A Tribute To Bill Paxton: True American Hero
In Honor of Sarah Marie Entin

Over the 4^th of July weekend my wife and I got into a discussion about just how great “Independence Day” is while we watched it per our usual tradition for this holiday. At one point we were joking around that truly Bill Pullman is the best President the United States has ever had and he is a true American Hero. However, during this conversation my wife accidentally said Bill Paxton not Bill Pullman was the hero. We both know who she meant, but it got me thinking about Bill Paxton and that she may have just been right the first time.  I have not seen all of Bill Paxton’s work but whenever he pops up in a movie or television show I instantly know that whatever I am watching will be worth it.

To truly appreciate Bill Paxton I must start off with the only movie I have seen with him as the overall lead; “Twister”.  “Twister” is a ludicrous movie built around people who chase tornadoes trying to come up with a warning system for Tornadoes to give people a real chance of fleeing areas where they are about to hit.  Bill Paxton plays Bill Harding a founding partner of this group of tornado chasers that left but just happens to come back at the exact moment that 5 different tornados are going to hit in the span of 2 days. Suffice it to say all hell breaks loose, debris is thrown, houses are destroyed, cows go flying, and romances are made. Bill Paxton does an amazing job keeping this movie as grounded as possible where he has two face two villains; tornadoes and just for good measure a smarmy Cary Elwes who is trying to beat Bill Paxton’s character to the punch.  If you ask me Bill Paxton had a tougher job in trying to handle all the different things going on in “Twister” then Bill Pullman had to do in “Independence Day”. Some will say taking out aliens is a tough task, don’t tell that to Bill Paxton who survived an F5 twister with nothing but his belt! At the end of the day, yes “Independence Day” made more money in the summer of 1996 and is viewed annually by millions of people, but “Twister” survives today too as an amazing attraction at Universal Studios Florida entertaining millions of people.

Bill Paxton has a way of playing the same character a lot of the time. Outside of “Twister” and a few other pieces of art, Bill Paxton plays some sort of sleazy/smarmy guy you just want to hit. Look no further than his character in “True Lies” as he tried to seduce Jamie Lee Curtis with lies that he is a secret agent. Then of course is his role in “Vertical Limit” (under-appreciated movie) where he is an evil tycoon who has no problem trying to kill people in his climbing crew just to stay alive.  Finally there is his role in “Aliens” as Private Hudson as a cocky soldier who also can be a really big coward at the same time. This to me was his big break. He took a character you really should hate; a soldier that talks the talk but when push comes to shove actually is a horrible solider.  I mean Private Hudson is such a scared little man that you realize the little girl Newt has more courage than him. However, Mr. Paxton was just do dynamic that you end up just loving his character. He is able to make you root for people you should hate. You want to spend more time with these villains because they are played by Bill Paxton. All three movies I listed didn't star Bill Paxton but he sure made them better.

What makes Bill Paxton so great though is the fact that he can go beyond his archetype to deliver solid performances you never see coming.  The movie “Club Dread” was awful, no way around it. The only redeeming feature for that entire flick was Bill Paxton who played a Jimmy Buffet inspired Coconut Pete.  He steals any scene he is in. His character owns a spring break type island based off his hit song “Welcome to Pina Coladaburg”.  As you watch this movie you can tell Bill Paxton is just having a good time. I would rather watch a movie based off this character then the horror-parody this film was trying to be.  Finally for a real gravitas performance for Bill Paxton go no further than “Frailty”. Bill Paxton plays Dad Meiks a good and honest father who all of a sudden enlists his two sons to help him murder people he claims to be demons. I will not spoil this movie which is a truly under the radar gem but Bill Paxton truly sells the earnestness of his character and the devotion in carrying out these acts he believes to be true.

To conclude I think this has been such an easy topic to right about because Bill Paxton has been popping up a little more as of late reminding Americans how much spark he truly adds to things. This year on “Marvels Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” it wasn’t until Bill Paxton guest starred during the back half of the season did the show really take off. He played John Garrett a member of SHIELD. He was good at playing the hero alongside the star Agent Coulson and was even playing the big bad later on. He gave the show a much needed dose of adrenaline and made it a must see program late in the year.  Mr. Paxton was even fun in his little role in “Edge Of Tomorrow”. His character does not do much but he worked great as someone for Tom Cruise to bounce lines off of.  You could tell he was just having fun with this role and really showed.

Is Bill Paxton really an American Hero probably not, and he probably will never get to headline a movie like “Twister” again. Yet, he is one hell of an actor that somehow always ends up in great material and adds to it.