DVD Review: Road House 2

By Adnan Tezer Jul 17, 2006, 13:43 GMT

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It’s almost too easy to dismiss a film like Road House 2 (also known as Road House 2: Last Call). Expectations are lowered upon glazing at the cover - which screams out cheap porn and after watching it you’ll really think cheap porn.  On the surface, it is a cheap looking, direct to DVD sequel of the hilariously awful 1989 cult classic Road House.

Much like its predecessor, Roadhouse 2 is ridiculous, over the top, mindless garbage.  After wasting 84 minutes and delving deeper, the inside is much like the surface.  You know you’re in trouble when a film like this is co-written by its leading man.  Much of the dialogue is practically lifted word for word from the original film.

The plot (for lack of a better word) is practically the same as the original Road House.  Here, the rowdy bar in question is The Black Pelican run by Nate Tanner (Will Patton.) Apparently, the Pelican is located on a prime piece of drug dealing real estate deep in the bayou of Louisiana. It also has a house band with a rocking cool midget. This makes it quite valuable to local drug dealer Wild Bill (Jake Busey channeling the worst of his father Gary).

Wild Bill has been trying to get Nate to sell the bar for quite some time but Nate isn’t selling.  So Bill just has his goons beat and nearly kill Nate, landing him in the hospital and out of the picture.  Upon hearing this, Nate’s DEA officer nephew Shane Tanner (Johnathon Schaech who as mentioned earlier has a screenwriting credit here) decides to come down to the swamps and take care of business for his uncle. Shane is also the son of the legendary Dalton (Patrick Swayze from the original) who as the film tells us was mysteriously murdered years back.  I defy any fan of the original to believe the circumstances under which the great Dalton dies. He might as well been wearing a dress.

Shane is fond of many of his daddy’s traits and dialogue: he drives a Mercedes, doesn’t fly, likes blondes, and can kick some ass. He’s also fond of going on DEA undercover busts wearing t-shirts with “DEA” on them.

Upon arriving in town, Shane joins forces with a beautiful blonde Beau (the HOT Ellen Hollman.) However, unlike the original with Kelly Lynch providing some nice eye candy and nothing more, Hollman is a 21st century heroine. She is an army trained elementary school teacher who can beat the crap out of you.  You can imagine the rest. Tanner and Wild Bill butt heads throughout until a comically over the top finale.  And surprise, he finds his dad’s killer. Once again, Schaech and the other “screenwriters” attempt to blaspheme and defile the great Dalton by having him supposedly die at the hands of a jagoff.

While it says that there are three credited screenwriters on this film, including Schaech, one wonders why take credit for it? All this film does is recycle the original, right down to pathetically lifting classic lines from it - including Dalton’s 3 rules for Bouncing 101 (See the Roadhouse Deluxe Edition review for further analysis).   Kudos to them though for the soon-to-be immortal line “Know why they call me the robot? Cause I’m automatically kickin your ass.”

Is the film enjoyable on some guilty level, like the original? At times, yes. There are several good brawl sequences and plenty of hot girls to look at. More often than not, you will be shaking your head in embarrassment. First of all, why wait 17 YEARS to put this crap out? Second, all it does is make you appreciate the original more.

But, I will give the movie credit on two levels. It’s only 86 minutes and (most importantly) it contains the greatest catfight scene since Uma Thurman and Daryl Hannah went at it in Kill Bill 2. Here you get Ellen Hollman and Marisa Quintanilla, who plays Wild Bill’s exotic female cohort, beating the hell out of each other and looking great doing it. This sequence alone is worth the price of rental.   You could just fast forward to the last 20 minutes and be better off for it.

Schaech, based on some of his recent straight to DVD films, seems to be heading toward the Snipes/Seagal route of straight to DVD action star.  He’s not completely awful as Tanner. He does bring a believable physical element to the part and goes to great lengths to show us how ripped he is. Also, as co-screenwriter, he gives himself several meaningful scenes including getting a lap dance from a fellow DEA agent after a bust.  However, Schaech doesn’t contain a tenth of the presence and charisma of Swayze.   There is only one Dalton.

Busey has hammy fun with his mad-dog, frothing from the mouth part but you never believe that someone as stupid as him would be in charge of a high money drug ring. But, he is cool enough to get an important hot tub scene with two girls making out.  While Patton does give the film its only credible acting talent, one wonders why he would do something like this. The real find here is Ellen Hollman. With her girl next door hotness and killer body, her straight to DVD career has arrived.  The movie suffers even more when she isn’t on screen. And of course, there is the catfight scene that she blesses us with at the end. 

Thankfully, the extras are null and void save for some previews of other Sony DVD releases.  Is it just me or is Sony exclusively releasing straight-to-DVD sequels (Roadhouse 2, Hollow Man 2, 8mm2)?

Sony is releasing this the same day the Deluxe Edition of the original is released. That’s probably the only way you could fool people into renting it. Road House 2: The Quest for Peace is one of the dumbest, most pointless films ever made. It can’t hold the beer koozie of the original. But, if you are a fan of the original, there’s a greater than zero chance you will rent this for curiosity’s sake. 

Much like the original it will go in one ear and out the other. Be warned however, your brain and your mind will be insulted and harmed repeatedly.  Make sure you have a beer I.V. hooked up. The fight scenes and T&A are enjoyable but the dialogue and the acting will make you wince more than once.  Just watch the catfight and spare yourself.

Road House 2 is now available at Amazon. As of yet, there is not a release date for the UK. Visit the DVD database for more information.