With the new version of Road House premiering on Amazon Prime, I thought I would take a look at the original, on the same platform, as I had not seen it in 35 years. Patrick Swayze stars as Dalton, a bouncer hired to clean up a bar in Missouri and finds himself facing-off against the criminal who ‘owns’ the town.
There are some things that I remember from my previous viewing that remain true. Swayze, for all his balletic grace, does not really convince as a tough guy, and he was not a very good actor. The highlight of the movie remains the music performed by the late, great, Jeff Healy and his band. I had forgotten though, the quality of the supporting cast: Sam Elliott – although his character is pretty creepy around Dalton’s girlfriend – Ben Gazzara as the crime boss and Kathleen Wilhoite as a waitress.
1989’s Road House remains trashy fun, even with Rowdy Herrington’s camera lingering too long and too often on bare female flesh.
The very loose remake stars Jake Gyllenhaal in the Dalton role. He is an ex-UFC fighter who is hired to clean up a bar in the Florida Keys. He is unaware that local criminal Ben Brandt (Billy Magnussen) is causing the trouble as he wants to force the owner to sell.
The main strength of this version is Gyllenhaal’s performance. He is an immeasurably better actor than Swayze and he exhibits a real air of menace. Also director Doug Liman knows how to stage action scenes, so the fight sequences are crunchingly realistic. However, apart from when Dalton takes a bunch of men he has injured to the hospital, it lacks the 1989 film’s knowing sense of humour, and for all of Gyllenhaal’s ability, he does not have chemistry with his leading lady, played by Daniela Melchior.
The main problems though lie with the supporting cast. Hannah Love Lanier is great if under used as the daughter of a shop owner, but Magnussen does not have Gazzara’s acting chops and a permanently grinning Conor McGregor is hopeless as the chief henchman.
In the end, there is little to choose between the two films. Both are flawed and intermittently entertaining but the original had a better sense of fun and a much better soundtrack.
Ratings out of 10:
Road House 1989: 6.5
Road House 2024: 5.5