Road House

Road House

1989

Director: Rowdy Herrington

Writer: David Lee Henry and Hilary Henkin

114 Minutes

The best cooler in the business is Wade Garrett (Sam Elliott).

Though Garrett’s apprentice is a man named Dalton (Patrick Swayze), a hero with a dark past and a no-nonsense attitude. A coolers job is to control the bouncers in any bar throughout the United States. They break-up fights, escort troublemakers, and keep the atmosphere safe.

“Nobody ever wins a fight.” – Dalton.

In the film Roadhouse, Dalton is one of the best coolers in the bar business. He is invited to Jasper, Missouri to clean up a bar called the Double-Deuce. In the process, he encounters a man named Brad Wesley (Ben Gazzara) who controls the town and the people living in it.

Then Dalton rips someone throat out.

In the scene above, Dalton explains the rules of the bar. After firing several people, he explains, ‘it’s my way or the highway,” which couldn't be said by anyone other than Swayze. The rules are as follows:

Rule#1: Never underestimate your opponent. Expect the unexpected.

Rule#2: Take it outside. Never start anything in the bar unless it’s absolutely necessary

Rule#3: Be nice.

“And what if someone calls my mama a whore?’ one of the bouncers asks.
“Is she?” Dalton replies.

Dalton treats this business as a business. Even though there are personal attacks and people trying to kill him, it’s only business. And that’s what makes this story "good" is that business turns personal when Wade Garrett is killed.

What makes this scene above important is you realize there are rules to an unruly place. And Dalton makes the rules. He knows them and enforces them.

And then he rips someone's throat out.

Dalton is a simple man with simple intentions. And within the film, he meets the sexy Doc (Kelly Lynch) and has some Otis Redding time with her against a fireplace. Like I said, he is a simple man.

"I thought you'd be bigger."

Roadhouse might be one of the great 80’s movies of this generation. It has cheese. It has campy dialog. And it has Patrick Swayze. What more do you need?

To the great Dalton - Rest in Peace, my friend.