“It doesn’t hurt that it hurts.”
“Be kind until the time comes when you shouldn’t be.”
“No one wins the battle.”
Anyone of a certain age will have memorized these sayings, the hard-fought wisdom of the Bora warrior-poets.
It would be an understatement to say that 1989’s Road House is an overlooked classic. Rowdy Herrington’s modern western, What If Shane Was a Bodyguard, is as goofy as ever. However, as the years have passed, its value has increased even more.
Patrick Swayze, one of the world’s biggest stars at the time, plays James Dalton, a philosophy student at New York University (“A man’s exploration of his faith. That shit”) and the “coolest” guy in the business. He heads to a rural Missouri town to wipe out the violent honky-tonk Double Deuce. The local criminal gang (leader of which was the admirable Ben Gazzara) opposed it.
By today’s standards, Dalton is a pretty flimsy protagonist for a movie aiming to be a blockbuster. He seems suited for one of those sad indie character studies about self-deception and wasted potential. But Swayze takes Dalton’s mission seriously. And by extension, he takes the lives of the people of this remote elevated state seriously.
Swayze also goes all out for the climactic brawl with the villainous Jimmy Reno, played by Marshall Teague.According to Teague, Starr I approached him before the scene. “Let’s not fool the audience and ask for change. Let’s bring about change…what do you think? Let’s just rock and roll?”
The “Road House” movies are all very entertaining and make you want to watch them over and over again, but they are also bittersweet, reminding you of a different America. For those wondering about Amazon’s new remake, it replaces the Midwest with the Florida Keys and the beer-bellied henchmen with Conor McGregor’s greasy, tattooed torso. That’s all you need to know.
Roadhouse (1989) is currently streaming on Max and Amazon Prime.
lions gate
this 3 minute clip That’s all you need to decide whether you’ll enjoy the criminally underrated 2011 film “Warrior.” This film depicts a microcosm of courage bordering on recklessness. The tension of competing for position. Gritty and realistic battle scenes. And an underdog to root for.
Joel Edgerton and Tom Hardy play estranged brothers. They are also estranged from their father, a recovering alcoholic played by late Nick Nolte in his grizzled pomposity. The brothers end up competing in the same high-stakes MMA tournament, but let’s leave it at that.
“Warrior” is an intuitive and compelling story of troubled men who try to solve their “problems” the best way they know how, by taking the crap out of each other. Suffice it to say, it is a portrait.
“Warrior” is currently streaming on platforms including Netflix, YouTube, and Plex.
