When a bouncer asks you if you have medical/dental insurance and how close is the nearest hospital, you better leave while you can still walk out on your own.
Road House
I was excited to review this film, especially since I loved the original which starred Patrick Swayze. I was not disappointed. Road House, which was directed by Doug Liman, stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Daniella Melchior, Billy Magnussen, Jessica Williams Joaquim De Almeida, Conor McGregor, Lukas Cage, Arturo Castro, B.K. Cannon, Beau Knapp, Darren Barnet and Dominique Columbus, and is an edge of your seat type of film.
Dalton (Jake Gyllenhaal) is an ex-UFC fighter who is trying to escape his past. He is a good fighter, but he doesn’t stop punching, and that, my friend, can be fatal to the bullies who get in his way. Dalton is down on his luck, broke with a junk car, and either suicidal or plain stupid. After losing a fight with an oncoming train, he accepts a job as bouncer from Frankie (Jessica Williams), who is trying to save her bar in the Florida Glass Key from some unfriendly bikers.
Forced to take the bus due to that lost battle with an oncoming train, Dalton is greeted at the bus stop by Charlie (Hannah Love Lanier), a young teen who helps her father run a bookstore. She gives a book, Fred the Tree, to Dalton and they soon form a friendship.
The Bar
The bar is set up really nice; the staff, including bartender Laura (B.K. Cannon) are friendly, and the band is good. The only problem is the bikers, led by Dell (JD Pardo). After Dalton not only beats the bejesus out of the gang who work for crime boss Ben Brandt (Billy Magnussen), Dalton then drives them to the hospital where he meets Ellie (Daniela Melchior), the E.R. doctor. Everyone at the Road House is impressed with Dalton, and Frankie rents an old houseboat to Dalton to live in. The boat comes with a huge crocodile just waiting for someone to accidentally fall off the boat.
When Ben is unable to force Dalton to leave, or get Frankie to sell her bar, his father who is in prison, sends for a brute, Knox (Conor McGregor).
Conclusion
I loved the original Road House with Patrick Swayze, but I am telling you that Jake Gyllenhaal is damn good in this film. In this version, you get to know the secondary characters more personally. Gyllenhaal’s character is a calm and likeable person, but we are reminded that he can be more dangerous than the bullies he was hired to tend to. Conor McGregor’s character was a plus because even though he was one of the bad guys, he stole the show by bringing some unexpected humor to the fight scenes.
Back in the day, during the 1970s, my coworkers and I, who worked in the neighbourhood hospital’s ICU Unit, would often go out on a Friday night to a bar very similar to the one in the film. Sometimes fights broke out. It was damn scary sitting there and watching a couple of grown men act like fools, but it was always reassuring to see the bouncers arrive quickly on the scene and take control of the situation.
Road House is out now Amazon Prime. You don’t want to miss this remake. It is a very good film, and I can almost picture Patrick Swayze looking down with a smile.