Road House - 1989

Patrick Swayze was shirtless, practicing tai chi or yoga or some shit in a grassy yard, he was oiled down and shiny, and he was wearing drawstring white pants.  It was at that point in this movie that I told my wife, "Rifftrax did a mockery of this movie."  She was not surprised.  Something about that scene made me remember.  I could've checked that first, hell, I should've just intrinsically known that, but that scene in particular made that memory spring to mind.

Road House has gone from, in recent years, a fairly awful 80's fighting flick in the style of Over the Top and others like that, to a cult classic, must see, extremely well known comedy film.  Swayze's action roles, especially if you count Point Break, are becoming legendary these days, and it's really about time.  I had been laughing at Point Break since the late 90's, wtf happened recently that made people realize this shit is comic gold?

Road House is the classic story of a man who's brought into a rough and tumble town to set a local bar straight.  He's hired in the first part of the film, brought to this shithole town, and he's put in charge of bar security.  This is his trade, it's his thing.  He's a mystery man, tall dark and handsome, and soon gets involved with the daughter of local crime boss Brad (played by Jackie Treehorn from the Big Lebowski!)  Patrick Swayze and Jackie Treehorn trade tit for tat, kill for kill, and in the meantime Swayze poses shirtless a whole lot.  Somehow, I stayed sober for this movie.

Road House is for me one of those that, well, I get it, but it's not like Point Break or plenty of other shit shows that deserve the cult name.  Road House plays a lot like every other extremely stylized 80's movie.  I'd take Bloodsport over this movie every day, and I think a lot of it lays in the perception of the hero.  For me, Swayze character just isn't as likable.  Sure, he's Swayze, but he's too stylized and made inhuman for me.  I know, I'm complaining about Road House, wtf is wrong with me?

It's like in Birdman though, he doesn't relate to us, and even though they give him a back story, the question of why isn't answered to my satisfaction (why is he a bouncer, being the question).  He also is thrown this half cocked story about accidentally killing a guy at some point?  But then later single handedly kills like 10 guys, so what's the big fucking deal?

Also, I've only seen it a handful of times, but the script and deliveries don't make for any truly memorable lines.  So it's not quotable in my mind....

The music, clothes, the style, it's all there and you'll love it if you smoke, drink, watch with friends, or just, hang out and view.

A solid 3 stars from me, higher from other people though.