by Suze L. Cima

I watched enough episodes of Bar Rescue (about 2) to know that just about every town has a bar in need of repairs. Not every town; however has a Dalton…

Patrick Swayze stars in Road House (1989) as Dalton, a cooler hired to rid The Double Deuce Club of riffraff and ridicule. The VHS cover says it all, Dalton’s “the best bouncer in the business” and “his nights are filled with fast action, hot music, and beautiful women”. Dalton is so cool, in fact, that he doesn’t need a last name. He’s been injured so many times; he carries his medical records around with him just to save time. Prepare yourself for martial arts, passion, and burning cars.

Road House is an action packed film. I have so many favorite scenes that I couldn’t pick just one. Instead, I’ll focus on the overall feeling of nostalgia I got from it. I’m not talking about that time my friends and I accidentally ended up in a sketchy bar. Nah, I’m talking about playing video games with my older brothers when I was a kid. I know what you’re thinking…Suze, this is Moviejawn - always be thinking about movies. I know, I know. But…video games are important too. Video game movies not so much. I’m looking at you Super Mario Bros. (1993).

Road House has all the elements of a great late 80s/early 90s video game: a leading hunk (swooning for Swayze), dopey goons, and a blonde babe. In most classic beat ‘em up video games, you can grab nearby items and use them to fight. Similarly, Jimmy (basically a mini boss) uses a pool stick to pole-vault off a stage. My husband and I definitely looked at each other after this scene and said, “Hey, rewind that”.

Dalton’s size is the butt of the joke several times throughout the film. Speaking of butts, Swayze’s makes an appearance. Ahem. Where were we? Oh yeah… Although Dalton’s small, he can pack a punch like Little Mac from Punch-Out! Let’s get one thing straight though; Dalton’s not out to start fights. His motto is to “be nice until it’s time to not be nice.” I completely agree. I also feel that Dalton’s three simple rules are useful when playing video games:

1. Never underestimate your opponent - I won a few rounds of Mortal Kombat because my brothers didn’t think I knew how to play. Pretty sneaky sis.
2. Take it outside – It’s important to get out after playing for so long your eyes feel like they’re going to fall out of your skull.
3. Be nice. – Necessary in general.

To my understanding, a Road House video game does not exist, but I truly think there could’ve been one. I mean there’s an E.T. game and that turned out fine.