Road House 2 (2006)

After the camp classic that inspired this otherwise pointless sequel, there is one thing that dawned on me: I might never want to be a bar fighting bouncer, but I sure would not mind being a DEA agent – at least in this movie universe. See, apparently a mere minute after making a bust, your sexy fellow agent, who posed as a stripper-waitress, reveals she has a bust of her own as she gives you an erotic lapdance in the same location. Now I’m sure nothing like that happens in real life, but this has the brand name of ‘Roadhouse’ slapped on the cover.

In case you wondered, the role played by Patrick Swayze in the ’89 film, does not return, supposedly killed off. In his stead, we get That Thing You Do‘s Johnathon Schaech as Shane Tanner, who early on in the story is identified also as Dalton’s son. Shane is a chip off the old block, no question there. Kickboking, grappling and quoting each others lines from one film to the next runs in the family. Bedding hot blondes too (so much for your lapdancing DEA women) also seems to be part of the quota. The knockoff film is saved from being a total waste by that blonde, whose name is Beau. Beau? We find out a lot about Beau, be it former Army brat, Girl Scout and now a elementary schoolteacher on the Lousinana Bayou. There’s lot more of course, but aside from one hell of a catfight between her and a bad guy’s knife fetish moll, I’ll stop right there, but I will say she’s nicely played by Ellen Hollman, even if the character is overwritten.

Lending some credibility is Will Patton, who does the best acting of the lot and whose stunt double is far more convincing than Schaech’s. In any case, Uncle Tanner runs a joint called The Black Pelican, where folks dance to a live bluegrass-rock band, and sadly seems to be a nice little hotspot for dope dealers like Wild Bill (Jake Busey) to apply their trade. Uncle Tanner won’t sell out, so the baddies rough him up and put him in the local hospital. Nephew Shane comes in (against orders from his DEA boss and his lapdancer DEA girl toy to stay put) and then he assumes ownership of The Black Pelican, and starts to bring out a can of Muay Tai whoop ass.

Some fight scenes are nicely staged and/or filmed, and at under an hour and a half, the movie is that that painful as it could have been. When Shane gets some of his DEA buddies (and, oddly enough, lapdancing DEA girl is AWOL) to help him go after Bill and Bill’s buddies…like he should have done in the first place, the gunfights are not as well staged. But not to worry; the catfight is coming up, and that’s the highlight of the picture. It got me thinking: should somewhere down the road, they make a DTV Roadhouse 3, maybe the bouncers should be Cynthia Rothrock or Trish Status types..or how about those two lookers on the cover of the DVD who get approximately one full minute of screentime in part 2? Just a thought. Roadhouse 2‘s subtiltle “Last Call” was taken off for a reason. However, the movie is not quite like the film before it; the Swayze film was entertainingly stupid. This one isn’t that entertaining, but it doesn’t disappoint in being stupid.

Roadhouse 2
Starring: Johnathon Schaech, Ellen Hollman ,Will Patton and Jake Busey
Directed by: Scott Ziehl

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