My comfort movie today is a film that is listed among “the most enjoyable bad movies ever made”, according to The Official Razzie Movie Guide:
Road House (1989)
Personally I don’t think this is a bad movie. I think it’s a great movie! I just think it had a lot to live up to after the success of Dirty Dancing (1987) a couple of years earlier (also starring Patrick Swayze).
With a good easy to follow plot (tough good guy stands up to rich bad guy with a stranglehold on the town) it doesn’t pretend to be anything it’s not.
I watched a documentary about Patrick Swayze recently and some of his past co stars were interviewed.
Marshall R. Teague who played Jimmy in the film said that originally he took a disliking to Swayze based on what he knew of his ballet dancing past (Teague was formally in the Navy and a NATO heavyweight kickboxing champion). He said as filming went on, he and Swayze agreed to throw real punches and kicks in some of their fight scenes to make them more believable.
The fight scene towards the end where Jimmy hits Dalton with a log, actually broke a couple of Swayze’s ribs as Teague thought it was a prop.
By the time filming wrapped, the two actors had developed a mutual respect and strong friendship that lasted until Swayze died from pancreatic cancer in 2009.
Say what you like about Road House, I love it and it’s a film I can watch over and over again without ever getting tired of it.
The soundtrack featuring songs by Jeff Healey among others is also excellent!