Road House (1989 film)
Road House is a 1989 American action film directed by Rowdy Herrington and starring Patrick Swayze as a cooler at a newly refurbished roadside bar who protects a small town in Missouri from a corrupt businessman. Sam Elliott co-stars as a bouncer, the mentor, friend, and foil of Swayze's character. The cast also includes Kelly Lynch as Swayze's love interest and Ben Gazzara as the main antagonist. Plot. James Dalton is a professional "cooler", with a mysterious past who is enticed from his job in New York City by Frank Tilghman to take  over security at his own club, the Double Deuce, in Jasper, Missouri. Frank plans to invest substantial money into the club to enhance its image, and he needs a first-rate cooler to maintain stability. Arriving in Jasper, Dalton takes lodging at a local farm owned by Emmett, a friendly elderly man. Handed control of all bar operations and hiring by Frank, Dalton attracts attention with his quiet demeanor, which contrasts with the rowdy locals. Dalton is introduced to local business magnate Brad Wesley, who effectively controls the town. Attempting to assert order in the violent nightclub, Dalton dismisses several  employees, some of whom have connections with Wesley. They are fired for excessive violence, theft or drug dealing. One night, Dalton discovers Wesley's henchmen, menacing Tilghman in his office. A fight ensues, and Dalton and his fellow employees are forced to physically remove the men. During the struggle, Dalton receives a knife wound. At the hospital, he begins a friendship with Dr. Elizabeth "Doc" Clay. Soon, this develops into a romance. Wesley summons Dalton to his home in a seemingly innocent attempt to make peace, but ultimately reveals his true intentions: Wesley wants Dalton to work for him once  he extorts the Double Deuce; he also reveals knowledge of Dalton's past by mentioning an incident where Dalton killed a man in Memphis, Tennessee. When Dalton declines, Wesley begins attacking Dalton's friends, including interfering with liquor deliveries to the Double Deuce. Dalton's mentor, aging but legendary cooler Wade Garrett, arrives in town after a phone call from Dalton and helps him defend a liquor shipment from Wesley's thugs. That evening, the auto parts store of local business owner, Red Webster, is destroyed by a fire after he refuses to give in to Wesley's persistent extortion  demands. Dalton, not wanting to exacerbate matters, allows Wesley and his men entrance to the club that night. However, Wesley deploys Jimmy Reno, a violent ex-con and skilled martial artist, to start a brawl with the Double Deuce bouncers. After a brief skirmish with Wade and Dalton, Wesley calls an end to the fight and leaves the club. The next day, Wesley sends one of his thugs to demolish Pete Stroudenmire's car dealership with a monster truck in front of the citizens after he also refuses Wesley's demands. That night, Doc visits Dalton and attempts to persuade  him to leave. However, their conversation is interrupted by an explosion at Emmett's house next door. Dalton rescues Emmett from the blaze before his house is destroyed. He then witnesses Jimmy fleeing the scene and manages to intercept him. After a vicious fight, Jimmy points a revolver at Dalton, but Dalton kills him by ripping out his throat with his bare hand. Doc is horrified by Dalton's brutality and leaves in disgust. The next morning, Dalton receives an ominous phone call from Wesley, who vows to have either Wade or Doc killed by the flip of a coin . After Wesley hangs up leaving the outcome unknown, a badly beaten Wade staggers into the Double Deuce. Believing Doc to be in danger, Dalton races to the hospital alone, but she refuses to leave with him, repelled by his increasingly violent nature. Upon returning to the Double Deuce, Dalton finds Wade sprawled out on the bar with a knife lodged in his chest. Enraged, Dalton pulls the knife free and storms out of the bar, determined to settle things with Wesley once and for all. Dalton speeds recklessly toward Wesley's estate; his car draws gunfire from Wesley's henchmen , but when it crashes, they discover the car empty, and the knife used to kill Wade stuck in the accelerator. Using the distraction, Dalton sneaks onto the estate and either incapacitates or kills Wesley's henchmen, one by one. He eventually comes face-to-face with Wesley himself. Dalton gains the upper hand in their fight and prepares to finish Wesley in the same brutal manner as Jimmy, but decides against it. As Dalton releases him and walks away, Wesley seizes the opportunity to reach for a gun, but is promptly shot to death in succession by Red, Emmett, Pete , and finally Frank. The men stash the weapons away prior to the arrival of the sheriff, and proceed, along with a surviving henchman Tinker, to corroborate each other's innocence. Later on, Cody, a longtime friend of Dalton's, and his band perform at the Double Deuce, while Dalton and Doc enjoy each other's company in a swimming hole. Production. Casting. Annette Bening was originally cast as Dr. Elizabeth Clay but she was fired because she and Patrick Swayze had no chemistry, so she was replaced by Kelly Lynch. Filming. Filming started in April 1988 on location throughout California , primarily in Newhall, Valencia, and Canyon Country. The filming of much of the "New Double Deuce" used Anaheim's "Cowboy" bar, also later called the "Bandstand" among other names until it closed. The opening and monster truck scenes were filmed in Reedley, California. The Kings River runs between the two residences. The monster truck used was Bigfoot #7, which was originally built for the film. The scene cost $500,000 to film. Music. The soundtrack for "Road House" featured Canadian guitarist Jeff Healey, whose band was featured in the film as the house band for the Double Deuce. Cruzados were  the band in the opening credits, contributing three songs to the film that never made the soundtrack. Patrick Swayze also wrote one song and sang two for the soundtrack. The film's score was composed by Michael Kamen. A limited edition 14-track score album part of the Special Collection was issued by Intrada Records in 2012. An expanded limited 31-track score was reissued for the films 30th anniversary by La-La Land Records in 2019. Release. Theatrical. The film premiered in New York and Los Angeles on May 19, 1989. Home media. Between VHS, DVD, Blu-ray and  Streaming service sales, 'Road House' has grossed over $203 Million dollars. The film was originally released on VHS and then on DVD. In the United States Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer first released the film on DVD on February 4, 2003 with a 2.35:1 aspect ratio and theatrical trailer as the sole extra feature. In 2006 a Deluxe Edition DVD was released with two audio commentaries including one with the director, two featurettes titled "On the Roadhouse" and "What Would Dalton Do?". "Road House" was first issued by MGM on Blu-ray disc on June 2, 2009. A second disc combines  the same six special features ported from the Deluxe DVD. After being reissued numerous times in the U.S., in 2016 Shout! Factory released a 2-disc Blu-ray collectors edition with fourteen extra features with material ported over from the previous editions. New supplements include a ‘making of’ documentary with new interviews by Herrington, actors Kelly Lynch, John Doe, Kevin Tighe, Julie Michaels and Red West, a separate conversation with the director and featurette for the films music. Reception. Box office. The film grossed $30 million in the United States and Canada and $31 million internationally for a  worldwide total of $61 million. The film was more successful on home video. The film also found life on cable television. Critical response. On Rotten Tomatoes, "Road House" has a rating of 40% based on 45 reviews and has an average rating of 5.3 Roger Ebert of the "Chicago Sun-Times" gave the film 2½ out of 4 stars and commented, ""Road House" exists right on the edge between the 'good-bad movie' and the merely bad. I hesitate to recommend it, because so much depends on the ironic vision of the viewer. This is not a good movie . But viewed in the right frame of mind, it is not a boring one, either." When interviewed by Anthony Bourdain, Bill Murray lauded the film as unappreciated, with a complex plot and respect among actors in the film industry since its release. Kelly Lynch told "The A.V. Club", "Every time "Road House" is on and he [Murray] or one of his idiot brothers are watching TV – and they’re always watching TV – one of them calls my husband and says (in a reasonable approximation of Carl Spackler from "Caddyshack"), 'Kelly's having sex with Patrick Swayze right now. They’re  doing it. He's throwing her against the rocks.'" Murray is the best friend of Lynch's husband, Mitch Glazer, and Lynch herself considers Murray a "buddy". Accolades. "Road House" was nominated for (but did not "win") five Golden Raspberry Awards: Worst Picture, Worst Actor (Patrick Swayze), Worst Supporting Actor (Ben Gazzara), Worst Director, and Worst Screenplay. The film is listed in Golden Raspberry Award founder John Wilson's book "The Official Razzie Movie Guide" as one of The 100 Most Enjoyably Bad Movies Ever Made. Other media. Sequel. A sequel, "Road House 2", was released directly to DVD in  July 2006. Set many years later and telling the story of Dalton's adult son, it featured no characters from the original cast and only a few references to Dalton (who was reportedly shot dead before the film took place). The sequel confirmed that Dalton's first name was James, which could be seen momentarily on the medical chart in the original film's hospital scene, but which had been otherwise left unsaid. At the same time "Road House 2" was released, the original film was reissued in a deluxe edition featuring, among other features, separate audio commentary tracks by  director Herrington, Kevin Smith, and Scott Mosier, which the duo had expressed an interest in during the introduction of the tenth anniversary "Clerks" DVD. Musical. In 2003, an off-Broadway musical production of "Road House" was staged as a campy comedy by Timothy Haskell, as seen by its full title of "Road House: The Stage Version Of The Cinema Classic That Starred Patrick Swayze, Except This One Stars Taimak From The 80's Cult Classic ""The Last Dragon"" Wearing A Blonde Mullet Wig". Police training video. Following the death of Eric Garner, the New York City Police Department began using  a scene from "Road House" as part of a mandatory, three-day retraining course for 22,000 officers expected to "be nice" under pressure. Potential remake. On September 9, 2015, it was announced that Ronda Rousey would star in a remake of "Road House". On October 12, 2015, Nick Cassavetes was announced to write and direct the film. However, plans for the film fell through and the remake was quietly canceled in 2016. In November 2021, it was reported that Jake Gyllenhaal in talks to star in a remake of "Road House" by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer with Doug Liman directing. Comic  book. Julia Gfrörer, Sean T. Collins and Gretchen Felker-Martin made "All Fucked-Up: Tales from the Roadhouse" (2020), a minicomic with six erotic fan fiction comics based on the film.