ROAD HOUSE (1989)

ROAD HOUSE (1989)

Tagline: Dalton's the best bouncer in the business. His nights are filled with fast action, hot music and beautiful women. It's a dirty job, but somebody's got to do it.

(Action, Thriller, Nobody Puts Dalton in A Corner) [R]

People who really want to have a good time won't come to a slaughterhouse. And we've got entirely too many troublemakers here. Too many 40-year-old adolescents, felons, power drinkers, and trustees of modern chemistry.

In this one bar owner, Tilghman’s establishment is falling apart and he decides to hire Dalton who is known as the best bouncer in the business. It doesn’t take long before Dalton decides to fire nearly half the staff which draws the ire of Brad Wesley. Wesley runs the town with an iron fist and has all the businesses in town giving him a cut of their profits. Dalton soon finds himself in run-ins with Wesley’s thugs finally deciding to reach out to his mentor Wade Garrett for help. Meanwhile, Dalton has captured the attention of Dr. Elizabeth Clay and Wesley’s girlfriend Denise. Can Dalton and Wade save the bar for good or will they need to get out of town before someone gets killed?

First off, this is one of the most iconic movies of the late 80s. I don’t want to say “all of the 80’s” because I was just going over with a friend how great 1984 by itself was and it’s quite possible that ROAD HOUSE wasn’t even in the TOP 50, 80s films overall. Having said that, when it comes to the late 80s, it’s definitely one of the more iconic flicks, so I am going to stick with that statement. What sets this movie apart from a lot of other films is that the leads themselves are basically legends. 

Patrick Swayze who sadly passed away in 2009, was in a lot of great flicks from RED DAWN to POINT BREAK and this movie is no exception. His acting in this is top-notch as Dalton. Dalton is by far my favorite character Swayze ever played. The same can be said for Wade Garrett who is played by Sam Elliott (TOMBSTONE). I don’t like everything that Sam has been in, but this role was epic. Kelly Lynch (CHARLIE’S ANGELS) is also great in this as “Doc” or Dr. Elizabeth Clay. It does appear she might be out of acting as of 2020. If I have any complaints about her character, it’s that she totally goes off on Dalton in one scene as if her character just completely forgot how evil Brad Wesley was and the damage he was doing to the town and that he pretty much owned the cops as well. Settle down Doc, a man’s gotta do what a man's gotta do. Speaking of Brad Wesley, he is convincingly portrayed by Ben Gazzara who just crushes this role. Heck, I couldn’t wait for this dude to get what was coming to him. Not Ben, his character. Marshall R. Teague (ARMAGEDDON) was also great as a bad guy playing Jimmy. I also really liked Kathleen Wilhoite (FIRE IN THE SKY) in this as Carrie. She doesn’t have a giant role, but she was one of the more down-to-earth characters just trying to get by. The same can be said for Jeff Healey who plays Cody. Actually, a lot of the soundtrack is provided by Jeff Healey’s band in the movie and even though it’s not my style, I really liked the soundtrack and score for this thing.

When we start getting to the storyline, I have to admit coming from a large city, when I was younger couldn’t understand how a rich guy would take over a whole town and get very little resistance. However, when you drive north from Phoenix it doesn’t take long before you get to some smaller towns where it seems a little more credible that perhaps some rich person developed that. Also, HOAs always remind me of mini-tyrants that control everything. I am always half expecting Jimmy to show up at my door and tell me how I need to paint the spaceship hanging off my roof* to match the trim.

The pacing is good and they give this movie some room to breathe with a romance and all of that. Overall the film is well-rounded and I don’t drink, but I don’t mind watching a decent bar fight. There is some nudity in this and plenty of profanity for those looking to avoid that, but it doesn’t feel out of place in this particular setting. 

Overall this one gets a 6 out of 7. It’s definitely a classic that was far better executed than it had a right to be. This is also not my usual wheelhouse, but I never regret watching this thing. It’s also a throwback to when far more movies were celebrating masculinity which is sorely missed for the most part these days.

*Solar Opposites reference. 

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