Usually movies are spiked with little homages to people, places or things that inspired the movie makers to go forward with the project. The way John Wayne stands at the end of the Searchers was an homage to his idol, Harry Carey Sr. The remake of Road House is a cinematic love letter to the original if you consider the all of the little nods to the original sprinkled throughout the 2024 film. If the 2024 iteration of Road House were no more than a re-shoot of the 1989 script it would rightly deserve double the number of Razzies the original received which most likely propelled it to its cult-classic status. To prove their love for the original the makers of Road House '24 have sprinkled their own little homages to Road House '89 throughout 1 hour, 54 minute run time. Charlie's bookstore is located next to the Double Duece grocery store not the Double Duece Bar in the original. Let's hope the "clean ups on isle three" are not caused by little old ladies fighting over cute tomatoes. Another homage to the original Dalton is the "Be Nice" signage instructions inside the 2024 bar. Then there is Charlie's reference to the hero that Dalton 2024 needs to be: a guy named Wade who just happens to be the name of Sam Elliott's 1989 character. Homages abound, but then there is the one I had to think about. It really helped that I am, well, old. In the original Road House Dalton is an anti-violence bouncer who has advanced degrees in philosophy, east and west. But 2024's Road House doesn't make that anti-violent gesture to his predecessor by making Dalton Dr. Nice. Dalton 2024's non-violent side is expressed, weirdly, in his first name and middle initial: Elwood P. There are not that many Elwood Ps in movie history. In fact, there is only the one. Famously, the only Elwood P. In movie history is the pooka loving character played by Jimmy Stewart in the stage production and its movie version "Harvey". (FYI: A pooka in this situation is an invisible 6 foot rabbit who likes to knock back a drink or two from time to time.) Elwood P. Dowd in Harvey is non-violent and "nice" to the point that his sisters think he's crazy and want to confine him to a nut house not a road house. (Harvey the afore mentioned pooka would love to hang at the road house.) Elwood P. Dalton and Elwood P. Dowd both have an infectious smile and pleasant presentation that invite people into their person. People like Elwood P. Dalton upon their first meeting. So rather than conjer a Far East non-violent homage to Dalton '89, Dalton '24's homage is organic to his being. It's built into his being on a cellular level not learned from a book. Elwood P. Is non-violent because that's who he is, not what he studied. The homage to Elwood P. Is organic to someone, something far more gentle than the Dalton of 1989. Dalton '24's tumble into PTSD and self-torture is all the more tragic because it is tearing away at the very structure of who he is, not something he has learned. The betrayal of Dalton 89's Far Eastern philosophy is not a tragic loss of innocent faith and love for humanity. It's a betrayal of book learning. Elwood P. Dalton is lost in a world of martial arts and murder. His out-of-place smile can't survive the violent punches and kicks of the Road House. The homage to the movie Harvey is far deeper and wholly unexpected. The left field homage to Elwood P. Dowd in the person of Dalton 2024 is more respectful of the artist Jimmy Stewart than any of the other winks to the works behind the original Road House.
Review of Road House
