Road House (1989)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Rowdy Herrington

Writers (WGA):

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

Release Date:

19 MÁJUS 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 | Doctor | Violence | Blind

Awards:

5 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Fri. Nov. 13	12:00 AM	VH1
Fri. Nov. 13	6:30 PM	VH1

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

Color:

Color

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:

Dalton's first name is James.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Daltons car is airborne and explodes and lands, you can see the roll bar cage inside.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: Paddy's Pub: The Worst Bar in Philadelphia (#4.8)" (2008)

Soundtrack:

Mustang Sally

Perhaps the best camp classic ever!

Released last month as a Deluxe Edition DVD, ROAD HOUSE is a film that is almost impossible to ignore. Whether considered good or bad, it is one of the few pictures that is easy to watch all the way through by almost any one who comes across it. It is a rare gem. The phrase "it's so bad that it's good" doesn't apply to ROAD HOUSE. It isn't so bad it's good, it's so bad it's great. It is the very definition of a guy movie. It contains brutal and bloody fist fights, frequent nudity, a rock n' roll sound track, some of the best cheesy dialogue ever written, fancy cars, gun-play, knives being thrown, and explosions. As a movie for guys, it's a 10, as a movie to be taken seriously, it's a 5. Every attempt at drama flounders, though it never completely ruins what is going on.

Although considered a box office failure when released in 1989, ROAD HOUSE quickly became a cult hit once it reached video. Finally giving in to the cult mania, MGM's new DVD version of ROAD HOUSE contains two commentaries: one from director Rowdy Herrington and one by filmmakers Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier who were called in to do the track after talking ROAD HOUSE on the tenth-anniversary DVD of CLERKS. Both commentaries are fun to listen to. Herrington's commentary is for those who want to know more about the flick and the Smith/Mosier commentary is for those that want a nice laugh at the expense of this cinematic marvel. Also included on the DVD is a look-back documentary and a short featurette on the direct-to-video sequel.

As an actual film: 5/10 As a campy guy film: 10/10