‹ All movies
Road House poster

Road House

year 1989decade 80sdirector Rowdy Herringtongenre Actiongenre Thriller

114 minutes

Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

Sam Elliott Wade Garrett
Ben Gazzara Brad Wesley
Red West Red Webster
Kevin Tighe Tilghman

Road House | The Rewatchables

host Bill Simmonshost Chris Ryanhost Kyle Brandt
Explore episodeClose episode

Producer credits not yet identified.

The Butch’s Girlfriend Award for the Weakest Link in the Film

The absence of meaningful law enforcement.

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 00:07:40Read transcript
  • An opening joke rejects a Butch's Girlfriend weakness because all the girlfriends are awesome.
  • The near-total absence of police despite repeated public violence is the main weakness; the late-arriving sheriff hardly resolves it.

Most Rewatchable Scene

Dalton’s first night and rules; Dalton versus Jimmy; Wesley’s breakfast.

In the discussion (11)
Approx. transcript time · 00:26:29Read transcript
  • Dalton's arrival at the Double Deuce, quietly surveying its chaos, showcases Swayze's charisma. The brawl over paid sexual touching is recalled as disturbing now but exciting to a young viewer.
  • Dalton fires staff and gives three rules: do not underestimate opponents, take fights outside and be nice until necessary. His explanation of insults and 'trustees of modern chemistry' speech reveal an unexpectedly literary bouncer.
  • The hospital flirtation after Dalton's fight has clipped, almost Mamet-like dialogue. His philosophy degree, 'Pain don't hurt' and 'Nobody wins a fight' lines remain funny because he plays them sincerely.
  • The revenge fight includes Dalton detecting a bladed boot and the advice that even the biggest opponent drops after a groin strike.
  • Wade saves Dalton from four attackers, then spends the evening flirting and dancing with Dalton's girlfriend; Dalton's willingness to get a beer after severe blows is part of the fun.
  • Denise's lengthy striptease to Hoochie Coochie Man leads into Jimmy's commanding pool-cue entrance. His athletic vault, intensity and skill transform the threat level after Wesley's weaker henchmen; Wesley ends the fight with a gunshot.
  • Dalton versus Jimmy follows Emmett's fire, motorcycle taunting and the prison line, ending in the throat rip. The fight creates a credible fear that Dalton could lose.
  • The Jimmy fight's back-and-forth damage contrasts with Seagal's invulnerability. Michael Kamen's score and the previously foreshadowed throat rip make the climax especially satisfying.
  • The final assault ends with townspeople taking turns shooting Wesley; the hosts ask why they did not simply do that months earlier.
  • Final preferences include Dalton's speech and first night at the Double Deuce, the Dalton–Jimmy fight, and Kyle's additional breakfast scene where Wesley shifts from civic boasting to murder allegations.
  • Craig particularly enjoys Dalton's arrival, rule-setting and firing the employee stealing money.

Apex Mountain

Marshall Teague; movie bouncers and coolers; Jeff Healey; white blues guitarists’ era; Kelly Lynch’s period; throat-rip kills; prison-sex threats; outdoor tai chi; 1989 action movies.

In the discussion (8)
Approx. transcript time · 00:34:36Read transcript
  • Drambuie is proposed as an Apex because of the conspicuous quantities at the Double Deuce.
  • Marshall Teague's career peak is affirmed despite his continued later work.
  • Swayze's Apex is placed later around Ghost, Point Break and Road House's rental growth. Elliott alternatives include Mask and 1883; Terry Funk's is assigned to early-eighties wrestling.
  • Movie bouncers and coolers, Jeff Healey, the era of white blues guitarists, and Kelly Lynch around this period receive affirmative support.
  • Gazzara is only tentatively considered a belated Apex through recognition; Elliott's pubic-hair suggestion becomes a joke about a future 1883 appearance.
  • Throat-rip kills, prison-sex threats and outdoor tai chi are affirmed. Action-star names and mullets are discussed with competing examples rather than a settled unique winner.
  • Death-deciding coin tosses are proposed but compared with No Country for Old Men; persevering with a repeatedly damaged car is another suggestion without a clear final endorsement.
  • 1989 action movies receive an explicit Apex claim because established stars and a new generation overlap.

What’s Aged the Best?

Famous bouncers, caged bands, recruiting the best, extravagant destruction, Swayze, Elliott, Healey and the throat rip.

In the discussion (11)
Approx. transcript time · 00:44:57Read transcript
  • Chris chooses the apparently cocaine-fueled men at the opening bar and their 'moose lips' dialogue. — Chris Ryan
  • Kyle loves the pre-internet fame of bouncers, imagining trading cards, Cooler Illustrated and a fantasy league despite the premise's implausibility. — Kyle Brandt
  • Bands protected by cages and the action-film premise of recruiting 'the best' share a top preference.
  • The gratuitous monster-truck destruction of the dealership exemplifies beloved expensive action excess, even though Wesley's villainy is already clear.
  • Sam Elliott's hair is another choice.
  • Elliott's timeless appearance and ability to call someone 'mijo' remain appealing; Swayze himself is missed, and Kevin Tighe's shift from Emergency! lead to character actor is appreciated.
  • The closing song When the Night Comes Falling and swimming-hole ending are praised; the singer is clarified as Jeff Healey rather than Swayze.
  • Shirtless tai chi, Jimmy Reno, uncertainty about whether Dalton is a first or last name, 'Nobody wins a fight' and the nipple-to-nipple invitation all retain appeal.
  • The hero's hidden Memphis past is an appealing trope, though his shame needs explanation; the hosts imagine a missing confession scene. The throat-rip move still shocks.
  • Julie Michaels's stunt background and later Point Break fight, the Family Guy tribute and Jeff Healey's performance are additional pleasures.
  • Swayze's effortless cigarette flick and drifting smoke are praised as hall-of-fame movie smoking, despite the real-life tragedy discussed.

The Great Shot Gordo Award for Most Cinematic Shot

Dean Cundey’s overall photography; a joke nomination for Elliott’s exposure.

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 00:57:19Read transcript
  • No single shot is selected; Dean Cundey's overall cinematography receives the praise.
  • Elliott's exposed pubic hair receives a joking alternative nomination.

What’s Aged the Worst?

Sparing Wesley, absent sports, the weaker finale, editing gaps, lodging, lip-syncing and Road House 2.

In the discussion (10)
Approx. transcript time · 01:00:54Read transcript
  • Dalton sparing Wesley seems inconsistent after his other killings; a counterargument says Elizabeth's warning about becoming another tyrant establishes the moral choice, without convincing everyone.
  • The haircuts and exposure of Elliott's pubic hair are criticized, though another participant jokingly nominates the latter for Great Shot Gordo.
  • Bars without televised Kansas City sports feel wrong, especially given Bo Jackson and the area's prominent teams; shared sports might even unite the town.
  • The opening song Don't Throw Stones is merely adequate compared with the closing song.
  • The Jimmy fight overshadows the Wesley finale. Moving it immediately before the townspeople kill Wesley could improve the structure and avoid Dalton's oddly rapid recovery between locations.
  • The waitress's obvious lip-syncing, the barn's lack of air conditioning, Wesley's consequence-free abuse of a henchman and the ineffective stuffed-bear attack are criticized.
  • Dalton leaves his old job without notice, raising doubts about his reliability and whether his bar improvements last after departure.
  • Road House 2 with Jake Busey is rejected as a squandered sequel opportunity.
  • Modern litigation might make violent professional coolers less viable, though the speaker invites correction.
  • Dalton's constant smoking conflicts with his spiritual, mind-and-body discipline, though pain and personal demons are offered as possible explanations.

Is There a Better Title for This Movie?

The Double Deuce.

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:11:24Read transcript
  • The Double Deuce is favored as an alternative title. A roadhouse is described as a more isolated roadside establishment, though the hosts also associate it with bands.

The Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award

Dalton gentrifies the bar; the greatest villain line ever; Wesley may have a point.

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:12:06Read transcript
  • Chris prefers the dangerous old Double Deuce and calls Dalton a gentrifier whose cleanup turns it into a family chain restaurant. — Chris Ryan
  • Kyle calls Jimmy's prison taunt the greatest villain line ever: a few words suddenly establish a terrifying history. The group wants a Jimmy prison prequel. — Kyle Brandt
  • A deliberately contrarian defense credits Wesley with building Jasper's businesses and asks whether Dalton is the villain; the protection-money objection is answered by calling it Wesley's town.

The Dion Waiters Award for Best Heat Check Performance

Marshall Teague as Jimmy Reno.

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:19:55Read transcript
  • Jimmy wins against Sam Elliott and Terry Funk. Elliott's entrance is superb, but his later material feels cut down; the missing Wade and Funk deaths are regretted.
  • The performer playing Steve's Saturday-night date receives a special mention for an apparent one-credit film career; her ASR-rendered name is unresolved in this note.

Sequel, Prequel, Limited Series, or All-Black Remake

Jimmy Reno prison prequel; pro-Wesley documentary; Wade and Dalton in Memphis.

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:38:33Read transcript
  • A Jimmy Reno prison prequel with Gyllenhaal is preferred to a remake. Other proposals are a revisionist documentary told from Wesley's perspective and a five- or six-episode Wade-and-Dalton Memphis love-triangle series.

Is This Movie Better With…?

Byron Mayo as Emmett.

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:40:01Read transcript
  • Byron Mayo as Emmett, interrupting Dalton and Elizabeth's sex scene to suggest joining them, is the selection.

Just One Oscar

Stunt coordination; Ben Gazzara also imagined as a nominee.

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:40:48Read transcript
  • The stunt coordinator is the first choice despite no such Oscar then; Gazzara is also imagined as a supporting-actor nominee, with the breakfast speech favored as his clip over Sh-Boom driving.

What Piece of Memorabilia Would You Want From This Movie?

Elliott’s sunglasses; Dalton’s shirt; a Double Deuce shirt; Jimmy’s pool cue.

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:47:55Read transcript
  • Elliott's sunglasses, Dalton's karate-style shirt, a screen-worn Double Deuce shirt and Jimmy's pool cue are choices; the bar sign is considered too large.