Rent Road House (1989)

Patrick Swayze in top form - Road House review by CD

I realised what a talented and charming actor Patrick Swayze was, and he is the main interest in this film.  The soundtrack and band (Jeff Healey) is excellent and it is nostalgic to look back at a 1990s style bar.  Beyond that it is all fisticuffs and a lot of caricatured baddies - it’s funny and entertaining for half the film but then takes a darker turn and gets a bit monotonous.  Overall worth a watch just for the main actors, not for the plot.

Cheesy, corny, hilarious - so bad it's good :) - Road House review by RP

Cheesy acting, corny characters, hilarious dialogue, mindless fisticuffs, knife fights, gunfights, monster trucks, women with big hair, men with mullets, girls who wear dresses that look like tablecloths, old men who are martial arts experts, a bouncer with a degree in philosophy - the list goes on... This film is truly awful - yet it's enjoyable. It's so bad it's good.

The storyline (such as it is) is of the classic western variety : stranger comes to town, cleans it up, meets local girl, leaves town - or something. Here it is: Dalton (Patrick Swayze) is a famous super-bouncer hired to clean up rough bar but is a little on the small side so gets a few laughs (dialogue: "I thought you'd be bigger") meets local doctor (Kelly Lynch) when being stapled for a knife wound (dialogue: "Pain don't hurt"), calls in old friend Wade Garrett (Sam Elliott) for assistance (dialogue: "I'll get all the sleep I need when I'm dead"), Dalton beats up local hard men, takes revenge on local businessman / baddie Brad Wesley (Ben Gazzara), swims in river with girl.

Never mind the awful acting, the f-ing and blinding, the violence, assorted bare chests - just sit back and let its awfulness wash over you. You might enjoy it too. Other than the sheer cheesiness of it, the best thing is the soundtrack. The bar band is the Jeff Healey Band led by blind Canadian guitarist Jeff Healey and they're excellent if you like blues / rock - I saw them live a good few years ago.

Regrettably both Patrick Swayze and Jeff Healey (not to mention Ben Gazzara) have all been called to that great roadhouse in the sky, so sadly there'll be no more films quite like this again - perhaps that's just as well. 5/5 stars for the cheese + music :)

Great Fun Action Film - Road House review by GI

Despite it being a huge box office flop Road House has over the years harnessed a big following and many cite is as one of their favourite films and somewhat surprisingly it's very popular with women viewers considering the women characters are for the most part just big boobed bimbos there for men to gaze at. But its the appeal of Patrick Swayze that is a main ingredient in making this so entertaining. The film is basically a western reset into the contemporary world of American clubs and the bouncers representing town taming gunfighters. Even most of the characters have names you'll find in western mythology and history - Dalton, Garrett, Doc, Wesley etc. Swayze is the aforementioned Dalton, a much sought after club bouncer who is known for his honesty and ability to clean up Clubs that are plagued by troublemakers. He's hired by Tilghman (another western name) played by Kevin Tighe, a club owner, to help him turn his dive of a place into a money making venue. Dalton trains the bouncer team but makes enemies along the way including the corrupt town bigwig Wesley (Ben Gazzara) but finds solace in the arms of Elizabeth (Kelly Lynch) and gets the help of bouncing legend Wade Garrett (Sam Elliott). The fight scenes are great fun, the music soundtrack is fantastic mostly from Jeff Healey and his band who have small roles in the film. Admittedly it's all daft and the last twenty minutes or so goes way over the top but it's still great fun. The rumour is the film was heavily cut and we lost Wade's back story, at least one big fight and various other scenes so it would be nice considering the film's current popularity if one day we get a film with those scenes restored. But in any event Road House remains an enjoyable action film and worth digging out and enjoying again and again.