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Road House (1989)

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0:30 | Trailer

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A tough bouncer is hired to tame a dirty bar.

Director:

Writers:

(story) (as David Lee Henry), (screenplay) (as David Lee Henry) | 1 more credit »
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1,402 ( 268)
5 nominations. See more awards »

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
...
...
Doc
...
...
...
Jimmy (as Marshall Teague)
...
Denise
...
Sunshine Parker ...
Emmet (as 'Sunshine' Parker)
...
Cody
...
Tilghman
...
Pat McGurn
...
Carrie
Travis McKenna ...
Jack
...
Younger
Kurt James Stefka ...
Hank
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Storyline

Dalton is the Cooler in bars; He backs up and directs the bouncers. He takes a job in a Road House that has gotten far too rough. His attempts to clean things up put him in conflict with Brad Wesley, the town bully and rich person. Things heat up. Written by John Vogel <jlvogel@comcast.net>

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Taglines:

Dalton lives like a loner, fights like a professional. And loves like there's no tomorrow. See more »

Genres:

Action | Thriller

Certificate:

R | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
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Details

Country:

Language:

|

Release Date:

19 May 1989 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

El duro  »

Box Office

Budget:

$17,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$30,050,028 (USA)
 »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Color:

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1
See  »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

The name of Dalton (Patrick Swayze)'s occupation was a "cooler" which is specialized professional doorman / bouncer. See more »

Goofs

Shadow of camera crew visible on Dalton as he is performing Tai-Chi. See more »

Quotes

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

Crazy Credits

While the end credits are rolling, the house band does one more number. See more »

Connections

Referenced in Scream Queens Swimsuit Sensations (1992) See more »

Soundtracks

Hoochie Coochie Man
Written by Willie Dixon
Produced by Jimmy Iovine
Performed by The Jeff Healey Band
Courtesy of Arista Records
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

 
1989, the Golden Age of Cinema
11 June 2005 | by (Swigmore University) – See all my reviews

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.


155 of 195 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

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