Road House
Directed by Rowdy Herrington
- action
- thriller
The story
The Double Deuce is the meanest, loudest and rowdiest bar south of the Mason-Dixon Line, and Dalton has been hired to clean it up. He might not look like much, but the Ph.D.-educated bouncer proves he's more than capable – busting the heads of troublemakers and turning the roadhouse into a jumping hot spot. But Dalton's romance with the gorgeous Dr. Clay puts him on the bad side of cutthroat local big shot Brad Wesley.
What it’s like
Hot, humid Southern nights in a roadhouse lit by sodium-orange and red neon, the air thick with cigarette haze and the sweat of a crowded dance floor, with the camera staying close and fairly conventional as bodies collide and fists fly. The sound is 1980s rock and blues pumping through the bar, interrupted by the thud of brawls and the slap of boots on wet gravel. The vibe is loud, swaggering and bruised, the kind of movie that suits a late-night rewatch with friends or a loud Friday when you want something ridiculous and fun. Its pacing alternates between easygoing, romantic lulls and sudden bursts of fighting, and its emotional register is playful machismo softened by a slow-building, earnest romance between a stoic, unflappable bouncer and a thoughtful doctor. Violence is frequent and punchy, with plenty of brawling, stabbings and a bloody, stylized final confrontation; it is intense but not especially gory, and there is nudity and sexual content around the bar scenes. It is for people who want cheesy, high-energy escapism with a soft heart and an unapologetically macho streak.
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