Jake Gyllenhaal in talks to star in a Road House remake
Doug Liman is also "circling" the reboot of the 1989 Patrick Swayze classic
Aux News Jake Gyllenhaal
Pain don’t hurt, but the passage of time might: Hence the strange sensation that accompanies news this evening that Jake Gyllenhaal is apparently in talks to star in a remake of ’80s bouncer-philosopher classic Road House.
This is per Deadline, which reports that both Gyllenhaal and director Doug Liman are “circling” the film, which would presumably put a modern spin on the Patrick Swayze vehicle, a film that examined the various pros and cons of ripping a dude’s throat out with your bare hands when he pushes you too damn far.
Liman and Gyllenhaal have both worked regularly over the last few years; the director debuted his YA sci-fi adaptation Chaos Walking during the pandemic, and filmed a movie rooted in it, Locked Down, with Anne Hathaway and Chiwetel Ejiofor. (He’s also supposedly going to be filming that movie in space with his old pal Tom Cruise.) Gyllenhaal, meanwhile, starred in The Guilty for Netflix, teaming up with Antoine Fuqua and True Detective’s Nic Pizzolatto.
(Gyllenhall also has a Swayze connection, of course; they co-starred together in Richard Kelly’s 2001 cult hit Donnie Darko, tearing into each other in a memorable scene.)
This is not the first time a Road House remake has been floated: Ronda Rousey was attached to a similar project back in 2015, which was eventually abandoned a year later.
The basic beats of the Rowdy Herrington’s 1989 film are not, admittedly, especially unique: An outsider comes to a small town and cleans it up through a combination of personal strength and overwhelming violence. It’s mostly the weird little details of Road House that have burnt themselves into the collective consciousness: The denim-heavy fashions, the strangely mannered dialogue, and especially the character of James Dalton, a very weird man who has devoted his life (and years of physical and mental training) to ensuring people only get the fun kind of rowdy in bars.
Can Gyllenhaal match it? He’s got the intensity, certainly and his action movie resumé is more than adequate. But a Zen bouncer is a very weird tightrope to walk; we’ll have to wait and see if the actor can master the art of being nice…until it’s time to not be nice.
35 Comments
Nothing is sacred.
Let’s not and say we did. Unless they bring back Sam Elliot. I’ll watch him in anything.(But seriously, what lunatic thought “you know what we need? To take a gloriously trashy and nonsensical movie and make a grounded reboot that will likely ignore every single thing that make the original fun.”)
He died though.
And? This is Sam Elliot we’re talking about. He wouldn’t let a little thing like that stop him.
Sam Elliot is NOT dead. He just has the voice of an angel.
Son of a bitch, I thought you meant Sam Elliott died and I nearly had a heart attack. For that matter, bring Swayze back too.
Oh man, Swayze and Elliot as bouncers to Heaven! I would watch that!
I hadn’t heard about the Rousey thing, either. Thank god cooler heads prevailed on that one – what a disaster in the making.
I’m happy to see it with pretty much anyone other than Jake Gyllenhaal. I find both Gyllenhaals to be just vaguely off-putting. Pretty sure I’m not alone in that, although I don’t know why. But then, I have a phobia of Laura Dern as well.
Her daddy Bruce is okay though? Even if he wanted to murder everyone at a Superbowl.
Jake seems like a nice guy in interviews but then you watch films like Nightcrawler and you begin to wonder how much of that was acting. He’s just really, really good at playing unhinged/damaged people.
Though, I’m sorta inclined to believe that the real celebrity monster has been Tom Hanks the entire time. Dunno why, but it makes sense to me.
The fact that he didn’t get an Oscar nom for that one is completely bewildering. I thought it was the best performance of the year, hands-down.But he’s also got enough loose charm and the physique to play Dalton, so I actually think this could work.
My wife loves him, so I have watched a ton of movies in the past couple years that I normally wouldn’t have watched, and must concede that he’s a hell of a good actor.
I don’t know if he can pull off the part, but at least Gyllenhaal has intensity and physicality. Can’t think of almost anyone else this could work with. At least it’s much better than remaking Point Break with two meatheads nobody ever heard of.
Nobody puts Jakey in a corner.
I can’t wait till he tells a rowdy patron to “Go suck a fuck!”.
I’m okay with it as long as they keep the philosophy degree. There are too many jokes that answer “What use is a degree in philosophy?” with “It makes you a great bouncer” that would be lost otherwise.
But who would Bill Murray call when this version was on TV?
I understood that reference.
Gyllenhaal and Liman are interesting news, but most people will definitely be waiting for the remaining cast announcement. Murray’s rubbing his hands with glee.
I tell my wife that story every time I see it on.
Is that all the gusto you can muster!?
Do we need this? Swayze is what makes the original magic (there are other highlights, but it’s mostly him). When a movie is so dependent on a single star’s charisma to be entertaining I just don’t see remaking it, be it Swayze’s “Roadhouse” or Gyllenhaal’s “Nightcrawler.” It’s too bad they fucked up the “Point Break” and “Red Dawn” remakes because those movies have interesting (if ridiculous) plots. Maybe bring back “Black Dog” if you want to tap the Swayze. I hear there’s a “Dirty Dancing” reboot too, my only hope is they go heavy handed on the pro-choice messaging, you might have to change the location but there are rich resorts in Texas, Mississippi and presumably Ohio.
Swayze is what makes the original magic (there are other highlights, but it’s mostly him). Those other things being, in no particular order: roundhouse kicks, kneecap dislocations, throat-ripping, and a shit-tone of nudity.
Don’t forget extreme violence delivered by taxidermy bear.
Throat ripping? Pfft. The bouncer will go full Jigsaw.
I was trying to explain the movie Pig to someone, but I couldn’t quite get it right. Then I realized it’s like Roadhouse but with Nicholas Cage. Both films have that same “different” reality (not surreal, not alternative… just not our reality). Roadhouse has a famous bouncer who people are in awe of and is the make or break reason a bar is successful. Seriously. It’s like the movie was written by a bouncer. Pig has a similar and just as preposterous main character and situations. Anyway, there’s no need to remake Roadhouse. It won’t work and why mess with perfection.
Alternate reality is right. Literally nothing can be done about ordering your henchman to drive a monster truck through a crowded car dealership in broad daylight? No one’s called the state bureau of investigation over this dude’s behavior??
Is nothing sacred?
Not in this universe, buster!
I’m not going to cry that they’re ruining Road House, because it’s impossible to ruin, but who is this for? People who want Road House to be good? Who the hell wants that?!
Something that I think sometimes gets lost in the “Age appropriate” debate when it comes to casting.
Patrick Swayze did Dirty Dancing and Road House back to back. He was 37 in 1989, which is the year I graduated high school.
95 percent of the girls in my class would have thrown all of us into the Toy Story 3 incinerator for a chance to be with Swayze. Another 4.9 percent would have done it for Sam Elliott. (And there was one who liked the guy who got his throat torn out)
I think Gyllenhaal is a great actor and he’s certainly handsome, but I’m not sure he has that quality.
I really think they should do the Seth McFarlane version instead.
No No No NO NO. No. Stop doing this you dont mess with perfect movies.