The New 'Road House' Movie Knows Exactly What It Is And Embraces That Ridiculousness Perfectly
Doug Liman's 'ROAD HOUSE' reimagining starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Conor McGregor finally hits streaming today (on Amazon Prime), and I'm happy to report that it absolutely rules.
It probably won't be up for any Academy Awards next year, but if you're into the turn-your-brain-off genre of action movies (that embrace their own ridiculousness) as much as I am, you'll probably love 'ROAD HOUSE'. The fact that Amazon didn't think it was worthy of a theatrical release is preposterous, as well, because star power aside - there are about a dozen cheer-worthy ass kicking moments in this movie. Here's a quick taste of Dalton (Gyllenhaal) on his first night as a bouncer at the ROAD HOUSE....
Conor McGregor plays the over-the-top 80s style villain perfectly in his first foray into Hollywood, and while I don't know if you could call him a "great actor" yet - he is most certainly a great presence in 'ROAD HOUSE' and he steals every scene he's in.
Jake Gyllenhaal is awesome as always, Post Malone makes an unexpected cameo at the start as a fight club competitor, there's a tremendous mix of action and comedic scenes sprinkled in throughout, and there's even a few nice nods to the original - which everyone was extremely respectful about on the red carpet. If anyone called this a "remake" or "reboot", the cast were quick to correct them and clarify that this movie is a "reimagining" of the original that can only hope to do it justice. Gyllenhaal spoke super highly of working with Swayze and his wife on 'Donnie Darko' before the showing, as well.
Personally, I enjoy the original, but didn't grow up hailing it as a classic like kids of the 80s did, so I can't speak to how ultra-nostalgic Swayze fans will feel - but I felt like this was a very respectable "reimagining" that actually nailed the tone of the OG. There's no throat rips or Terry Funk cameos (RIP), but everything else about it FEELS like a modern 'ROAD HOUSE' movie. And it's certainly better than that piece-of-shit 'Point Break' remake from a few years ago.
Check out my red carpet video featuring interviews with Conor McGregor, Jake Gyllenhaal, Daniela Melchoir, Audie Attar, Dillon Danis, Lukas Gage, Arturo Castro, and more now!
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Fun little note about this video: the backing track is an old Pup Punk demo that PFT and I have had lying around for a couple years now. He was messing around with a Tom DeLonge guitar tone and I was figuring out how to put songs together in GarageBand. Finally found a good use for it!