Road House (1989)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Rowdy Herrington

Writers (WGA):

David Lee Henry (story)
David Lee Henry (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

19 May 1989 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

The dancing's over. Now it gets dirty.

Plot:

A tough bouncer is hired to tame a dirty bar.

Plot Keywords:

Bouncer | Bar | Violence | Old Friend | Car

Awards:

5 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sun. July 5	8:00 PM	CW
Tue. July 14	10:00 PM	CMTV
Wed. July 15	12:30 AM	CMTV

Cast

Patrick Swayze	...	Dalton
Kelly Lynch	...	Doc
Sam Elliott	...	Wade Garrett
Ben Gazzara	...	Brad Wesley
Marshall R. Teague	...	Jimmy (as Marshall Teague)
Julie Michaels	...	Denise
Red West	...	Red Webster
Sunshine Parker	...	Emmet (as 'Sunshine' Parker)
Jeff Healey	...	Cody
Kevin Tighe	...	Tilghman
John Doe	...	Pat McGurn
Kathleen Wilhoite	...	Carrie
Travis McKenna	...	Jack
Roger Hewlett	...	Younger
Kurt James Stefka	...	Hank

Runtime:

114 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Portuguese

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Finland:K-16 (1990) (cut) | Finland:K-18 (1989) (cut) | Iceland:16 | South Korea:18 | Australia:R | Canada:18A | France:-12 | Norway:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R (certificate #29677) | West Germany:18 | Canada:R (Ontario) | Argentina:18 | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Valencia, California, USA

Company:

Silver Pictures

Trivia:

The first movie to be given the "RiffTrax" treatment by comedian Michael J. Nelson, who recorded a downloadable humorous commentary in the vein of "Mystery Science Theater 3000" (1988) to be played in sync with the movie. Nelson had previously claimed this film was the cheesiest movie ever made in his book "Mike Nelson's Movie Megacheese".

Goofs:

Factual errors: The Ford station wagons crushed in the car dealership scene are purported to be new cars in the movie...but in fact when the film was made they were all about 4 or 5 years old at least, possibly as old as 1979 models.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Bouncer Checking IDs: [to Frank Tilghman, as he enters the Bandstand] Go ahead, sir.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in American Pie Presents Beta House (2007) (V)

Soundtrack:

I Sold My Soul to Rock and Roll

1989, the Golden Age of Cinema

The year 1989 is considered by most movie critics to be the last Golden Age of Cinema. That legendary year saw the theatrical release of three of Hollywoods most beloved films-the Hulk Hogan opus No Holds Barred, the Sylvester Stallone masterpiece Over the Top(OK, I guess that came out in 1987,but it has a totally 1989 vibe) and our current topic of discussion, Road House.

Master auteur Rowdy Herrington has taken the archetypes from ancient mythology (the hero fated to undertake an impossible task, the wise elder who guides the hero, and the villain who the hero must confront)and crafted a tale as powerful and everlasting as any of the classical myths.

Dalton, the worlds greatest (or second greatest, depending on who you ask) cooler is given the Herculean task of cleaning up the Double Deuce, a honky tonk bar so vile they sweep up eyeballs with disturbing regularity. Armed with incredible tai chi skills, Dalton completes his task, but runs afoul of Brad Wesley, the evilest man in Jasper, Mo.

Dalton soon realizes even his tai chi skills won't be enough to defeat the ascot sporting Wesley, or his army of monster truck driving, booze bottle smashing henchmen, so Dalton is forced to call in his mentor Wade Garrett (the world's greatest, or second greatest cooler, depending on who you ask)to help him defeat the forces of evil.

Will Dalton and Wade prevail? Will Brad Wesley continue to finance his evil empire by shaking down the three businessmen that operate in Jasper? All I can tell you is this--Don't be too stupid to have a good time. Put on your right boot, hop into your monster truck and head on down to the video store and make Road House your regular Saturday night thing.