Review of Road House (1989) by Helen H — 22 Oct 2010

A boyz-night-in guilty pleasure that seems to find endless rotation on the more testosterone-laden TV channels.

Swayze's a professional bouncer (or would that be floor host), apparently of national repute on the rough-'n-tumble dive circuit, and he's been bought for a gig to clean up this pile-of-kindlin' with-a-front-door that's become a warehouse for every scummy low-life within a hundred-mile radius.

Ben Gazzara does pretty well as the ruthless town forefather who likes things over at the roadhouse just fine and he's a-ready for some killin' to keep it that way. At one point, he appears in a pink cotton bathrobe - and yet still emanates fear.

The film's less-than-highbrow, un-wholesome entertainment as Swayze and grizzled wingman Sam Elliott carry out their uphill purge. If the viewer's ever accidentally wandered into such an establishment, he/she might well revel in watching the duo slowly mop the joint up dry.

Swayze, with Kelly Lynch as partner, delivers an especially rousing and steamy on-screen tryst scene, as sanitized-for-PG-consumption on-screen trysts go, that is. It makes his 'pottery' performance in "Ghost" look twice as silly as it really was. It's worth throwing at least one bag of popcorn into the microwave just to watch Lynch moan and groan while Swayze squeezes the breath out of her by flinging her up against first one wall then another.

There are, of course, numerous, rather well-choreographed fight scenes and a monster truck scene as well. And there's a bit of snappy dialogue along the way to boot.

RECOMMENDATION: Don't expect deep emotion or a surprise ending and you'll be fine.