Blyss's Review For:

Main Cast of Characters

Patrick Swayze.............Dalton

Jeff Healey........Cody

Sam Elliott.......Wade Garrett

Ben Gazarra..........Brad Wesley

Kelly Lynch.........Dr. Elizabeth Clay

Marshall R. Teague.........Jimmy

Julie Michaels........Denise

Red West.........Red Webster

Sunshine Parker..............Emmett

Kevin Tighe.........Frank Tilghman

John Doe..............Pat McGurn

Kathleen Wilhoite............Carrie Ann

Gary Hudson...........Steve

John William Young..........Tinker

Terry Funk...........Morgan

Michael Rider.............O'Connor

Jon Paul Jones..........Pete Stroudenmire

1989. Rated R. Genre: Action, Drama; 114 minutes

"I thought you'd be bigger"

That is the general consensus when it comes to Dalton. Dalton is a successful bouncer that cleans up bar joints and moves from one place to another. Frank Tilghman hears of him and offers him more money to leave than to stay where he is. He wants him to clean up his club, The Double Deuce. Dalton goes. The Deuce is everything Frank said and more unfortunately. Blood is spilled on the floor every night and even the band that is playing is not safe. He decides to weed out the bad employees that are hurting the business and he starts to run things. Once he has settled, he gets a "barn room" from a local farmer and buys a used car so that his good one won't get wrecked. He is introduced to Brad Wesley while getting the room when he flies over and upsets his landlord, Emmett's horses. Emmett tells him Wesley is bad news. Dalton's problems begin when he finds out that the bartender Pat has been stealing money from the bar and he fires him. Little does he know that Pat is a relative of Brad Wesley and he is determined to get his revenge on Dalton for firing Pat. Wesley's thugs try to strong arm Frank into firing Dalton because Wesley won't let booze be shipped in to them if not and Dalton refuses to accept that. A fight ensues and Dalton goes to the hospital where he meets Elizabeth Clay, Wesley's ex, and it is love at first sight. He then tells her that "no one ever wins a fight." but he is about to find out that life works differently than that philosophy.

Road House has been a favorite movie of mine for a long time. Of course, I was a teen during the "Patrick Swayze Dirty Dancing craze." I think I was in junior high. Even though I like Patrick Swayze, he has only done a few really good movies and this is one of them! I don't know why but the bar fighting scenes are always my favorite! My two other favorites have to be the final fight between Jimmy and Dalton and the end which I will not give away. I also liked this movie because Jeff Healey was in it and he has always been one of my favorite singers ever since his first album came out!

There were a few things about this movie that bothered me though. First of all, of all of the people in the town, Dalton had to fall in love with the woman that Brad Wesley was obsessed with. She does not understand about his past and leaves him because of it without hearing the whole story? That bothered me because I would have wanted to know what happened from Dalton's perspective. I mean, obviously, he had not killed a man in cold blood because he was not found guilty and was released. I also did not like them killing Garrett off. I know that was what pushed Dalton over the edge but I hated that part. We just got to know the character and he's gone?

Overall, this is a great action movie but not a family one. The kids might want to skip this one. The good, however, outweighs the bad, and come on....it's Patrick Swayze!

I rate this movie: 8

Blyss