Pete Wright: I'm Pete Wright.
Andy Nelson: And I'm Andy Nelson.
Pete Wright: Welcome to the next reel. When the movie ends
Andy Nelson: Our conversation begins.
Pete Wright: Roadhouse is over. I used to friend guys like you in prison. Can I buy you guys a drink? Guess not.
Trailer: Patrick Swayze is Dalton. I thought you'd be
bigger. Opinions vary.
When he's around, anything can happen.
How does a guy like you end up at Boston? Just lucky,
I guess. And usually does. If
somebody gets in your face, I want you to be nice. Don't. Don't be rude. Ask him to walk, but be nice.
Help this
gentleman to the door.
Until it's time to not be nice.
So says the fighting philosopher.
Andy Nelson: I don't know if I've heard of that type of of bleeping before.
Pete Wright: I did. I bleeped myself. But it was very good. That is a weird line. A weird line for a macho dude to use on another dude in a movie like this.
Weird line. I think it's progressive.
Andy Nelson: It's a it's a clearly also, like, a frightening threat. Like, it's like, okay. Yeah. I know what sort of person you are.
Pete Wright: First, we're gonna fight and then other things depending on who wins. Here we are. We're talking about Roadhouse 1989. Where does this movie live in your, in your history of movies?
Andy Nelson: Well, it's funny. Like, this was a film I'm pretty sure I saw. Like, this and next of kin were, like, right around the same time, and, they were movies that I saw. And I really kind of didn't think much about either of them since, which was weird to me. And then when the remake came out, I'm like, I should watch Roadhouse again.
And I had a lot of fun with it. You know, it I I didn't looks like it you know, not great or anything, it was a lot of fun. And then I rewatched it for this, I'm like, what was I thinking? This movie freaking rocks. Like, I had so much fun.
I was, like, laughing out loud. Like, it was just a riot from start to finish. So I ended up having a great old time with it. So, it's a film I I think that has kind of, like, grown in my estimation over the years. And now it wants me or now I wanna go back and revisit a number of those other Patrick Swayze movies from the era and just see if they hold up as well.
Pete Wright: Yeah. I mean, you just described my experience with it too. Like, I didn't give it much thought, and I had a blast. I think I don't think I gave it much thought. And then, you know, I think Chrissy did it on the most excellent eighties show, and we've kind of been it it's it's been rising up in prominence.
And then, like you said, the remake. I watched the remake, and I didn't think much of it at the time. But I'll tell you, I watched a little bit of it right after this, and I liked it a lot more than I remembered the first time around. So these Roadhouse movies, they've they've got something. And I think, you know, in this one specifically, Patrick Swayze's charisma and, you know, the way his character is presented and all of the tropes and stereotypes of the of the era and of the culture are just right at play.
It plays the hits really, really well. I had a blast with this movie. I had a blast.
Andy Nelson: Well, and it's just like I mean, you mentioned mentioned Patrick Swayze, but it's hard to forget, like, how much charisma this guy was, like, oozing off the screen in this period of, like, the late eighties, early nineties. I mean I mean, Red Dawn was a little earlier, obviously, and they were playing younger, but then you get to, like, Dirty Dancing, and and there's a lot of other movies in this mix, but, like, Dirty Dancing, Roadhouse, Next of Kin, Ghost, Point Break. That's a pretty solid stretch of movies where he's just delivering some top box office draw, and it's just it's fun to see him doing all this. And and I don't know. I just you kind of forget how how much on screen presence that he carried, and then you come back and look at some of those films early in his career.
I mean, even going back to stuff like The Outsiders, and you're just like, it's clear that this guy was gonna be a star. There's just so much on screen that that you can just read with him. I mean, it's just it's fantastic to watch. And this is a great way to kind of play that tough character that I mean, he would do it so well where it's like a tough character, but has this, like, zen way about him. And that's something that I think works really well for for what Swayze does.
Pete Wright: Yeah. The the zen way, but also the reputation that precedes him trope. Right? That that people are scared of him because of what they've heard of him, and we don't necessarily know if any of that is true. In the preshow, I mentioned the rundown, and that's exactly the opposite.
Here's a guy who is objectively terrifying but has no reputation before he when he goes to, you know, beat those guys up in the the football players. That's very different for for Dalton. Like, people when they hear the name Dalton, it's like the the world goes quiet and wind blows. A single tumbleweed blows through the roadhouse. That's one of the things that makes this trope so good because he's not he's a fit guy.
But that is they keep saying over and over, I thought you'd be bigger. I did too. Like, I remember Patrick Swayze as being bigger, and I think we're so adjusted to the Dwayne Johnson size that it's easy to forget that Patrick Swayze was just an incredibly fit guy. He was not huge. He was not obscenely massive.
Even next to a lot of other guys in this movie. And he he still held his own by reputation and sinister looks and patience and kindness, and it's great.
Andy Nelson: Well, and I think that plays into what what we see with the character. I mean, he was practicing tai chi. We kind of get this sense from him that that he's always working to find that inner peace and whatever that may mean. We get a sense that there was this dark story in his life. Something terrible had happened back in Memphis.
We never it's it's always hinted at. It's never quite spelled out, which I really like the fact that there's this dark backstory that we're just getting pieces of and that we're kind of piecing together what we think must have happened. But to the point where, like, when you're hearing those things like, man, I heard he tore a guy's throat out. And then later in the film, he tears a guy's throat out.
Pete Wright: He tears a guy's throat out.
Andy Nelson: It's like it's like, you're like, okay. So when that when he said that, it sounded like just the sort of mythos that had been created about Dalton that people were kind of whispering when they heard his name. And then you're like, oh, maybe he really did do that. Like, maybe all of the stuff that you hear is true. And I thought that was an interesting way to kind of play this character where I mean, as he says, like, be nice until it's time to not be nice.
It's a perfect way to kind of paint this this bouncer character who works at coming in and cleaning up these these places that are having these serious issues with, you know, violent belligerent drunkards. And that attitude that he creates is like the perfect way to kind of counter all of that, and it just plays. It plays perfectly.
Pete Wright: One of the things that I I like about characters like this sort of are troped out like this are when you get a character who is an an exercise in sort of masculinity, and the entire movie, he does not express fear. Right? From the very beginning of the movie, when he goes into the bar that he's hired to clean up, he just stands there and watch a watches a fight break break out and doesn't get involved. He just witnesses. He never shows any sort of anxiety or or fear even when he later in the film, when he's up against the bigger and bigger boss fights, he's not scared.
He loses control because he loses his patience and calm, and he you know, people get hits in on him. But he he never comes away as succumbing to his own fear, and that's one of the reasons this character, I think, is so appealing because it's aspirational in the way this this guy is able to relate with the world in the space of comfort. He's so comfortable all the time, and I I find that really appealing. It's very charming.
Andy Nelson: Yeah. Well, and I just I feel like that in so many ways is the sort of personality that, Patrick Swayze just exudes. Right? Like, he just has that sense about him. Like, even when he's the surfing bank robber in, Point Break, it's that same sort of mentality that he has.
That's I just think that's something that these filmmakers smartly tapped into by casting Swayze in these roles. Just this this easygoing charm, but who also is really tough when he needs to be.
Pete Wright: So there's a line in the movie. I'm checking your experience in in bars like these. He says to his staff, you're the bouncers. I'm the cooler. Do you know what the difference is between a cooler and a bouncer?
Well It's the education moment of the podcast.
Andy Nelson: Yeah. He said that, and I went my brain immediately went to the movie or the movie the cooler, and also just in casinos, the cooler, who is a person who's generally somebody that they bring in when somebody's really hot at a table, somebody to kind of, break that heat and kind of like cool things down so the person, you know, doesn't end up winning as much. That's my sense of the cooler is is more in a casino related setting. So I in the bar, I'm guessing it's a similar sort of thing, like somebody who just is there to kind of, like, create that cooler, calmer tone in these tense situations.
Pete Wright: Well, you're you're very close. Very close. The bouncer the bouncers, multiples, are the frontline enforcers. Right? They check IDs at the door.
They break up fights. They throw out people who are unruly. They enforce the rules of the establishment and maintain order. Right? There are a bunch of them.
They're typically the muscle. They're reactive rather than strategic. There's a lot of the people write a lot about bouncers and coolers on, you know, the Internet. Their job is what they say is direct and physical. The cooler is the manager of the bouncers.
They are typically a seasoned professional. They coordinate the bouncer team. They set the tone for how conflict is handled. They deescalate situations before they turn violent. They balance hospitality with authority.
They're expected to be cool under pressure, hence the name. You got that right out of the park. They using a combination of psychology, authority, and experience to keep the peace. They are the philosopher warrior while the bouncers are the foot soldiers. Oh.
Wow.
Andy Nelson: Yeah. I feel like they wrote that after watching this movie.
Pete Wright: After watching this movie. They said, oh, yeah. Yeah. That's exactly it. And that's why they bring him in, and they they bring him in not as a thug to just, you know, make people scared to come in and and raise a fight.
He comes in to train the bouncers, to fire people, to run the bar, and that's one of his conditions is I'm in charge of everything in the bar. When the bar is open, I'm doing it. And yeah. So that's the the the short, pithy way to remember it as a bouncer removes trouble. A cooler prevents it.
Andy Nelson: Interesting.
Pete Wright: And that's what we have here.
Andy Nelson: That's really interesting because I feel like like I've seen plenty of bouncers at bars when I have gone to bars, but I don't feel like I've ever noticed the cooler. And I think that that's interesting because they're likely there, but just, you know, they've never been I mean, I've never been in a bar that's ended up having a big bar fight bar fight. So they've just never been needed, I guess, but it's it's an interesting it's an interesting element that I suppose is just always there, and you just don't even realize it until it's needed.
Pete Wright: That's so funny. I've also never been in a fight or in a fight in a bar. I've never been in a bar that had a fight. The only eating establishment fight I've ever witnessed was in a Denny's at midnight. And two people got in a fight, and they crashed down on our table and then kept fighting all the way down the thing.
And it was it was low key terrifying.
Andy Nelson: Wow. In
Pete Wright: the Denny's. That's the only time. At midnight. At the Denny's. Not there's no cooler at Denny's.
Andy Nelson: Were they fighting over who was gonna pay for the moon moon over Miami? Moon.
Pete Wright: Like, why is it when does Denny's need a cooler? They need a cooler, it turns out.
Andy Nelson: Clearly. Clearly. Wow. Interesting. Wow.
Okay.
Pete Wright: Funny. Alright. Meanwhile, back at the Roadhouse.
Andy Nelson: So Rowdy Harrington directed this. You know, are is is he a director you have seen much of other than this film?
Pete Wright: No. I would say I would say the name was reasonably new to me. Even his, you know, his top four on IMDb, the one that I've seen was Repo Man, and he was in the camera and electrical department.
Andy Nelson: Yeah. He was a grip on that one. Right.
Pete Wright: Yeah. So I I don't know much about him. What's what's your relationship to Rowdy?
Andy Nelson: Like you, the most I've seen of Rowdy's work is when he was in the Grip and Electric department, which is where he started. And I just I it kind of excites me to see that somebody who started in G and E, I mean, the late seventies, he was doing stuff like Hots, Humanoids from the Deep, Repo Man, Maria's Letters, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Like, he was really kind of doing, like, all of the different G and E roles, and then he ended up get the having the opportunity to to make something that he had written, and that was Jack's Back, which was his first film in 1988, which is a mystery thriller with James Spader. And, it did well enough to, give him a chance to make more films. And I mean, it wasn't a he hasn't had a robust career. It looks like like nine films or so is what he's, written and or directed.
The ones that I probably know the most of are Roadhouse and then his, immediate couple follow ups with Gladiator, not obviously the Ridley Scott version, but this was the, the boxing one with Cuba Gooding Jr. And James Marshall. And then after that, he did the Bruce Willis movie Striking Distance. So that's largely my experience with him, even though he's been doing stuff all the way up well, through 02/2004, and then there's a a movie that he's written that, is apparently in production, or it's it's gearing up, and it's called Blood Knot. He wrote it with Zach Dean.
Michael Douglas is in it. It's gonna be directed by Roberto Schneider, so we shall see.
Pete Wright: I I have seen the, Striking Distance. I didn't hadn't made that connection. I just watched the had the trailer running. I've absolutely seen Striking Distance, Sarah Jessica Parker and Dennis Farina. Yeah.
But those are the only two, and I did not make the connection that he was the he was behind them. So this is this is you know, I mean, he's I you'd call Roadhouse a cult favorite now, wouldn't you?
Andy Nelson: Is it? Absolutely. Especially because at the time it came out, I mean, it did well for itself. We'll talk about that in a little bit, but critics really panned it. And over time, it's just been kind of reassessed and and praised as kind of a a classic.
I think a lot of people would say that this is a film that they really love.
Pete Wright: How do you feel this movie reinterprets the classic western? Like, we've talked about some westerns and the the tropes of westerns in our preshow this this morning, and and this movie shares a lot of those tropes. How how do you feel like it does? And and what is the value, I think, of making it a movie like this?
Andy Nelson: That's an interesting thing to look at because, I mean, yeah, you're definitely looking at kind of the the roadside bar, which definitely feels of a piece to the Old West. Saloon. Yeah. You've got the the loner who kind of is brought in and everything. I mean, it's interesting because I I hadn't really thought about it that from that perspective before, but you could see this exact story being reworked to something in the Old West.
Like, I had brought up in our member pre show chat, another movie with a bar fight. Shane, that's another film with a new figure in town, kind of a loner, who ends up saying, I'm gonna help all these homesteaders save them from this terrible cattle baron who is trying to, take all of their, land and everything. Very similar story that we have here, where you've got this rich, kind of one percenter in Ben Gazzara, who's essentially trying to buy up the whole town and
Pete Wright: Corrupt land baron.
Andy Nelson: Right? Exactly. It's the exact same figure. And and you've got this lone figure, Patrick Swayze's character, Dalton, who comes into town and works to clean up the place. And it it I mean, it plays exactly like that.
And I think it's a it's a perfect a perfect reference for it because you can see it pulling from that same type of western type of story.
Pete Wright: You really can. And honestly, it's even the seven samurai adjacent. Right? Like, many of the tropes of the of the wandering ronin coming to to town to save, you know, or to clean things up with honor and dignity. And and and in the offing, we find the doctor in this movie who becomes the damsel or the the sort of anchor for the for our hero character.
I think it it really is a it's a it's a lovely little western that that reframes the West in late eighties sensibilities, which I think is that's the part that makes it funny. But it really is a very simple kind of old school genre film. You know? It's it's stagecoach. It's high noon.
It's a film about the honor of the traveler coming to coming to the aid of those who need it.
Andy Nelson: Yeah. It works really well. It's it's interesting because we do get the setup with the locals that we meet who end up having issues with this particular land baron, that plays well. I I don't think Emmett, where, where Dalton ends up kind of renting the room from at his farm, he's not necessarily somebody who's running into issues, but certainly his place still gets blown up by the bad guy. You've got them, as we find out from, from Red, they are, you know, still in 10% of everything that he makes at his, car parts store.
And then later, they blow it up because he's friendly with Dalton. And, of course, Dalton is also happens to be kind of dating his daughter, the doctor. And so you're kind of getting the these stories. So Red's place is blown up. Later, in a fantastic bit, they take a monster truck and drive it through the car dealership, destroying all of his cars because, again, they say he's not paying.
Like, they're doing all of this specifically to I mean, by this point, you can you are starting to get a sense that they're they're pissed off at what Dalton is doing at the double deuce, and they see this as their way to maintain their position by being extra terrible to everybody else in town as a way to kind of slowly start. Like, if everybody else ends up leaving, then is, Kevin Teague as the owner of the double deuce, is he gonna stick around if everyone else has sold their land and gotten out of here? It it plays perfectly into all of those tropes. Like you said, it's a it's a perfect example of this type of genre film, and and it just delivers because it sets up all of these great characters.
Pete Wright: So speaking of great characters, Ben Guzara as our evil landowner. Brad Wesley. Brad Wesley. Like, it he's a he I think what he does what he does so well is he portrays the charm when we first meet him, and he's sort of unbelievably bad by the end of the movie to the point where I can't I like, I don't wanna believe he has that much bad in his his sort of diminutive frame. He's not a huge guy.
He just has so many thugs around him to do his bidding. And I'm sort of here for that conflict that I never quite believe he's he's as bad as he is portraying. How does he hit you?
Andy Nelson: I think it's a a fun role for him. I think, you know, Gazara's got a great face. Yeah. He's got a great face for this type of character and, like, he plays really well into the guy who just thinks he can get away with anything. Like, he just plays it tough.
He's got all of these. He's surrounded himself with all of these toughs, whether they're idiots or not. They're tough people who can usually get him what he wants. I mean, he's got he's got the the hot girl that he's always, hanging out with and abusing. Like, he just buys whatever he wants, and he thinks that that's his way through life.
Coming up against somebody like Dalton is a little bit of a surprise because he keeps taking out his men. And I think for me, it it built in a way where I could buy it where at that last fight. I mean, we already had been told that he essentially owned the judges. He owned the cops. He owned everybody in town.
So it wasn't really gonna matter what he ended up doing here. And so it was kind of no surprise that he ends up trying to take Dalton down, and he can argue that Dalton was breaking and entering. And so, I mean, he can totally get away with all of it if if Dalton ended up getting killed. That's what I think was so interesting. And I so I buy into the fact that he's trying to take him at that point, and I love that fight where he's just like, I thought it'd be a lot more fun to fight you, but I just wanna get it over with now.
It's like pulls out his gun. He's like, you know, now this hurts too much. Like, it just it was like exactly what he should say. It was great.
Pete Wright: Yeah. There's there's a bit of his authoritarian capitalism in the microcosm of this town. Like, he's the biggest fish in this small fishbowl. And I I feel like his ability to kind of weaponize that nostalgia is on full display, and it's actually really well written. It's deceivingly well written as an evildoer character that that it this is the he's representative of the evils of authoritarianism, of capitalism, of, you know, all of this stuff in a way that's much more authentic and maybe more believable today than it was when it came out.
And so in that regard, it's aged really, really well.
Andy Nelson: Yeah. Like, he when he flies into his place on his helicopter, like, he purposely buzzes Emmett's place just to piss Emmett off, just to scare his horses and piss him off. Like, I totally buy all of that. Like, it's that's just the way that this sort of character behaves. They think that they can they're better than everyone else and can do what they want and get away with it.
Pete Wright: And and and perfectly opposite Dalton's tai chi cowboy, Gestalt.
Andy Nelson: Exactly.
Pete Wright: It's it's really well positioned.
Andy Nelson: And what was interesting is, you know, we see that Dalton, when he goes to the hospital to get taken care of, doctor Clay, they, of course, at Kelly Lynch, they they end up clicking. They end up kind of, like, starting a relationship, and we find out that she had a previous relationship with Brad Wesley. And it's like, okay. So now we've kind of created this love triangle where and this is one of the reasons that I think that, Wesley is so pissed off at Dalton is because not only is he here cleaning up the bar and not letting him get away with what he always got away with, now he also has his girl.
Pete Wright: Yeah. Speaking of Kelly Lynch, can we talk just a bit about Kelly Lynch?
Andy Nelson: Kelly Lynch. Yes.
Pete Wright: So Brian, bless you, Brian, sent me this article this morning. It's Kelly Lynch talking about some of her other work, and she does talk about some roadhouse in there. And I just have I I would like to read a passage if you will indulge me. Sure. By the way, this is me this is me as Kelly Lynch.
By the way, speaking of Bill Murray, every time Roadhouse is on and he or one of his idiot brothers are watching TV, and they're always watching TV. One of them calls my husband and says, in a reasonable approximation of Carl Spackler, Kelly's having sex with Patrick Swayze right now. They're doing it. He's throwing her against the rocks. What?
Oh my god. Mitch was just walking out the door to the set, and he said that Bill once called him from Russia. The interviewer says, sorry. Not to dwell on this, but you said that Bill Murray, quote, or one of his idiot brothers will call. Which brothers are we talking about?
Kelly Lynch. All of them. Joel has called. Brian Doyle has called. They will all call.
Any and all of them. This was already an awesome story, but now it's even better. I know. Right? I dread it.
If I know it's coming on, and I can tell when it's coming on because it blows up on Twitter when it is, I'm just like, oh my god. And god help me when AMC is doing their Roadhouse Marathon because I know the phone is just gonna keep ringing. It doesn't matter if it's two or three in the morning. Hi. Kelly's having sex with Patrick Swayze right now.
I
Andy Nelson: I think that it's it's important to just note that it this isn't some obscure thing that Bill Murray and his brother has decided to do. They know his they know her husband. Oh, yes. Mitch Mitch wrote Scrooge.
Pete Wright: Yes.
Andy Nelson: He, worked on Saturday Night Live. He was the the writer behind A Very Merry Christmas. So he's very much like he is They're all friends for sure. There's yeah. There's a reason that it's not just some some strange actor that they've never met before suddenly calling up just to do that.
Just to clarify. That
Pete Wright: would be an awesome flex. But it also is something that I would believe Bill Murray would do.
Andy Nelson: It's like the french fries story.
Pete Wright: It's the french fries story. Yeah. So I think that is just a wonderful thing. And you know what, Andy? I don't call your wife enough with stuff about you.
So I'm just workshopping some ideas. You'll know it when it happens.
Andy Nelson: God help us all.
Pete Wright: Yeah. You know, Annette Benning, she also says, Annette Benning was fired from this movie. Annette Benning was supposed to be doc before she, was replaced.
Andy Nelson: Apparently, had no chemistry with Patrick Spitzy.
Pete Wright: How do you not have chemistry with Patrick? She can have chemistry with Warren Beatty, and she can't find chemistry with Patrick Swayze?
Andy Nelson: That's okay. I love Kelly Lynch in the part. She is great.
Pete Wright: I know. Me too.
Andy Nelson: Great as the doctor, and I enjoy their relationship.
Pete Wright: He's great. It's a it's a it's a bit of a, it's I mean, it's not a great part, but she's great in it. And I think she you know, the work the word is she had to do it because she had a two picture deal with Universal or with United Artists at the time. And Joel Silver said, you know, I really want you to do this. And, also, you have to do this because you have a two picture deal with us.
So you can say no, but I want you to do it, and it's gonna be really ugly if you say no. And so she said, sure. That's where we are. That's where we are. Yeah.
This really is some interesting stuff in it because she was just coming off of drugstore cowboy. And and the way he pitched it, his quote, I promise you that this will be the best drive in movie ever made.
Andy Nelson: Okay. I I mean I I can kinda say that, actually. Yeah.
Pete Wright: Yeah. He's absolutely right. Yeah.
Andy Nelson: Yeah. Interesting. She's one of those faces from the there weren't many movies I saw from her in the eighties, but like with Bright Lights, Big City Cocktail, this drugstore cowboy, like, there was just a run of movies. I mean, even into the nineties when she was in stuff like Virtuosity, like, she's she was just in a lot of stuff, and she's somebody who's just been busy in film and TV projects. Like, she's been in lots of stuff.
She was in the TV show Fatherhood for a lot of episodes. So just somebody who's kept very busy in in all the work that she's doing.
Pete Wright: And how about our man, Sam Elliott?
Andy Nelson: Oh, yeah. God. God love having Sam Elliott in the film. I love the friendship. I love the history that it feels like exists between Wade and Dalton and, like their backstory.
Like, it's just it's so fun seeing Sam Elliott when he shows up or when we first when when Dalton first calls him and he happens to be working at the strip club, and then he has to go, stop one of the the army guys from from climbing up on stage. Like, it's just it's like, he's got the perfect look for it, like the scruffy face, the long hair, like, I love like, this is a great Sam Elliott role.
Pete Wright: But no mustache.
Andy Nelson: Yeah. But he's got so much scruff that, like, it it it's great. I love I love him in this.
Pete Wright: But I'll say it again. No mustache. What was the error disappointing for you? Yeah. God.
What? Of course, disappointing. Sam Elliott has a big bushy mustache. He doesn't have scruff. He doesn't have scruff.
And so I'm looking at, like, what are some other movies where Sam Elliott was clean shaven? Blue River 1995 was a TV movie. Good god. I don't even know. Is that Sam Elliott on the cover?
Maybe.
Andy Nelson: That's funny.
Pete Wright: I but maybe not because no mustache. I've not seen enough movies without him to be used to it, and this freaked me out. I guess, hole in the sky?
Andy Nelson: It would be different for me if he wasn't scruffy. Like, if he was clean shaven, that I think would throw me more. But the fact that he is at least really scruffy, I just don't run into any issues with it.
Pete Wright: Man, I don't I don't care for your position on this. I just don't care for it. There was an era let's just say there was an era in the early nineties where he was clean shaven for some of it, and it it was, to this viewer's eye, inappropriate. I love him in this movie even even with the weird facial treatment. He's a great Wade Garrett is a great mentor character.
I just love his general, like you said, his general sort of mentor camaraderie that he just shows up to beat people up as as friends do and has no problem with that. You know, he's he's the guy who will help you hide a body. Sam Elliott.
Andy Nelson: Yeah. I I think he plays well. It's a great pairing. It's tragic what ends up happening in the story, but it it all works. It all plays well for for our purposes here.
I mean, it's a great cast. I love Kevin Teague. He's great in it. Keith David weirdly shows up as a bartender who has, like, one line, maybe. Like, he's he's hardly there.
And then I think we also just need to talk about Jeff Healy as as Cody. Just like the music that he ends up contributing to this film, which I think is as much a part of the film as just the all of the stuff with Swayze. Just like having him as, like, the regular person playing at this bar, like, what a smart decision to kind of craft it that way because it just it lent such just a cool vibe to all of the stuff going on, having him just up there the whole time.
Pete Wright: We just covered sinners as we're recording this. Just came out this weekend.
Andy Nelson: And On the film board. Yeah.
Pete Wright: On the film board. And I've been thinking about a a lot of the way that movie honors music as part of it. And this is weirdly another movie that really honors the music. By giving it to Jeff Healy and crew to to be able to give us something that feels legit, to feel that feels like that's diegetic music feels totally appropriate to the to the craft of the the bar scene, and and and I just love it. The other thing that goes right along with that that I think you notice as a result of paying attention to Jeff Healy is the way the bar just sort of evolves from the rough and ready roadhouse with the cage around the performers to a a nice place.
Like, it changes over time, and they don't they don't make a big deal about that at all. It's it's just like a new coat of paint here. The cage is down there. We never get, like, a ribbon cutting.
Andy Nelson: But it definitely feels that way. Like, you start noticing it, and it just feels like this is Dalton doing his job. Like, is he's he's cleaned up the place. Kevin Teague has been able to spend a little money and and rekind of do the whole thing and and give it, a a nicer look at everything, new sign and everything. And, yeah, it just all of that plays well.
And I like that that Healy and his band, it it doesn't change. Like, you don't have one band who feels like, well, let's let's get a band that's playing kind of in because it's so crappy, this is the only people we can get than to have, like, the classier cooler band show up later. It's like, no. Kevin Healy is there the whole time, and it just it it he delivers, and it's just like I don't know. That music that he's there to play, like, it just felt like so appropriate.
Pete Wright: Kevin Healy.
Andy Nelson: Is that what I said?
Pete Wright: Yeah. That's what you said.
Andy Nelson: Kevin Teague. I I was like saying all these names.
Pete Wright: Yeah. Use so many names. Yeah. Healy Teague.
Andy Nelson: But, like, his he and his band, like, it just it plays well to have them here. And I I also like that he's clearly been around long enough to also have this past relationship with Dalton.
Pete Wright: Yeah. Dalton, again, that reputation precedes you trope is is plays out everywhere. Not just people who fear him, but people who love him, people who know kind of the real him. And and those are the people who are spreading that reputation. Right?
It's it's guys like Healy who who are telling stories to other bouncers and to other bartenders that, oh, you've you've never seen it until you've seen Dalton do it. That's at play. It's really cool.
Andy Nelson: I I think that there's an interesting element there. You know, we talked about the whole throat ripping out sequence when he's fighting with Jimmy Reno. But that also, like, this reputation that has preceded him, doctor Clay has kind of heard about the stuff that's going on and has this sense from talking to him and has seen all of his scars in his medical charts and everything, But she's there. She witnesses, like, the throat ripping out. I thought that was actually an interesting element where it's like, your reputation precedes you, but then you're also still creating your reputation continually.
And here is a moment where he does this horrifically violent thing to stop this. I mean, Reno was pretty crazy to begin with. He was he was, you know, ready to just brutalize him. And your opening line is one of the things that he randomly throws out. Like, clearly, he is okay with with torturing and abuse.
And here he is, you know, taking on Dalton, and Dalton stops him by literally ripping his throat out. It's like, dang. Okay.
Pete Wright: Yeah. Especially because Dalton's the one who says, hey. If you smash a guy's knee, doesn't matter how big he is, he'll fall like a stone. Yeah. That's an interesting way to handle callbacks.
Right? Because you know he's gonna either smash a guy's knee or rip a throat out because both of them is of those have been check off earlier in the movie. And, you know, once you put rip a throat out on the table, you kinda gotta do it.
Andy Nelson: Yeah. That was brutal. Yeah. That was brutal. And it's interesting because that's the thing that also pushes doctor, doctor Clay away from him.
Like, she's just like, I don't wanna be around somebody who does this sort of thing. And and she leaves, and she pushes pushes him away. And I thought that was actually a smart moment to have where Dalton has this recognition. I mean, he had created this relationship with her, but has this moment where it's just like, this is why I always leave town. This is why I always move on and end up in a different place because I'm not designed to to stay and have a relationship with somebody because of all of this.
And also, you know, we're getting the sense of whatever it was that had happened in his past leading to a loved one dying is kind of where, I think we're meant to take all of that.
Pete Wright: Yeah. This thing was written by r Lance Hill or David Lee Henry, depending on what he's choosing to write under, I guess. Along with Hillary Hanken. We have talked about him before. 8,000,000 Ways to Die.
Right. What do you know? What do you know? What do you think about the way this thing plays? It feels like he has written a number of movies that feel like the same sort of vibe.
Like, he's he's exercising a particular sort of demon in his writing.
Andy Nelson: Well, I think that he just, you know, writes what he enjoys, and I feel like this is the sort of these dark crime thrillers seem to be what he writes. And here, I think there's a lot more fun to be had with this particular film. But, I mean, you know, there is still some darkness that we're getting a sense of with all of this. Certainly, it'll be interesting to talk more about him as we get to the remake, which we'll talk about next week. Because because, you know, he sued the producers of that one, saying that they're using generative AI of the actors, and because of SAG AFTRA, they're not allowed to do that and all of this sort of stuff.
And and he had tried to get the copyrights of the original screenplay for this film reverted to himself. It's interesting. I feel like he's very possessive of what he's crafted. And I maybe it's because this film perhaps is the one that's I don't know, is done the best. I mean, Out for Justice, the Seagal movie certainly is something that has its own big following and everything.
But I think that he's somebody who probably knows he can milk this particular story and has tried to do so.
Pete Wright: I intentionally separated Hilary Hankin because Hilary Hankin has written some things that I think are, that are outside of the space of this kind of brawl movie. I loved wag the dog, for example, the Hillary hinkin behind that, with Mammoth and Larry Beinhardt. Those are I mean, that's just, you know, getting movies made are hard, and both of these people are in that kind of sweet spot of each having eight or nine movies that they have written or cowritten that are that were made. And that's that's that's pretty cool. I don't see on either of them a thumbprint necessarily that feels like I know who they are.
I've not seen enough movies, of each of theirs to to be able to know, but you kinda get a sense just even from the titles.
Andy Nelson: Well, Romeo is bleeding is definitely, and v for Vendetta. Like, both of those have I mean, it's hard to say with v for Vendetta because it's based on, other material. But Romeo is bleeding for sure, like, definitely feels like that was just her and, like, some interesting characters in that film also. Good guys, bad guys, like, that's the thing that I I can't say specifically because I don't know how much of of Roadhouse she specifically worked on. But in both Romeo is Bleeding and in Roadhouse, there are some fantastic characters.
So it's possible that that is something that comes from Hillary.
Pete Wright: Yeah. That's true. Yeah. Let's see. What else you got?
Andy Nelson: Yeah. The music's great. Obviously, Michael Kamen though did the score and is fantastic. But Dean Kundee is one of those DPs who just, you know, knows how to shoot films, worked a lot with Robert Zemeckis on on stuff. And I just think in a in a film that has kind of that bar neon sort of look, I just think that, he he captures the essence of it quite well.
I mean, it looks like a lit Hollywood movie, but it just it still feels great. And, you know, then you've got, like, the sex scenes and you've got Patrick Swayze oiled up doing Tai Chi outside, just sunlight glistening off his body. I know, Dean Kundee knows how to capture images that are going to appeal appeal to,
Pete Wright: you know,
Andy Nelson: that's well, and that's something interesting with this movie because my my wife and I are watching this, and it's it's such a tough guy bar fight movie, but then you all then you've got, like, the women coming in, you know, the Brad Wesley's girl always looking like just she is ready to hop on the stripper stage. Like, she's just always dressed that way. But then you have some scenes with, you know, clear, oggling moments designed to look at Patrick Swayze. And it's interesting, like, they designed this film, I think, to allow for men and women to enjoy it.
Pete Wright: Yes. It is titillating. It's fluid fluidly titillating, I think is what we call that now. Yes.
Andy Nelson: Is that an expression that
Pete Wright: We just
Andy Nelson: everyone is saying?
Pete Wright: We just did that. Yeah. We made that a thing.
Andy Nelson: There you go.
Pete Wright: That's it. Yeah. That's what I got.
Andy Nelson: Yeah. That's about it.
Pete Wright: Are we good?
Andy Nelson: We're good. So, we'll be right back, but first, our credits.
Pete Wright: The next reel is a production of True Story FM, engineering by Andy Nelson, music by Mastronardi, Asaf Ayyalan, featuring Eli Schmaltz, Hey Judy, Oriole Novella, and Eli Ketlin. And he usually finds all the stats for the awards numbers at d-numbers.com, box office mojo Com, I m b b Com, and Wikipedia.org. Find the show at truestory.fm. And if your podcast app allows ratings and reviews, please consider doing that for our show.
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Pete Wright: Sequels and remakes, Andy. I have seen only the remake, the Gyllenhaal. Is there more? Do I care about any of them?
Andy Nelson: Well, that's the only remake for sure. But as far as sequels, I mean, this this is something that, you know, spurred a franchise. Granted, it took time. In 02/2003, fans of this made an Off Broadway musical production, that was very much kind of like a campy comedy. Timothy Haskell staged it.
He is, directs theater and also directs immersive haunted houses. So an interesting little pairing. But, yes, he made a an Off Broadway musical of this, the full title of which are you ready for this? Roadhouse, colon, the stage version of the cinema classic that starred Patrick Swayze, except this one stars Ty Mack from the eighties cult classic, the last dragon wearing a blonde mullet wig. Wait.
Pete Wright: That's the whole title.
Andy Nelson: That's the whole title. So, yes, you can get that they're going a little camp with it. So
Pete Wright: What do they do on understudy nights?
Andy Nelson: Yeah. Right. No kidding. Then in 02/2006, they ended up making a straight to DVD sequel of this creatively just called Roadhouse two. There's no characters from the original story.
We're following Dalton's adults, adult son, and there's only a few references to his dad over the course of it. That came out in in 02/2006. You had little bits and pieces in shows like Family Guy. Interestingly, the New York City Police Department after, you know, one of the, horrific murders that they ended up essentially committing, they ended up using a scene of Roadhouse to retrain all of their officers, and it's the whole thing about being nice under pressure. That became mandatory watching for the New York City Police Department.
Quite interesting.
Pete Wright: And that shows to this day how well it works. Yeah. No kidding. Andy, here's the thing I just have to add about Roadhouse two. IMDb looked it up while it's here.
The cover poster that they use, as you said, says Roadhouse two. But the IMDb listening actually gives it a subtitle. Roadhouse two last call. Interesting. Do you think that they did that after they made the movie?
Like, after the fact? I wonder what the opening credits stay.
Andy Nelson: It might just be on the poster because I'm also looking at one that said road roadhouse two, like father, like son. So it could just be
Pete Wright: They just every platform gets different Exploring.
Andy Nelson: Exploring. Yeah. Exactly. Jonathan Scheck, is in it as the DEA agent. Yeah.
He is the legendary son. So he's DEA agent Shane Tanner. Okay. Well, who knows? Anyway, last but not least, of course, is the remake, which we will be talking about next week.
Pete Wright: Mhmm. And how. Alright. Awards season. It's time to talk about how what kind of critical acclaim this movie gathered.
Andy Nelson: I mean, at the time, it was popular with fans, but not so much with the critics and everything. As I mentioned, it did get five nominations, though, but they're all Razzies. That's right. It was nominated for worst picture but lost to Star Trek five, the final frontier. You're gonna be seeing that one pop up a couple times.
Patrick Swayze nominated for worst actor for both this and next of kin, which came out the same year, lost to William Shatner in Star Trek five. Ben Guzzaro was nominated for worst supporting actor, but lost lost to Christopher Atkins in Listen To Me. I am not familiar with that one. Are you familiar with
Pete Wright: No. Listen To Me. One.
Andy Nelson: Or even Christopher Atkins. I have to look up who this is. Hold on.
Pete Wright: There's a Kirk Cameron when Jamie Gertz.
Andy Nelson: Yeah. He was in stuff like the Blue Lagoon, the pirate movie, a night in heaven. But what was this movie that he was in? I have to see listen to me.
Pete Wright: A group of college debaters learn about the world, friendships, love, dreams, and family in this warm, endearing drama, also starring Roy Scheider.
Andy Nelson: Wow. This was a period where Roy Scheider was in some stuff that it wasn't the seventies for him, I guess we'll say.
Pete Wright: No. It was not very much not the seventies. Wow.
Andy Nelson: Okay. Anyway, worst director was nominated for, Rowdy Harrington, but lost to William Shatner again. Last but not least, worst screenplay, but lost to Harlem Nights. So Harlem Nights. I'd like to think that people would reevaluate over time and that this wouldn't end up getting any Razzie nominations.
Pete Wright: Ugh. Yeah. It's totally totally holds up. Yeah. And at the box office, Andy, how did it do?
Did it make its money back?
Andy Nelson: Well, for his movie, Harrington had a budget of $15,000,000 or 38,300,000.0 in today's dollars. The movie opened 05/19/1989 opposite Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, as well as the limited releases of How I Got Into College, Fright Night Part two, Miracle Mile, and for Queen and Country. This could not beat Indiana Jones, so opened in the number two spot. They went on to stay in the top 10 for six weeks and earned 30,000,000 domestically and 31,000,000 internationally for a total gross of 155,700,000.0 in today's dollars. That lands the film with an adjusted profit per finished minute of just over a million dollars, making back more than four times its budget.
Just going to show that there's nothing Swayze couldn't do.
Pete Wright: That's the truth. That's the damn truth, friend. I had a blast. I'm so glad we talked about this movie. It it absolutely holds up, and I was ready to come in guns a blazing.
Andy Nelson: Oh, interesting.
Pete Wright: I thought this is gonna be ridiculous. Yeah.
Andy Nelson: Interesting. I'm glad that you said that because I didn't know that you were thinking that. I had so much fun with this one. Just more fun every time I rewatch it. It's just a a blast of a movie.
Easy watch. So definitely one I'll check out again.
Pete Wright: Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. Awesome.
Andy Nelson: Well, we'll be right back for our ratings, but first, here's the trailer for next week's movie, Doug Lyman's remake of this movie. It's Roadhouse from 2024 starring Jake Gyllenhaal.
Trailer: Before we start, do you have insurance? What? Your coverage good? Like, you have dental? Oh, Is there a hospital nearby?
Is it, like, too far? About, like, twenty five minutes, I'd say. I just slapped you. Are you alright? What?
So you like to fight. You ever win? No one ever wins a fight. This ain't the Holiday Inn, pal. I I'm I'm moving.
A friend of mine suggested I come talk to you. I own a roadhouse out in the Florida Keys. Lately, it's been attracting the clientele. I can pay you good money. Judging by your car, you need this.
Well, I like my car. Think about it.
I know who you are.
Edward Dalton, big fan. The guy's got a knife under his shirt. Can you just take a big step back and pop me in the face? You can do it.
Tell me about this fountain.
Yeah. It's all nice. Like, he's mister Rogers or something, but then he'll haul off. Really interesting guy overall. Bran wants to take the roadhouse away from me.
He wants to build some resort. I should warn you, people have a certain way of getting things done around here. Hey,
fellas. Looks like you're having a smashing night. Logan, I got a tip for you. Don't let no one get this close. Come on, bro.
Let me guess. You know, threaten me. Tell me to get out of town. I get the impression that he can't be threatened.
Once Knox is on the job, it's over, baby.
It takes a lot to get me angry, but when I am, I just can't let go. People seem a little aggressive around here. Is that one in front of yours? No. He just broke his arm.
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Pete Wright: Letterbox, Sandy. Letterbox. This is where we take our stars and we put them against movies. And as you know, we are absolutely, zealous about making sure that there is a finite number of stars. And so how would you like to put your stars today?
Andy Nelson: That's the royal we that you're talking about there.
Pete Wright: Zealous. You and alone. You and you alone. We together are zealots.
Andy Nelson: We meaning you and yourself.
Pete Wright: And Andy together are zealots.
Andy Nelson: I, I had so much fun with this movie. Like, I just wanna say five stars is awesome. I don't think I'm gonna go quite that crazy, but I did have a blast with it. I'm gonna just give it four stars and a heart is where I'm gonna sit with this one.
Pete Wright: I can't believe that.
Andy Nelson: It could go up.
Pete Wright: It could it could go up. It could go up. Because again, does the movie succeed in what it is trying to do? Yes. It does.
It does so very well. But I too am with you at four stars and a heart.
Andy Nelson: Excellent.
Pete Wright: Maybe that those two four stars should average up on our
Andy Nelson: collective It's eight. So let's just you don't average it. You add it. Add it together. Eight out of I'm sure that's a thing.
That's not a thing. That'll be four stars and a heart over at our account on Letterboxd, which is at the next reel. You can find me there at soda creek film. You can find Pete there at p wright. So what did you think about Roadhouse?
We would love to hear your thoughts. Hop into the ShowTalk channel over at our Discord community where we will be talking about the movie this week.
Pete Wright: When the movie ends
Andy Nelson: Our conversation begins.
Pete Wright: Letterbox giveth, Andrew.
Andy Nelson: As Letterboxd always doeth. Man, Letterboxd giveth. Letterboxd overfloweth.
Pete Wright: Overfloweth this time. Man. Yeah. What what do you got? And if you have to do a couple, go ahead.
Some of them are short and awesome.
Andy Nelson: Yeah. Michael Strensky's four and a half. This is the great Gatsby of the nineteen eighties. Love that one.
Pete Wright: Yes. It is.
Andy Nelson: Brian Espitia wrote five stars in a heart. A movie that only asks you to believe in the power of blue jeans, rock and roll, and Patrick Swayze's magnificent hair.
Pete Wright: It is magnificent hair.
Andy Nelson: Truly is.
Pete Wright: Wes has a five star in her heart that says this movie could kill a Victorian era child. I don't I can't argue with that. I cannot argue with that. But my favorite one is Patrick Willems, three and a half stars. In 1989, a man named Rowdy directed the movie Roadhouse, finally fulfilling his destiny.
That's right. Rowdy, the aponymically named director of Roadhouse. Celebrate that all damn day. Perfect. Thanks, Letterboxd.