Road House (1989)

A tough bouncer is hired to tame a dirty bar.

Director:

Rowdy Herrington

Writers:

R. Lance Hill (story) (as David Lee Henry), R. Lance Hill (screenplay) (as David Lee Henry)

Stars:

Patrick Swayze, Kelly Lynch, Sam Elliott

5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Serene and laconic, yet powerful and lethal, Dalton is an expert in martial arts and the best professional bouncer in the business. With such a reputation, Dalton is summoned in a small town in Missouri to clean up the sleazy bar called The Double Deuce from the troublemakers who terrorize the customers, without knowing, however, that the villainous local entrepreneur, Brad Wesley, wants things to remain unchanged. As Dalton cleans up the nightclub, and with it, the town from Wesley's hired goons, a deep wound from a knife will inspire a passionate affair with local Dr. Elizabeth "Doc" Clay. Now, the corrupt Wesley has enough reasons to take Dalton out of the way, nevertheless, the bouncer has the final say.

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Plot Keywords:

female frontal nudity | nightclub | wet g string contest | cleavage | leg spreading | 

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Taglines:

The dancing's over. Now it gets dirty.

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Genres:

Action | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Portuguese

Release Date:

19 May 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

El duro

Filming Locations:

24650 Arch St, Santa Clarita, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$17,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$30,050,028

Company Credits

Production Co:

Silver Pictures, Star Partners II Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The town in which the film is set is a fictional community "outside of Kansas City" called "Jasper", and as Dalton drives into town, the "Welcome to Jasper" sign is visible. There actually is a Jasper, Missouri, south of Kansas City, and it has numerous rivers running near it (as seen throughout the movie). The movie also alludes to "calling a friend in the F.B.I. in Springfield." Springfield, Missouri is sixty-five miles away from Jasper.

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Goofs

After Dalton rips Jimmy's throat out he kicks Jimmy into the lake but you can hear Jimmy shout in pain as he falls. He wouldn't even be able to make a sound if he just had his throat ripped out.

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Quotes

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

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Crazy Credits

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

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Connections

Referenced in Supernatural: Everybody Loves a Clown (2006)

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Soundtracks

White Room
Written by Jack Bruce and Pete Brown (as Peter Brown)
Produced by Jimmy Iovine
Performed by The Jeff Healey Band
Courtesy of Arista Records

User Reviews

And just think: Morgan Freeman and Miss Daisy drove away with the Oscar that year!

What brilliant trash this film is! It works absolutely every time! For all I know it was filmed either at Uncle Ron's or El Matador here in town!

Road House is the story of a bouncer hired to clean up a rough bar in a tiny town. He isn't just your ordinary illiterate muscle head, though. It's Patrick Swayze. He's got a degree in philosophy from NYU! He owns a Mercedes! Why, he's the best damn cooler in the business! And it's a good thing he is. This fictional town of Jasper, MO is dominated by a slimy Boss-Hogg type played by Ben Gazzara. He and his thugs skim money from every business in town, and the last thing they want is some stranger waltzing on to the scene to break up their control of the action.

Enough plot, though. Let's focus on the highlights.

This film has a script that should be bronzed or put on display at the Smithsonian. We get monumental lines such as:

"It's good to see you!" spoken by a blind man when he first greets Swayze.

"What do you take me for?" a bimbo asks another bar patron in an early scene. the reply- "About a hundred dollars!"

And this film also contains the greatest line ever spoken in the history of cinema. Decorum prohibits me from stating it verbatim, but you'll probably know it when you hear it. It's spoken by pro wrestler Terry Funk who plays the bouncer Swayze replaces. The line focuses on the supposed size of Swayze's package, and the size vehicle his seed could fill.

The film is filled with bar fights that eventually turn into shootouts, hot women, fast cars, monster trucks, explosions, you name it. Anything for guys who like movies is in abundance. The whole thing plays out like a typical night on the town for us yokels here in the red states.

The film comes in surprisingly long at 114 minutes, but don't worry. This is the type of film you can basically stop at any place, then push play when you and your friends get back from the bars. "It will be like you never left," as Christopher Lloyd tells Michael J. Fox at one point in Back to the Future.

The film has more than its share of logical lapses. As Roger Ebert points out in his review, there is no way anyone could get as rich as Wesley by skimming this little town. It seems to only have a bar, an auto parts store, a Ford dealership, and a cafe or two. Most of these places get wiped out as the action unfolds. It makes you wonder who would have been left for Wesley to skim from.

But criticism of a film like this is useless. When faced with such an artistic statement as Road House, one can either sit back and enjoy, or chuck the tape out the window.

10 of 10 stars.

The genius of Joel Silver my know no boundaries.

Added 9-14-2009: We'll see you on the other side, Patrick! God Bless you!