I’m With Busey
Written by Josh Katz
For those of you who do not know me, your boy has full-blown insomnia. If I'm lucky, I'm able to haul in between 4-5 hours of sleep per night. Most people would argue that this is a debilitating problem for a 23-year-old, but I see it as a blessing for one simple reason: I get to view movies while the rest of the country lays to rest. No BS, The BEST movies are shown at 3am, and no perverts, I am not talking about the naughty ones. One random sleepless evening, I turned on Encore, the worst premium movie channel out of the 6,000 channels I have with digital cable. It has become a nightly ritual to tune in on a weeknight and find some god awful romantic comedy staring Freddie Prinze Junior or Jason Biggs, or if I am lucky, a hilariously unrealistic action movie staring Steven Segal or Jackie Chan.
Last week Moses must’ve been smiling down upon me, because I hit the jackpot. Point Break was on. This movie kills it for so many reasons. It’s got man’s man Keanu Reeves, the late Patrick Swayze and best of all, GARY BUSEY. At the time I wasn’t sure what was keeping me glued for the duration of the film, but it is now clear to me. Gary Busey is an American hero. I mean the Miller/Gold agency should try and land this guy. Just looking at his distorted face and uneven eyes is enough to illicit uncontrollable laughter and an inexplicably sickening interest in whatever he is doing. Busey has made a career of saying and doing outrageous things, making him popular amongst, well, anyone with a pulse. So I figured I’d do everyone a favor and discuss five moments in Busey’s career, portraying his undeniable versatility. Granted there are more than five, but I want to keep this short and sweet. You’ll thank me after, guaranteed.
I’m With Busey: A Gary Busey fan’s dream come true. Some random nerd and a camera crew followed the guy around while he performed simple everyday tasks. It was as if God shined his almighty light down upon Gary Busey for a half hour. Not to mention Busey would torture the portly host of the show. It was like hazing without pinecones and electrocution. Why this show went off the air we will never know. I still have not gotten over it, much like the Sopranos finale.
Point Break: A watershed moment in Busey’s career, playing a law enforcement officer (Angelo) and Keanu’s partner. The best part is when Busey is sitting in the car with Keanu ranting about meatball sandwiches, oranges and Calvin & Hobbes. “Utah, get me two.” This movie takes a depressing turn when Busey gets shot up at the airport. I have not cried this much since the end of Forrest Gump.
Predator 2: Busey the badass. Did anyone besides me notice how jacked this guy was in this movie? Made Arnold look like an anorexic prom queen. I’d like to see the Predator take on Busey without the Predator and all his crazy lasers and rockets and vanishing act. I’d take whatever is left in my embarrassing bank account and bet the farm on Busey, no questions asked.
Rookie of the Year: Chet Stedman? Unbelievable. He didn’t “do” autographs. He didn’t care what people thought about him. But he was a figurehead in the Cubs first World Series since 1908. He revived his career and the behest of Henry Rowengartner. And was there a more gutsy performance in a big game? Plus, the Dude’s nickname was ‘Rocket”, Clemens didn’t have shit on this guy. Plus this was John Candy’s masterpiece. The cinematography and editing techniques should have put this one up for an Oscar, and you can guess who would’ve won best actor.
Black Sheep: I am a firm believer that Busey was playing himself in this one. I mean he made Chris Farley seem mild. He played a militant ex-soldier, lived in a school bus in the woods and had a couch that smelled like urine. If that is not the life of Gary Busey, somebody please tell me what is. Drake Sabitch, war hero.
Think I missed something? Feel free to e-mail me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with more moments in Busey history and we can add ‘em right here at the dose. Believe me, I have the time to read them.
