron is also a good candidate. He could have played Bodhi, and showed his darker side playing Ted Bundy. Also for the most part built athletically, and gives off similar vibes. Honestly, there is no true equivalent for Mr. Swayze. He was a vagabond when it came to pigeon-holing an actor into one genre. Romance, action, drama, playing the bad guy, and his comedy moments on Saturday Night Live. Tatum and Efron come close, but no cigar.

Hope the answer lives up to the question.

From Casey Chenoweth: Top 3 films you are most excited about for 2024???? Who will be Cardinals MVP for the season??

Deadpool 3, Fall Guy, and Furiosa. Three isn’t enough, because there’s some truly fun-looking and multifaceted cinema coming out. But the Ryan Gosling/Emily Blunt action comedy shouldn’t be discounted for nothing being the third sequel or a heavyweight awards picture. It’s hard to completely stare at 2024 with the awards circuit rounding second base, but there’s a few I am looking forward to.

Cardinals MVP will be Nolan Arenado. He had a down year by his standards, both offensively and *shockingly* on defense, so I expect him to come back with a vengeance. From the first day after the final game of the season, one knows Arenado was in the cages and studying his entire year. The man is a tenacious competitor, understands that he’s still in that prime sweet spot at 32, and wants to claim an MVP in St. Louis like his hero… Jose Alberto Pujols.

Jeff Curry/USA Today Sports

This 80-85 fringe team needs a beast like Arenado to show up, regardless of what Paul Goldschmidt and Willson Contreras put up. Both sides of the ball, Nado is an asset. If he’s on fire, so is the team. Now if he could only hit home runs to right field more often (this is where you laugh).

The mailbag is empty. Thanks for the questions, and please consider a free or paid subscription. Tell a friend or enemy too. My polarizing nature lends itself to all parties.