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Patrick Swayze, Kelly Lynch, Sam Elliott, Ben Gazzara, Marshall R. Teague ... see more see more... , Julie Michaels , Red West , Sunshine Parker , Jeff Healey , Kevin Tighe , Laura Albert , Lisa Axelrod , Cheryl Baker , Christopher Collins , Keith David , Ed de Fusco , Anthony De Longis , Bill Dunnam , Tom Finnegan , Mike Fisher , Terry Funk , Charlie Hawke , Kymberly Herrin , Roger Hewlett , Susan Lentini , Kym Malin , Tony Marsico , Travis McKenna , Frank Noon , Dennis Ott , Heidi Paine , Joey Plewa , Tiny Ron , Kurt James Stefka , Patricia Tallman , Meg Thayer , Joe Unger , Christina Veronica , Chino "Fats" Williams , Michael Wise , John Young , Gary Hudson , Kathleen Wilhoite , Christine Anderson , Michele Burger , Sheila Caan , Debra Martin Chase , Dawn Ciccone , Lauri Crossman , Terri Lynn Doss , Pamela Jackson , Bob Jennings , Jon Paul Jones , Laura Lee Kasten , Humberto Larriva , Anthony Marisco , Daryl Sandy Marsh , John Oldach , Jacklyn Palmer , Gonzalo Quintana III , Michael Rider , Marta Rinchusiuso , Marshall Rohner , Julie Royer , Terrance Scott , Lisa Westman , Jackie Burch , Ancel Cook , Jasae , John Doe , Aaron Michael Lacey , Sylvia Lee Baker

Love, treachery, and broken furniture are the hallmarks of this rollicking action drama. Dalton (Patrick Swayze) has a Ph.D., but rather than make a living teaching Socrates at some university, he's o... read more read more...pted to become a top-drawer "cooler" -- an expert barroom bouncer who can break up fights without getting himself killed in the process. Dalton is hired to keep the peace at the Double Duce, a rough-and-tumble honky tonk in Jasper, Missouri, where beer-soaked free-for-alls are a nightly event. Dalton is hurt on his first night on the job, and he is patched up by "Doc" Clay (Kelly Lynch), a beautiful woman working as the town's physician. Dalton and Doc immediately hit it off, but Dalton learns that another man, Brad Wesley (Ben Gazzara), already has his eye on her. Wesley is a man used to getting his way; he's an extortionist and crime boss who has nearly everyone in Jasper under his thumb, and he sets out to teach Dalton a lesson, while Dalton is determined to clean up the town like he breaks up brawls at the Double Duce. Sam Elliott plays Dalton's mentor Wade, and Red West, a one-time member of Elvis Presley's "Memphis Mafia," appears as Webster; Canadian blues-rock guitarist Jeff Healey leads the Double Duce house band. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Flixster Users

67% liked it

57,817 ratings

Critics

43% liked it

28 critics

R, 1 hr. 55 min.

Directed by: Rowdy Herrington

Release Date: May 19, 1989

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DVD Release Date: February 4, 2003

Stats: 3,285 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (3,285)

  • FilmFanatik
    November 15, 2011
    FilmFanatik
    Some might call Road House one of the worst movies ever made, and they would be both right and wrong in that estimation. The movie is a conundrum, because it's entertaining on the most basic of levels but yet you still want to hate on it. It's actually got all the classic 80's in... read moregredients (big hair, strippers, monster trucks, etc) and it's got a sort of western vibe with the hero coming to town to save it from an evil overlord, but it just doesn't really work all that well... but yet it does. I can't say that it's amazing or a classic, but it's definitely an interesting watch - and somewhat entertaining.
  • movieguru12
    June 2, 2011
    movieguru12
    Patrick Swayze kicks serious ass in this movie where he plays a cooler at the Double Deuce, Dalton. Awesome 80s music and and awesome cast consisting of Kelly Lynch, as Elizabeth Clay who Dalton falls in love with and Sam Elliott who plays Wade Garrett, Dalton's best friend who w... read moreorks at the old bar he used to work at, Band Stand. Among them there are also Red Webster (played by Red West) and Emmett (played by Sunshine Parker). Then there's Ben Gazzara who plays the villein Brad Wesley, a money hungry man who's out to destroy Dalton's life. A great movie, with a very revengeful ending, Road House is definitely a movie that you want to see! :) :) :)
  • ajv2688
    March 25, 2011
    ajv2688
    I caught this on TV once a little while ago, there's just a bunch of fighting and tough guys in bars. The dialogue is bad, and the story boring.
  • ythelastman89
    August 30, 2010
    ythelastman89
    If you were to ask me if Road House is a whole-heartedly good movie I'd say no, but it's just so out of it's mind and testosterone driven that it has won the title of the quintessential 80s action movie. Patrick Swayze explodes on to the screen as Dalton, the stone cold bouncer w... read moreith one goal in mind; justice. His wardrobe of choice: karate tunic and silk pants. Weapon of choice: His roundhouse kicks and throat ripping hands. Vehicle of choice: a beater car to keep his beautiful Mercedes in pristine condition. Enemy: Brad Wesley the town tycoon, a bizarro Dalton, henchmen and a Monster Truck. There is so much to pick apart and love about this movie that you literally can't find it to be anything but glorious. The action is in your face, emotions run wild and you learn the wise teachings of Dalton.
  • theylovealexis
    July 8, 2010
    theylovealexis
    it was pretty b.a. (bad ass). a lot of ass kicking, tits and Swayze shutting it down. too bad that town couldn't rally sooner.
  • sononothing
    January 6, 2010
    sononothing
    Road House is one of those rare movies that are really, REALLY bad. But damn it, you can't help to watch it. It is so hokey, cliched, and bad that the mind can't fathom why you're watching this film. You know the plot- Patrick Swayze plays Dalton, the typical moral good guy with ... read moreone name. He's a bouncer. He gets hired to bounce at some shithole town that is ran by the worst villain I've ever seen named Brad Wesley (Ben Gazzara). I don't get it. Who in the hell is going to be afraid of a guy named Brad Wesley? So Dalton takes it upon himself to clean up the shithole town, meeting a doctor in the process. They get it on in his rented horse stable loft.

    Now an amazing thing about Road House is in its clientele. Before Dalton gets there it's filled with numerous women, dressed in the height of late 1980's fashion and hair taller than Kareem Abdul Jabar. There women look like they just walked out of a Whitesnake video. It's these women that are hanging out at this shithole bar in this shithole town, hanging out with a bunch of guys that look like rejects from a Deliverance sequel. BUT... when Dalton shows up, the male clientele gets better looking, dressing nicer, looking not as imbredish. That must be the power of Swayze.

    That's what is great about Road House. You can't take it seriously. It's like streaking or drinking a marshmallow shake- you're not really getting anything out of it. It's mere junk food, but it mesmerizes you. Maybe it's the mullets? Maybe it's that rare appearance by the legendary Terry Funk. Or maybe it's the hippie Sam Elliott. Whatever it is, it's good, clean, American fun.
  • stormyweather980
    September 8, 2009
    stormyweather980
    "Road House" is one of the many classic movies of the 80's. Patrick Swayze stars as a bouncer who is hired to clean up the bar that he works for. He believes in being nice to everybody and to try not to fight, but if it comes to a fight, he won't back down. And back down is somet... read morehing this movie never does.
    "Road House" has all the makings of a great action movie. The movie's plot is understandable, it's entertaining, and best of all, it has great action and fighting sequences. Patrick Swayze does a great job of acting and so does Kelly Lynch and all the enemies in the movie. If you like classic action movies that never back down, I recommend getting "Road House." It revolutionized many of the action movies that were to come in the later years, and it still stands up as one of the most memorable and best action movies ever made. NOTE: That was my Amazon review from the year 2000.
  • cosmo313
    March 7, 2009
    cosmo313
    Ridiculously cheesy, but very damn entertaining. Sam Elliott is great.
  • superclerk25
    April 26, 2008
    superclerk25
    Not a bad action flick. Swayze kicks but and takes names and there are some really good fights in the flick.
  • sanjurosamurai
    April 18, 2008
    sanjurosamurai
    its cool when he snaps that guys throat out of his neck. good watch but it doesnt stand the test of time well.

View All Road House Reviews

Critic Reviews

Jonathan Rosenbaum
April 30, 2012
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

Eventually it mutates into a paranoid revenge plot that might be called Walking Short. Full Review

Variety Staff
January 8, 2008
Variety Staff, Variety

Its vigilante justice, lawlessness and wanton violence feel ludicrous in a modern setting. Full Review

Caryn James
May 20, 2003
Caryn James, New York Times

Road House is much funnier than most comedies, until it turns vile instead of just stupid. Full Review

Peter Travers
May 12, 2001
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

The grotesque soon drowns out the giggles.

Hal Hinson
January 1, 2000
Hal Hinson, Washington Post

Road House lays out its story with the subtlety of a wrestling match, and probably with less sharpness or savvy. Full Review

Roger Ebert
January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

This is not a good movie. But viewed in the right frame of mind, it is not a boring one, either. Full Review

Tom Tunney
April 15, 2008
Tom Tunney, Empire Magazine

An immensely enjoyable slice of romanticised fisticuffs, this is a Western in every respect except the stetsons and six guns. Full Review

April 15, 2008
Film4

Good-natured enough, but essentially an excuse for lots of mindless violence perpetrated by one-dimensional characters. Full Review

Stefan Birgir Stefansson
March 23, 2008
Stefan Birgir Stefansson, sbs.is

Swayze kicks some serious ass

January 8, 2008
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Swayze is up to a part that requires him merely to show his muscles and dexterity, but Gazzara is trapped in his hopelessly evil caricature, leaving Sam Elliott (in a too-limited role) to provide the ... Full Review

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    • Dalton: It's my way, or the highway.
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Road House Trivia

  • What movie did Sam Elliot and Patrick Swayze do about bouncers at a small town bar?  Answer »
  • Which 3 Movies was Patrick Swayze in?  Answer »
  • what movie did patrick swazye play dalton the guy who was a bartender for a place called the dubble duice  Answer »
  • he was hired to clean up a night club and it was done his way or the highway.  Answer »
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