AUGUST’S DEADBEAT OF THE MONTH: SGT. DRAKE SAVAGE.
A year-long chronicle of deadbeats wouldn’t be legitimate without Gary Busey joining the ranks. The hardest part about this is of course choosing which Gary Busey character would be best. From loudmouth alcoholics to corrupt military officers dressing in drag, Busey has conquered it all. One could even argue that the real Gary Busey be nominated. With all due respect to the man, his off-screen antics coupled with his massive horse teeth could justify.
This month we venture into seldom-discussed territory and awarded the one and only Sergeant Drake Savage for August’s DEADBEAT-OF-THE-MONTH.
*Just want to remind readers that choosing Deadbeats isn’t as easy as pointing at the “bad guy” or villain of a movie. Deadbeats fall into a completely separate category. These aren’t the guys you find going against cops or seeking world domination. Sometimes they fly under the radar from being rejected so often in life. Others are loud and obnoxious. But make no mistake, they all ooze with sleaze. You wouldn’t want them coming over for your Labor Day BBQ and certainly wouldn’t want them going anywhere near your teenage daughter. They have no filter and refuse to commit to society’s ways. They have low I.Q.’s and are drunk most of the time.
OK, just wanted to clear that up. Back to the matter at hand…
The correct spelling of his last name is Sabitch but whenever I watch Black Sheep I hear SAVAGE, so that’s what I’ll keep calling him. Anyways this psychotic Vietnam vet lives off the grid in a school bus parked in the middle of the woods. He’s a loner. A paranoid hermit that doesn’t believe the war is over. Surrounding his school bus is a survival compound with trip-wires, land mines and other booby traps set up to keep “enemies” away. One of those enemies Savage makes early in the film is the wormy Steve Dodds. When he finds Dodds slithering around his perimeter trying to get his rental car back, he scares him and sends a spray of bullets to his Buick. While Dodds remains scared shitless of Savage, his campaign partner Mike Donnelly ends up befriending him and asks him if he likes Bruce Lee movies to which Savage replies “I got every one of em’ on laserdisc.”
Savage becomes a somewhat of a hero at the end of the movie when he jumps on stage at a public campaign event to help with the Donnelly vote and threatens the audience with a bazooka. He calls a few people some names, delivers a gruesome war-story about his grandad and then hoists Mike Donnelly up on his shoulders. Maybe Sgt. Drake Savage wasn’t the best choice for DEADBEAT-OF-THE-MONTH. He redeemed himself in the end and helped the right candidate win as governor of Washington. In any event, I had to include him somewhere in The Land of TNUC, so here he will remain.
Other quotable Deadbeat-isms:
“I could go over to your Mama’s and start a small fire in her panties.”
“I can splatter your cortex or I can explode your heart. Which sounds quicker to you?”
“Hold your tongue, wench.”
[NOTE: DEADBEAT-OF-THE-MONTH is an ongoing saga giving thanks and praise to a chosen deadbeat character each month. To see the rest of em’, go here]
uncletnuc.com 
Can I nominate Carter J. Burke from ‘Aliens’.?
Yes!! Black Sheep! I thought this flick was better than Tommy Boy. Best Savage line, “I can go to your Moma’s house and start a small fire in her panties.” Priceless. Eric Stratton (Tim Matheson) from Animal House, perfect!