Road House
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Movie Reviews of Road House
Movie Review: The Art of War according to Patrick Swayze
Summary: 4 Stars
The 'so bad it's good' mutation of standard film criticism has reached incredible heights of popularity over the last decade or so, spearheaded by those Mystery Science Theater 3000 wags and subsequently cultivated by certain cinema-fans who have a penchant for drinking spirits and laughing hysterically at the mishaps of supposedly-serious schlock. But attaining the 'so bad it's good' status is a difficult task; for a movie to enter this rare sphere, the subject must have been originally produced with good intentions, i.e. with the desire of crafting a solid movie despite obvious discrepancies of script, acting, direction and overall thematic construction. Perhaps more than any decade, the 80's are a fertile ground of MST3K neophytes: the clothes, the hairstyles, the ethics and attitudes, the general emphasis of quantity over quality (especially, but not exclusive, to action flicks), the bottom-line mentality of the studios (sadly unchanged)...even decent entertainment of this period treads the perilous threshold of being dated by sheer visual hubris alone, with mainstay cult favorites like *The Breakfast Club*, *The Lost Boys* and *Buckaroo Banzai* existing as much as archived ~relics~ as amusing Saturday-afternoon diversions.
*Road House* holds the dubious crown of B-rated movies, the ultimate schlock of its era - no mean feat, given the innumerable dreck produced during the excess 80's. It flopped in the theaters, but has since gained a small-but-devoted following among those who like their cheese served smelly, with plenty of wisecrackin' material to exploit.
The story: Dalton (Patrick Swayze) is the best cooler in the business, a strong silent type who reads literature in his spare moments and for occupation keeps rowdy bar clientele in check through a mixture of politeness and precise fisticuffs. But there is more: Dalton is a philosophy grad from NYU (!) who occasionally waxes pseudo-profound in between bouts of arse-kickin'. We don't see much of the latter in the first part of the film, however: *Road House* utilizes the 'slow burn' technique, tantalizing us with Dalton's legend (building tension, ya know), and the hero doesn't prove his chops until well into the first act.
Anyway, Dalton is hired to clean up a roadhouse in Jasper, Missouri, the kind of place where "they sweep up the eyeballs after closing." After cluing in the staff to his personal Sun Tzu-esque work-ethic - "Never underestimate your opponent...Be nice! Until it's time to not be nice...", Dalton proceeds to accomplish his job via stony stares and martial art expertise, taking time on the side to seduce the local "Doc" (Kelly Lynch) and get advice from his mentor Wade Garret (Sam Elliot, just shamblin' through). Soon enough he discovers that a local business magnate by the name of Brad Wesely (Ben Gazzara, hamming it up nicely) has been exploiting the townsfolk with guns, thugs and a monster-truck (!!). Yep, this movie's got it all.
Road House is also a comprehensive index of cheesy one-liners:
"It's my way or the highway."
"Pain don't hurt." ( <-- one the greatest lines in cinematic history, IMO, with shameless delivery to boot)
"I own this town!"
"You're a dead man." (--x3)
"Have a Bloody Mary, Dalton? How about some breakfast?"
"Different town, same story." (--x2)
"Prepare to die!"
And it contains some of the most amusing homoerotic subtext between the hero and an antagonist this side of *Top Gun*:
"You're a$$ is mine!" (followed a little later by:)
"I used to [anally rape] guys like you in prison!"
...complete with the obligatory expose of Swayze's backside early on, to the pleased gasp of a female recipient.
Yet Dalton himself is a paradox, inscrutably hard to pin down in this rote retelling of the "good guy cleans up the bad town". Who is this man? Dalton lights up a cig every five minutes, and is later presented practicing Tai Chi & qi-gong breathing exercises on the lakeside. Dalton explains his philosophy to his blonde paramour, then ends it with an awkward expletive. Dalton preaches peace - "Nobody wins a fight" - but lives a life of violence, giving his all to protect the sphere of casual libation. Who is this man, this Dalton? Even given the emotional breakdown of the third act, where the fragments of Dalton's past are stitched together and the hero experiences an unusual epiphany of doubt, I'm still not sure. Still, the slow burn of the first half pays off nicely in the last twenty minutes, when the movie abandons such concepts as 'logic' and 'due process' and Swayze is allowed to unleash hell upon the nefarious villains, serving justice with extreme prejudice, followed by an act of "synergistic vigilantism" that is as surreally hilarious as it is unlikely.
I'm going to award this film a generous 3 (1/2) stars, for its 80's camp value, seamless conglomeration of stock clich?s, and for Swayze himself - the embodiment of American Redneck Rage, tempered with a thin veneer of Sun Tzu. An essential Me-decade artifact.
Movie Review: incredible film
Summary: 5 Stars
this film is incredible. it should of won an oscar!!! shame on you oscar committee. Movie Review: The Ultimate "B" Movie
Summary: 4 Stars
Judging from the other reviews here, as well as the frequency that this film is shown on television, I can deduce that I'm not the only one who places Road House near the top of their "guilty pleasures" B-movie list. After having seen it about four times now, I am convinced that, despite the basic absurdity of the plot, violence, and lack of realism, that it has a kind of strange perfection. At first, I thought of it as a movie that's so bad it's good. But now I'm starting to think of it as a good movie that only pretends to be bad. There is not one boring scene, and almost every character is entertaining in one way or another, no matter how silly or stereotypical they appear at first glance. Road House takes all of the traditional elements of Westerns, martial arts and macho buddy films and rolls them into a single movie. There are tons of fight scenes, a villain with an army of henchmen, a monster truck used as a deadly weapon and lots of improbably philosophical lines inserted in the middle of the action. This is one of the best campy films in the "one man army cleans up town full of redneck bullies" genre since the Billy Jack movies. In a way, Road House can be considered a precursor to some of Quentin Tarantino's films, which so brilliantly combine action, suspense and humor.
Patrick Swayze is perfect as the legendary bouncer Dalton, who, in addition to being a martial arts expert, has a degree in Philosophy. The plot of Road House most closely resembles the classic Western, with Dalton being the lone gunman hired to clean up the town. He is actually hired to clean up one very rough nightclub, The Double Deuce, a place where eyeballs are swept up at the end of the night in the words of the club's owner and typical of the film's often hilariously over-the-top dialogue. The scenario at this club is absurd. There are something like a dozen bouncers here, and Dalton reveals that his fee is $5000 up front and $500 a night. If you think about it (bad idea with a movie like this), how is any owner going to pay all these salaries just to keep a bar in the middle of nowhere open? Not very realistic, but no matter. We have to take the film at face value. The Double Deuce contains every redneck cliche, with constantly brawling drunken customers, a crooked bartender, platinum blond women who are quick to perform strip dances, and a country band that has to remain behind a plexiglass barrier for protection against the rowdy audience.
The real villain here is played by Ben Gazzara, as thug/town boss Brad Wesley, who flies around in a helicopter, lives in a mansion and shakes down the struggling townsfolk for protection money. Again, we must not look for realism here. The people he shakes down, such as the owner of an auto parts store and a car dealer, hardly appear to have the resources to support the grandiose lifestyle of an arch-villain, but again, who cares? The self-satisfied smirk he wears and the way he intimidates his gang of goons is hilarious. Gazzara, like several other characters, makes the part work not by being different or original, but by being the perfect embodiment of a movie cliche.
Sam Elliot also has a great part as Wade Garrett, who is Dalton's aging mentor in the bouncing business. He has this role down pat, as a swaggering, hard-drinking tough guy who has seen it all and dispenses macho pearls of wisdom with a lazy drawl. The dialogue in Road House is part of what makes it so funny, starting with Dalton telling the other bouncers with a steely-eyed stare, "It's my way or the highway." Kelly Lynch is Dalton's love interest, a beautiful blond doctor who is both charmed and repelled by Dalton's violent lifestyle. This conflict in their relationship, between the warrior male and the woman who loves him but wants him to walk away from it all, is another cliche, of course. What is so good about Road House is the way it shamelessly throws all these improbable situations and cliches right in the audience's face. It's a great movie for those who are simple enough to take it seriously, sophisticated enough to laugh at it, or some combination of the two.
Movie Review: So bad its good guilty pleasure
Summary: 4 Stars
Road House is an enjoyable movie that you may not be proud to admit you enjoy watching. Head bouncer Dalton is well known for his ability to clean up seedy bars. The owner of a wild, rowdy bar in Jasper, Oklahoma, the Double Duece, hires Dalton to be his head bouncer, a "cooler", and clean up his bar. Upon arriving in Jasper, Dalton discovers a town run by a corrupt businessman who takes money from all the small businesses for "protection." Dalton, along with his friend Wade, decide to help clean out the town no matter what it takes. This is definitely one of those movies that is so bad that it is good. Basically every line in the movie is a cliche, but what's wrong with that? Good action throughout. For a movie that allows you to shut off your brain and watch some mindless action, this is it.
Patrick Swayze stars as Dalton, the head bouncer of the Double Duece. Swayze is basically playing himself in the role of an intelligent, existential thinking bouncer. Ben Gazzara plays Jasper kingpin, Brad Wesley, the man who runs the town with an iron fist because no one is willing to stand up to him. Kelly Lynch plays the love interest, Dr. Elizabeth Clay, a woman who has a past with Brad but starts to fall for Dalton. Sam Elliot is at his coolest as Wade Garrett, Dalton's friend, mentor, and fellow cooler. Road House also stars Marshall Teague, Julie Michaels, Red West, Sunshine Parker, Jeff Healey, and Kevin Tighe. The DVD offers both widescreen and standard presentations of the movie and a theatrical trailer. For a fun movie with a good cast and plenty of action, check out Road House!
Movie Review: Great Guy Movie, okay dvd
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a solid 4.5 star movie. But the dvd is only 4 stars due to only dolby 2.0 sound and almost no extras.
But it is a guys movie all the way, good fight scenes, explosions and splash of frontal nudity. This excelent movie is in the same sprit as Die Hard, Lethal Weapon, AlienS and Pale Rider.
Surprisingly you can also watch this with women since they go gaga remembering DirtyDancing and Ghost which also stared Patrick Swayze.
The only complaint I have is about the effort they put in producing this DVD. Happy that IT IS widescreen but upset at the plainess of the DVD almost no options or extras. I would have loved to see a featureette of Swayze being trained by Benny "The Jet" Urquidez (who also makes a cameo appearance). And what is up with only dolby 2.0...Jeez does no justice to the fine soundtrack created by Jeff Healy.