Tiger Warsaw

Chuck 'Tiger' Warsaw (Swayze), a reformed drug addict with hangover paranoia, returns to his home town 15 years after a violent family row that involved a shooting and left his father (Richardson) mentally unhinged. The cause of the fight is never made clear: was Tiger having an incestuous affair with sister Paula (McDonnell), or was he just peeking when she was undressing? Was he ransacking the house for drugs money? Only Tiger's mum (Laurie) and ex-girlfriend (Williams) are prepared to give him a second chance. It's a fraught movie that lurches between trauma and tearjerker towards a predictable conclusion, carrying the dubious message that matrimonial bliss and domestic harmony is the ultimate aspiration. Swayze gives the part knitted-brow intensity; he almost succeeds in shrugging off his heart-throb image by looking more pathetic than sympathetic.