joy house movie reviews

Joy House (1964) - Bluray Review

Opening upon a black-and-white vision of the New York city skyline, we are promptly checked into a classy hotel. But it seems that there aren’t too many classy activities going on here as we witness a giant, angered mobster forcing his wife to fess up where her debaucherous actions with the handsome, French playboy Marc, ( Alain Delon ), happened a few nights prior. She fesses up, and the mobster orders Marc’s head. The woman screams, and then we are transported to France where the hunt for Marc’s pretty head begins. While hiding out from these blood-thirsty henchmen in a church, Marc ends up in service to a loaded widow, Barbara ( Lola Albright ) and her cousin/maid, Melinda ( Jane Fonda ), as their live-in chauffer. But anyone with eyes and ears are quickly clued-in to the fact that these good-natured and beautiful women aren’t exactly the angels they appear to be. And the desperate Marc will soon find out the hard way.

Now, there are a lot of things about this pulpy film that would, in theory, make it very good. However, I’m going to be honest with you: I really didn’t care for it. And still…I watched this movie twice. I did this because after watching it the first time, I was actually struck by my negative feelings towards it. There are a lot of things to like. The opening hooks you, the story and the twists are clever, and there is no doubt that director Ren  Clément has a very strong visual vocabulary that is very nicely complimented by Henri Decaë ’s beautiful black-and-white photography. But! There are many of things in this film that don’t work for me.

And then there is Delon . In Joy House , he isn’t exactly the calm and cool professional that he’s famous for. And by all accounts, it is fine, even great, to see him express his acting range. But there is something off about this performance. Maybe it’s the dialogue, maybe it’s the inflections from his French accent, or maybe it is something else I cannot quite put my finger on. But in this, his performance is, for lack of a better word, stiff.

Like I said, there are lots of things that could make this film very good, but it boils down to bad execution. It has the makings of a good thriller, but just presents itself as sort of odd. It feels like it is a film that could not get a full grasp on what tone it wanted. But hey, maybe it’s just me! Maybe the tone is just something that I cannot fully comprehend. Who knows? And to me, the best parts about this film are the very beginning and the very end. A great hook of an opener and a clever, full-circle closer that is shockingly satisfying to a degree. But those two things do not save the picture.

Joy House is now available on Blu Ray courtesy of Kino Lorber .

Home Video Distributor: Kino Lorber Available on Blu-ray - May 30, 2023 Screen Formats: 2.35:1 Subtitles : English SDH Language: French Discs: Blu-ray Disc; single disc Region Encoding: Locked to Region A

A scorching love triangle ignites between the iconic Jane Fonda ( Klute , Coming Home ), sultry Lola Albright ( Kid Galahad , Lord Love a Duck ) and Alain Delon ( The Sicilian Clan , Un Flic ) in René Clément ’s Joy House ( Les Félins ). Delon stars as Marc, a dashing young con man on the run from the mob. After seeking refuge in the Riviera villa of the widowed Barbara ( Albright ) and her curvaceous cousin, Melinda ( Fonda ), Marc becomes trapped in the passionate snares of both women, who are full of sinister surprises. A neglected masterpiece from director René Clément ( Forbidden Games , Is Paris Burning? , Rider on the Rain , And Hope to Die ), Joy House weaves a wicked web of hidden desires and all-too-human corruptions. Lalo Schifrin ( Coogan’s Bluff ) provides the eerie musical score; Henri Decaë ( Le Samouraï ) serves up the sumptuous cinematography.

Pretty much everything about the new 2K Restoration by Gaumont is quite good. There are no noticeable scratches, dirt, or other imperfections to be found. Though the film doesn’t always take full advantage of the black-and-white stylistic lighting that it could have, the greyscale looks well-balanced to give the film a nice, bright, and natural feel.

Including both the English and French audio tracks, music, dialogue, and sound effects come in crystal clear with no buzzing or pops to be noticed. The only slight issue I found with the audio is that seem to be a couple points where a line or two gets dropped out during a transition. But it only occurs a couple times, so it isn’t really that much of an issue.

Supplements:

Similar to a lot of the other low-key films that are getting a new release, the special features are mainly confined to a number of trailers and some thoughtful and intelligent commentary from film scholars. It’s not much, but definitely appreciated and very educational for those interested to hear more about the film and film history.

Commentary :

• NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historians Howard S. Berger and Nathaniel Thompson

Special Features:

• Theatrical Trailers

MPAA Rating: Runtime: 105 mins Director : René Clément Writer: René Clément; Pascal Jardin; Charles Williams Cast: Alain Delon; Jane Fonda; Lola Albright Genre : Drama Tagline: Memorable Movie Quote: Theatrical Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) Official Site: https://kinolorber.com/product/joy-house-1 Release Date: November 1964 DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: May 30, 2022 Synopsis : A petty criminal seeks refuge in a house owned by two wealthy American women.

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‘Joy House’ Blu-Ray Review – An Evolving Depiction Of Lust And Moral Corruption

• By Dillon Gonzales
• June 7, 2023
• No Comments

A scorching love triangle ignites between the iconic Jane Fonda (Klute, Coming Home), sultry Lola Albright (Kid Galahad, Lord Love a Duck) and Alain Delon (The Sicilian Clan, Un Flic) in René Clément’s Joy House (Les Félins). Delon stars as Marc, a dashing young con man on the run from the mob. After seeking refuge in the Riviera villa of the widowed Barbara (Albright) and her curvaceous cousin, Melinda (Fonda), Marc becomes trapped in the passionate snares of both women, who are full of sinister surprises. A neglected masterpiece from director René Clément (Forbidden Games, Is Paris Burning?, Rider on the Rain, And Hope to Die), Joy House weaves a wicked web of hidden desires and all-too-human corruptions. Lalo Schifrin ( Coogan’s Bluff ) provides the eerie musical score; Henri Decaë (Le Samouraï) serves up the sumptuous cinematography.

For thoughts on Joy House, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

Video Quality

Kino Classics presents Joy House with a really strong Blu-Ray in 2.39:1 from a new 2K restoration conducted by Gaumont that brings the film to life favorably. The picture has a few stray moments of softness, but the gorgeous black-and-white photography is well saturated with firm contrast and shadow detail. Black levels hold up well with very little in the way of crush. This transfer retains the natural film grain of the presentation with only minor instances of it seeming overly thick. Instances of print damage such as nicks and lines still occasionally pop up, but there is no mistaking that there has been significant cleanup and overall clarity and detail is robust. The presentation is quite enjoyable throughout most of the runtime with image stability and delineation being handled well. Kino Classics has delivered this one with flair. 

Audio Quality

The Blu-Ray comes with a DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track in both English and French that serves this film really well. Although this is a French production, most of the performers did perform in English, even the native French speaker Alain Delon self-consciously speaking the foreign tongue. That being said, there are performers who were dubbed in English that spoke French, and many do consider the French track the original track, so it is good that audiences have an option for which version they prefer. It should be noted that the French track still contains some lines in English. 

Neither track shows major age related wear and tear such as hissing or popping. Dialogue and background noises are balanced with all competing elements. The sound effects and music appear to be faithful to the intent of the creative team. The fidelity of the Lalo Schifrin score and the way it complements the narrative is very effective. Thankfully, nothing ever overpowers the dialogue or other important information. You could not ask for better from Kino Classics. There are optional English and English SDH subtitles included for the feature film.

• Audio Commentary: Film Historians Howard S. Berger and Nathaniel Thompson provide a very informative commentary track in which they discuss the different audio tracks, how this fits into the career of the performers, the work of director René Clément, the tone of the narrative and much more. 
• Trailers: The three-and-a-half minute trailer for Joy House is provided here. There are also trailers provided for Diabolically Yours, Farewell Friend, The Girl On A Motorcycle , The Sicilian Clan, The Widow Couderc, Un Flic, Armageddon, Coming Home, Lord Love A Duck, Rider On The Rain and And Hope To Die. 

Final Thoughts

Joy House is a film that feels somewhat regressive at points until it reveals its true nature. The evolution of the narrative is very satisfying as the characters illuminate more of their personalities. There are elements in the plotting that feel a bit slow and plodding, but the performers usually smooth over the rough spots. While Alain Delon may have the spotlight, it is the women, and Jane Fonda in particular, who command the show. Kino Classics has released a new Blu-Ray featuring a pleasing A/V presentation and a worthy commentary track. You should check this out if you have a soft spot for these performers. Recommended 

Joy House is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray and DVD. 

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Kino Classics has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.

Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.

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1964 ‘Les Félins’ Directed by René Clément

The Women of the "Joy House" Allowed Him Every Freedom...Except the Freedom to Leave!

A small-time con man on the run from the gangster-husband of his girlfriend hides out in a strange, brooding mansion run by two mysterious women, where he finds himself trapped in deception between the two women.

Alain Delon Jane Fonda Lola Albright Sorrell Booke Carl Studer André Oumansky George Gaynes Annette Poivre Berett Arcaya Marc Mazza Jacques Bézard Jean-Pierre Honoré Georges Douking Del Negro Arthur Howard

Director Director

René Clément

Assistant Director Asst. Director

Costa-Gavras

Producer Producer

Jacques Bar

Writers Writers

René Clément Pascal Jardin Charles Williams

Original Writer Original Writer

Editor editor.

Fedora Zincone

Cinematography Cinematography

Henri Decaë

Production Design Production Design

Composer composer.

Lalo Schifrin

Sound Sound

Antoine Bonfanti

Costume Design Costume Design

Pierre Balmain

Makeup Makeup

Aïda Carange

Hairstyling Hairstyling

Alex Archambault Jacques Dessange

Cité Films Compagnie Internationale de Productions Cinématographiques (CIPRA)

Primary Language

Spoken languages.

English French

Releases by Date

12 jun 1964, 27 aug 1964, 01 nov 1964, 03 jun 2020, releases by country.

• Theatrical TP
• Physical DVD & Blu-Ray
• Theatrical 12
• Theatrical NR

97 mins   More at IMDb TMDb Report this page

Popular reviews

Review by Slig001 ★★★★½ 2

It would seem that a lot of people don't like this film. I don't understand why. I've always loved it. Joy House is pure pulp fiction - red herrings, an awkward love triangle and some outrageous twists. It's all so slick too! Alain Delon is a playboy on the run. His salvation comes in the form of two angels dressed in black who whisk him away to a fairytale castle - and that's where his real troubles begin! Everything about this film is so ambiguous - it's never clear where it's going, but the set up is presented so well that it's easy to buy in to whatever is in store. Much of the intrigue comes from the characters -…

Review by D Rock ★★★

Fromage-y thriller from René Clément, essentially a lighter-weight, less-successful counterpart to Plein Soleil, Clément’s masterpiece in the genre, produced four years earlier.

In this Delon plays a rascal-y playboy on the run on the Côte d’Azur from an angry American mobster whose squeeze he has… squeezed. But he falls into the clutches of a pair of beautiful, mysterious women (Lola Albright and Jane Fonda) living alone in a seaside villa, both of whom have designs on him, in more ways than one if you catch my drift.

These two telegraph their not-quite-rightness from the very start, you’d have to be an idiot not to see they’re trouble. Delon’s not an idiot, but he also needs a place to hide, and…

Review by Joe ★★★★ 2

"The only people who really dug that movie, for some reason, were junkies. They used to come up to me and give me a big wink." - Jane Fonda on this movie.

Visually stunning even before it hits a level of preposterous-ness that forces you to assess it beyond face value, and to be honest I don't really know what all is hiding in this particular attic - check out those eye lights, though.

Review by noir1946 ★★★½ 2

“I want you to go to Europe and get him.” “Europe’s a big place.”

Rene Clement and Al Delon just stopped by Chateau Noir tother day to chat about how purple noon can be. They had such a swell time, they came by again to spread some joy about the house.

A New York gangster (George Gaynes) discovers his wife (Berett Arcaya) has been playing rumpy-pumpy with Marc (Al Delon) and sets his thugs after the Frenchman. Escaping them, Marc takes refuge in the Riviera villa of two strange—make that tres strange—American women, cousins Barbara (Lola Albright) and Melinda (Jane Fonda). Barbara’s hubby had been killed two years earlier by her lover, Vincent (Andre Oumansky), who remains at large. Marc,…

Review by ClinTarantino ★★★★ 1

„You can check out any time you like but you can never leave“ 

Joy house feels like hotel California and just is another wonderful little film of clement who once again knows how to setup a young Alain delon. 

Near the Magnificent and very stylish score  the supporting cast with a young Jane Fonda could totally shine. A fast pacing and a twisted finale makes this to one of the easiest watches of delons filmography.

Review by hiruko ★★★★★ 3

“John! Here comes the patsy!”

Lalo Schifrin delivers some hard boppin’ jazz score to this stylish, cool and twisted film by René Clément. Alain Delon is a lover boy on the run from some relentless and sadistic pursuers, finding refuge as a hired chauffeur to a beautiful rich widow and her sexy maid. Sexual tensions ensue in this nouveau noir with enough oddness to be a spiritual companion to the likes of Sunset Boulevard. 

Sorrell Booke (Boss Hogg) plays one of the henchmen whose sole role is to photograph the crimes they commit. 

“Hey you! Frenchie!” “ I’m not French. I’m Corsican, like Napoleon.” “Well that’s not your fault.”

Review by nora ★★ 5

this mostly sucks and i only watched it bc i wanted to see jane fonda and alain delon together but all of their interactions made me angry so this was a bust. alain delon running around in a pilot uniform almost makes up for how shit this is but like...not quite.

( 9/10 from 1964 )

Review by AJ ★★★

Twisty French noir-thriller with a very fun premise, but it never quite pulls it off completely. I get that some would like that it has so much going on that we never delve into, but in thrillers like this where there are as many red herrings as there can possibly be, I'd like a bit more explanation. Still jazzy, still a hardcore ending, still fun.

Jane Fonda #23

Review by Scott Kelly ★★★½ 1

This twisty thriller shot in black and white and 'scope reunites the Purple Noon crew of Alain Delon , Rene Clement , DP Henri Decaë and the scenic Côte d'Azur. A stylish gothic neo-noir where the convoluted plot is half the fun. The highly compelling pre-credit sequence and the opening scenes involving American gangsters are basically red herrings, little more than a plot mechanism to get the caddish anti-hero played by Delon into a hillside mansion hideout and into the clutches of an enigmatic and sexy pair of ladies played by Lola Albright and Jane Fonda (both are great). Is this fetching duo lonely, crazy, sex starved, or homicidal? Whatever the case it becomes increasingly clear that they will end up aiding and abetting the comeuppance of Delon's cocksure womanizer. The jazzy Lalo Schifrin score is first rate, accenting an already super cool nouvelle vague vibe. Surprised this film doesn't have much of a reputation, it's a real kick.

Review by angela ★★★½

jane fonda should absolutely be allowed to do that

Review by penny lane ★★★★ 1

This was really hard to find and I did not expect to like it so but this really came as a surprise to me. This René Clément film is an underrated gem in the thriller genre. With stunning visuals by Henri Dacaë, ace performances by Alain Delon, Jane Fonda, and Lola Albright accompanied by that swinging score? this was a package!

I also have got to mention the stunt scenes with Delon here. Seriously, the amount of times he almost got ran over by a vehicle here were sending me quivers. And dang Jane Fonda, if I were to choose between a mansion in the French Riviera and Alain Delon, I'd also definitely choose both! lol

Review by maya ★★★½ 1

there will never be a man just as beautiful as alain delon

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JOY HOUSE (1964) – Blu-ray Review

Alain Delon and Jane Fonda bring sexy Intrigue home in René Clément crime film

DIRECTED BY RENÉ CLÉMENT/FRENCH, ENGLISH/1964

BLU-RAY STREET DATE: MAY 30, 2023/KL STUDIO CLASSICS

For quite a few years, Alain Delon and Jane Fonda have been on my list of favorite actors, two of the most visually ravishing and effortlessly beguiling screen performers of the latter 20 th century, and they’ve kept at their chosen professions well into this new millennium as well.  Little did I know, until it popped up on the Kino Lorber upcoming releases list, that they were once paired up in a film together, both in the full bloom of their youth, and guided by the venerable directorial hand of a great French master, René Clément. The year was 1964, and the film was Les Félins , a.k.a. Joy House , which is the title that it’s best known as in the USA. Those top line credits grabbed my attention, and I’m happy to report that this movie surpassed even my enhanced expectations.

I have a few thoughts to share in the short video clip I made (view it below), so I won’t go into great detail here, but here are some aspects of the recent Kino Lorber release that stand out in my memory after having first watched it five weeks ago:

·       Delon and Fonda are both so captivating in their roles, and Lola Albright easily won me over to earn her #3 billing. The trio wind up in a twisty love triangle as a petty crook on the run from some vengeful mobsters evades his pursuers by taking up residence with a pair of gorgeous, wealthy, and eccentric women who live in luxury but regard themselves as benevolent missionaries to the dregs of society. These three characters are the main attraction in every way, but there’s a lot more to enjoy than merely the sexy interplay of the leads.

·       The film score by Lalo Schifrin (probably best known for the original theme music for the Mission Impossible TV series – he also scored Bullitt , Dirty Harry and much more) is wonderful, and stands on its own as a listening experience. The soundtrack album should be available on most streaming services.

·       If René Clément is much thought about these days, it’s probably because he directed Purple Noon , Delon’s star-making role. But he really was a very talented director and Joy House offers a lot of satisfaction simply as a very clever, surprising, and well-constructed action/romance/comedy/thriller. This is high quality entertainment, early-60s style.

·       Overall, this feels like a movie that’s been unfairly forgotten and has a strong chance of forging a positive bond with viewers who might find themselves as surprised as I was that I’d never heard about this movie before, even though it contains so many elements that I like.

·       There is a commentary track by a couple film historians who delivered sufficiently interesting anecdotes and insights to justify giving it a listen, but I don’t have any special takeaways to report. When I pop in the Joy House disc once again, it will be for the purpose of simply revisiting a newly favored comfort film. 

• The A.V. Club
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Where to Watch

Alain Delon (Marc Borel) Jane Fonda (Melinda) Lola Albright (Barbara Hill) Carl Studer (Loftus) Sorrell Booke (Harry) André Oumansky (Vincent) Arthur Howard (Father Nielson) George Gaynes (Mac Kee - the mob boss) Annette Poivre (Employee) Berett Arcaya (Diana) Marc Mazza (The Corsican) Jacques Bézard (Napoleon) Jean-Pierre Honoré (Schneider) Georges Douking (Le clochard) Del Negro (Mick)

René Clément

A petty criminal seeks refuge in a house owned by two wealthy American women.

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Joy house blu-ray review.

Joy House (1964)

Genre(s): Suspense/Thriller Kino Lorber| NR – 97 min. – $29.95 | May 23, 2023

Date Published: 06/09/2023 | Author: The Movieman

Kino Lorber provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post. The opinions I share are my own.

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Joy House Reviews

Alain Delon remains a success story I fail to comprehend.

Full Review | Mar 16, 2020

Though Joy House, with its pyramid of tricks, chases, surprises, secret panels - the lot - never quite thinks to poke the finger of fun at itself, viewers make no such mistake.

Full Review | Feb 5, 2020

Full of hooey.

Full Review | Original Score: C+ | Jul 27, 2015

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Jul 15, 2005

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Feb 20, 2004

Full Review | Original Score: 82/100 | Sep 26, 2002

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

• Top Ten Lists
• Post author: eenableadmin
• Post published: August 5, 2019
• Post category: Uncategorized

JOY HOUSE (LES FELINS)

(director/writer: Rene Clement ; screenwriters: Pascal Jardin/Charles Williams/based on the novel by Day Keene ; cinematographer: Henri Decaë ; editor: Fedora Zincone; music: Lalo Schifrin; cast: Jane Fonda ( Melinda ), Alain Delon (Marc), Lola Albright (Barbara), Carl Studer (Leftus), Sorrel Booke (Harry), Andre Oumansky (Vincent), Arthur Howard (Rev. Nielson) ; Runtime: 98; MPAA Rating: NR; producer: Jacques Bar ; MGM; 1964)

“F ull of hooey.”

Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz

A steamy drama written and directed by the esteemed French filmmaker Rene Clement (“The Damned”/”Purple Noon”/”Forbidden Games”), that’s full of hooey. It’s based on the novel by Day Keene. Co-writers are Pascal Jardin and Charles Williams. If nothing else, it at least cleverly blends together French and American styles.

Small-town con artist and lover boy, Marc ( Alain Delon ), is on the run in the French Rivera from an American gangster. He escapes a hit in Monte Carlo and then while in a flophouse soup line the derelict manages to get a chauffeur gig for the mansion living American widowed Barbara ( Lola Albright ) and her sexy American cousin Melinda (Jane Fonda). We soon learn that Barbara’s hubby was bumped off by her lover Vincent ( Andre Oumansky ), who hides in the attic. The scheming widow is hoping the authorities will think Marc is her lover and therefore arrest him instead of her real boyfriend. Complications arise when the blackmailing Melinda falls for Marc.

If ever a title was wrongly named, this is the one.

REVIEWED ON 7/24/2015 GRADE: C+

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Joy House Movie Review Summary

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Yearning to watch ' Joy House ' on your TV, phone, or tablet? Finding a streaming service to buy, rent, download, or watch the René Clément-directed movie via subscription can be tricky, so we here at Moviefone want to do the heavy lifting. Below, you'll find a number of top-tier streaming and cable services - including rental, purchase, and subscription alternatives - along with the availability of 'Joy House' on each platform when they are available. Now, before we get into all the details of how you can watch 'Joy House' right now, here are some details about the Cité Films Compagnie Internationale de Productions Cinématographiques CIPRA thriller flick. Released November 1st, 1964, 'Joy House' stars Alain Delon , Jane Fonda , Lola Albright , Sorrell Booke The NR movie has a runtime of about 1 hr 37 min, and received a user score of 66 (out of 100) on TMDb, which assembled reviews from 69 well-known users. You probably already know what the movie's about, but just in case... Here's the plot: "A smalltime con man on the run from the gangsterhusband of his girlfriend hides out in a strange brooding mansion run by two mysterious women where he finds himself trapped in deception between the two women" 'Joy House' is currently available to rent, purchase, or stream via subscription on Apple iTunes, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, and YouTube .

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Alain Delon

Lola Albright

Sorrell Booke

Carl Studer

• Average 6.3

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© 1964 Kino Lorber

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Joy House (Les Felins) [DVD]

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Product Description

Also Includes Added Bonus: French language version of Joy House ("Les Félins) with optional English subtitles

Besides showcasing Barbarella-era Jane Fonda in one of her sexiest roles, Réné Clément’s thriller Joy House offers enough psychological suspense to count as horror. In it, Marc (Alain Délon of Purple Noon) agrees to indentured servitude to two women, Melinda (Jane Fonda) and her Aunt Barbara (Lola Albright) who hide him from police following a crime he has committed. Though the ladies appear from the outset to have renounced corruption for a life of monastic charity, their catfights over Marc result in his being trapped inside their castle, glamorously located in the French Riviera. The harder he tries to escape, the more he realizes he is trapped in the web woven by these two spider-like villainesses. Joy House’s suspense is wrapped in elegance. The stars, its settings, and the film’s score by Lalo Schifrin lifts it out of the B-movie, Hammer-film haunted house tale category. Like so many classic horror movies, most of the action takes place in a grand chateau, allowing Joy House to revel in its sense of claustrophobia. This recalls Mario Bava films, such as Black Sabbath and Hatchet for the Honeymoon , though the sexual tension implicit to Joy House is more akin to Jean Rollin’s movies, which focus as much on physical attraction as impending death. It also recalls Mommie Dearest or All About Eve , in which an elderly female competes with the younger for attention. Mirrored closet doors and reflective furniture throughout the mansion, as well as car rear-views, emphasize deception thematically in an especially Giallo way. However, there is zero gore here, and this film shies away from direct violence in favor of the implied, which is more in line with its sexually deviant undertow. -- Trinie Dalton

Product details

• Aspect Ratio ‏ : ‎ 2.35:1
• Is Discontinued By Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ No
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ Unrated (Not Rated)
• Package Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.5 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches; 2.4 ounces
• Director ‏ : ‎ René Clément
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ DVD, Black & White, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC, Dolby
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 37 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ August 5, 2008
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Jane Fonda, Alain Delon, Lola Albright
• Subtitles: ‏ : ‎ English
• Studio ‏ : ‎ Koch Lorber Films
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00199PPB0
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
• #3,552 in Foreign Films (Movies & TV)
• #10,124 in Mystery & Thrillers (Movies & TV)
• #30,862 in Drama DVDs

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Joy Mangano is the humble-roots woman who became an industry of household inventions (mainly, the Miracle Mop, although she holds over 100 patents)—not an obvious choice for a biopic. Perhaps only director David O. Russell could see the potential in it, boosted by his fascination with Jennifer Lawrence , who plays Mangano. 

“Joy” demands that the audience become emotionally invested in a mop. It’s ridiculous. “Joy” doesn’t work entirely, and the structure set up so clearly in the opening sequence is dropped early on for no apparent reason, but I’ll be damned if I didn’t get carried away at the story of a mop sweeping the nation. It’s a lunatic “Mildred Pierce," without the murder. 

“Joy” starts as a fable about a little girl who liked to make things, narrated in an epic tone by her loving grandmother Mimi ( Diane Ladd ). The narration is so strong at the start, that it’s noticeable when it disappears. It feels sloppy as opposed to deliberate. Diane Ladd, set up as the crucial “witness” to her granddaughter’s hidden gifts, vanishes for the majority of the film. It’s not clear why. When Mimi’s narration returns, you had forgotten that it was used as a device in the first place. It’s an interruption rather than a continuation. “Joy” makes its way forward through stylistic stops and starts. It can’t settle down.

Joy doesn’t see herself the way her grandmother sees her: she derailed her life early by marrying a Tom Jones wannabe ( Édgar Ramírez , in a hilarious and surprisingly touching performance), having two kids with him, getting divorced but then remaining friends. Now she lives in a rickety house with her entire extended family, including her ex-husband who hangs out in the basement in a tuxedo singing 1970s power-ballads into a microphone. Her mother ( Virginia Madsen ) lies in her bed all day watching soap operas. (Real soap opera stars, Susan Lucci, Laura Wright, Donna Mills , appear in re-creations, an entertaining device that is not developed, similar to the voiceover). Joy’s father (played by Robert De Niro ) shows up at the door one day, thrown out of the house by his new wife, needing a place to stay. Meanwhile, the grandmother peeks around corners whispering inspirational thoughts at her harried granddaughter. 

One day, Joy draws a picture with her daughter’s crayons of a revolutionary mop. She hits up her dad’s new rich girlfriend Trudy (Isabella Rosselini) for the cash to start up a small business. But, Joy has no luck selling her new invention. Enter Bradley Cooper as Neil Walker, a slick, soft-talking executive producer at QVC. Neil looks upon Joy as an amateur-hour open-mike-night kind of inventor; he decides to give her a shot on television. To increase her inventory, Joy hastily sets up an assembly line in her father’s body shop. Along the way, she deals with sketchy manufacturers, Trudy's increasingly angry-mogul demands about her investment, and the very real urgency that her house is falling apart and she can’t afford a plumber. 

“Joy” features chaotic family scenes with the let-the-camera-find-the-action quality familiar from Russell’s other family comedies like “The Silver Linings Playbook,” “Flirting with Disaster,” “ I Heart Huckabees ” and sections of “ The Fighter ,” with the scowling rogues gallery of practically identical sisters like something out of a fairy-tale. They make for the funniest scenes in “Joy"—De Niro smashing knick-knacks, Ramirez throwing in comments from off-screen, Madsen wailing like a martyr from her day-bed, and Ladd whispering New Age-y encouragement. These scenes have real energy. One shot is so funny (the camera moving down the basement stairs into the ex-husband’s lair) that it’s a reminder of what inventive camerawork can achieve. 

Russell has directed Jennifer Lawrence three times now (“ Silver Linings Playbook ,” “ American Hustle ,” and now “Joy”), and once to an Oscar (her first, for "Silver Linings Playbook"). The “Hunger Games” franchise is so enormous that it’s sometimes easy to forget “Winter’s Bone," which brought Lawrence to a wide audience (as well as her first Oscar nod). In “Winter’s Bone” she brought a naturalism and a gravitas far beyond her years. Her public persona is entertaining in an old-fashioned way: she would have killed on Johnny Carson, in the way Burt Reynolds used to kill in his appearances. Late-night talk shows and press conferences feature so many obedient performers plugging their project that Lawrence’s appearances seem even more anarchic than they already are. In this way, she’s reminiscent of Carole Lombard , a glittering natural comedienne onscreen, and a trash-talking sailor off-screen. David O. Russell taps into that,. Perhaps, even most importantly, he saw that potential in Lawrence in the first place.

Being obsessed with your lead actress is sometimes seen as a director playing Svengali or Henry Higgins, or evidence that the director has lost his “objectivity” (as though objectivity is the mark of a good director.) But so much richness has come out of that kind of obsession. Josef von Sternberg was so obsessed with Marlene Dietrich that he introduced her to the world. Howard Hawks was so invested in his imaginary ideal woman (insolent, feminine but not soft) that he plucked Lauren Bacall out of obscurity and gave her the lead role opposite Humphrey Bogart in “To Have and Have Not,” one of the most extraordinary screen debuts in cinema history. Woody Allen ’s partnership with Diane Keaton cemented her position as an awkward leading lady. Christian Petzold ’s films with Nina Hoss have been one of the most important contemporary collaborations, highlighting what Nina Hoss can do as an actress (which is everything). David O. Russell’s obsession with Lawrence is similar. He sees her in a way other directors hadn’t. He got how funny she was. He saw her Classic Leading Lady potential, even though she has been too young for almost all of the parts he has cast her in (true of “Joy” as well, where she has to age 20 years). 

When Lawrence, as Joy, stands on the brightly lit QVC stage, frozen in fear at the cameras, and then gathers herself together to rant about her Miracle Mop, the conviction in the monologue is so strong that an organic flush actually rises in Lawrence’s cheeks. Joy’s mop, and its potential, make her emotional, and that emotion translates because Lawrence herself believes in it so strongly. There are similar sequences: Joy letting off steam at a makeshift shooting range, and a standoff scene in a Texas hotel. The final moment shows Lawrence walking towards the camera in slo-mo, her chopped hair bouncing in her face, putting on her hip sunglasses. The moment goes on forever, but Russell can’t get enough of it. As Pauline Kael said of Barbra Streisand in her review of “ Funny Girl ”:

“ In life, fantastically gifted people, people who are driven, can be too much to handle; they can be a pain. In plays, in opera, they’re divine, and on the screen, where they can be seen in their perfection, and where we’re even safer from them, they’re more divine. ”

“Joy” is pretty ridiculous, and there are long sections of it that don’t work. It’s obviously a star vehicle for Lawrence, but if anyone deserves a vehicle, she does.

Sheila O'Malley

Sheila O'Malley received a BFA in Theatre from the University of Rhode Island and a Master's in Acting from the Actors Studio MFA Program. Read her answers to our Movie Love Questionnaire here .

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Film credits.

Rated PG-13 for brief strong language.

124 minutes

Jennifer Lawrence as Joy Mangano

Diane Ladd as Mimi

Virginia Madsen as Carrie

Robert De Niro as Rudy

Bradley Cooper as Neil Walker

Dascha Polanco as Jackie

Edgar Ramírez as Tony Miranne

Elisabeth Röhm as Peggy

Isabella Rossellini as Trudy

• David O. Russell
• Annie Mumolo

Director of Photography

• Linus Sandgren
• Alan Baumgarten
• Jay Cassidy
• Christopher Tellefsen

Production Design

• Judy Becker

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‘Road House’ Is One Bloody-Knuckled Joy Ride of a Remake

• By David Fear

You remember Road House, right? The 1989 movie where Patrick Swayze is a professional New York City bouncer imported to Missouri to work at the most raucous road house bar in the Show Me State? The kind of film in which the hero does tai chi, reads philosophy and coos Zen koans like “Pain don’t hurt,” and the bad guy utters bon mots like, “I used to fuck guys like you in prison?” (It was a different time.) Direct by the appropriately named Rowdy Harrington, this finely aged slice of cinematic Velveeta remains the perfect action flick to watch on basic cable at 3am, features what’s easily Swayze’s best grace-under-pressure performance, and wins the award for Best ’80s Hair in a Motion Picture in the same decade that gave us Valley Girl, Working Girl and Labyrinth.

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Because that guy is Elwood Dalton, former UFC heavyweight and current man without a fixed address. He’s never ripped anyone’s throat out, but Dalton did kill an opponent during a bout once upon a time, and now he makes his living by letting his reputation do the heavy lifting. Jake Gyllenhaal is the type of movie star who tends toward two speeds: leading man with haunted look and solid jaw, and wonderfully self-conscious eccentric. (See: Okja, Velvet Buzzsaw, parts of Ambulance, this seven-minute masterpiece .) When you’re really lucky, you get a performance that combines both, and the mix here is about a 75/25 split. The minute he wearily shows up and displays a torso that suggests he’s done hard time in a Crunch Fitness, you’re reminded why he’s someone you regularly cast as an emotionally bruised bruiser. Then, when he gets shivved in the parking lot and starts performing amateur surgery on himself, you get a quick glimpse of who we call Weird Jake. It’s a hint of what Road House 2.0’s name above the title does throughout the film — tough-guy-who’s-seen-too-much upfront, party in the back.

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That first stand-off in the parking lot of the road house — named Road House, because what else would you call the joint? — telegraphs the tone that Liman and Gyllenhaal want to establish. The bar’s staff ranges from a daffy bartender (B.K. Cannon) to an apprentice bouncer ( Lukas Gage ). A band is always playing some of sort of tropically flavored version of a blues, zydeco, gospel and/or rock staple behind a wire fence onstage. Dalton exudes the confidence of a person who understands how do maximum damage yet doesn’t jump into the fray until he has to, and even then, he escorts the gang into the parking lot. One biker, played by the movie’s designated scene-stealer Arturo Castro, keeps a dim-witted running commentary. And then, when Dalton does spring into action, its a hyperkinetic mixed-martial-arts melee that’s a blur and an adrenaline rush. You suddenly remember that Liman was the man calling the shots behind both the casual comic rapport of Swingers (1996) and the close-combat sequences in The Bourne Identity (2002). The humor is deadpan and the fights feel deadly in a way that channels a very 21st century, post- John Wick style of snap, crackle and pow.

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One last thing: This was the opening night selection of this year’s SXSW Film Festival , and regardless of whether you love this fest or find it to be obnoxious, it really was the perfect place to premiere this remake of an ’80s favorite. Horror, comedy and action movies tend to play to extremely overenthusiastic crowds down here, which describes Road House to a tee (re: the first category, let’s just say there’s a crocodile put on the mantle on Act One that definitely goes off later in the proceedings). It will also be one of the few times someone would be able to see this crowd-pleasing film in the manner in which it was meant to be consumed, a point that’s been one of several controversies dogging the picture and of particular consternation to its director. Doug Liman called out MGM/Amazon for punting this straight to streaming and said he was boycotting the premiere. Yet he was there last night in the audience, if not onstage basking in the post-screening glory. It’s great to think he got to experience the reaction to what he made. As for the movie’s distributors, we’re begging you: Please reconsider giving this a theatrical run. To paraphrase a wise man, don’t be too stupid to keep moviegoers from having a good time. ( Full disclosure: In 2021, Rolling Stone’s parent company, P-MRC,  acquired a 50 percent stake  in the SXSW festival. )

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Bill Nighy, James Norton, and Thomasin MacKenzie Pioneer IVF in First 'Joy' Teaser

The film is based on a true story.

The Big Picture

• Netflix film Joy depicts the triumphant true story of the pioneers behind the world's first test-tube baby.
• The movie delves into the perseverance and scientific breakthroughs of a trio overcoming challenges in the field of IVF.
• Joy follows the journey of the scientists, including nurse and embryologist Jean Purdy, in making medical history.

IVF has been a godsend to couples struggling to conceive, but many people never think about where it began. A new teaser trailer for an upcoming Netflix film called Joy traces the early days of IVF as a trio of Britons set out to do something unheard of. The film stars Bill Nighy as Patrick Steptoe, James Norton as Robert Edwards and Thomasin McKenzie as Jean Purdy. Jean—a young nurse and embryologist—joins scientists Patrick and Robert as they try to unravel a long-hidden mystery surrounding infertility.

The film's official logline reads: Joy tells the remarkable true story behind the ground-breaking birth of Louise Joy Brown in 1978, the world’s first ‘test-tube- baby,’ and the tireless 10-year journey to make it possible. Told through the perspective of Jean Purdy, a young nurse and embryologist, who joined forces with scientist Robert Edwards and surgeon Patrick Steptoe to unlock the puzzle of infertility by pioneering in vitro fertilization (IVF). The film celebrates the power of perseverance and the wonders of science as it follows this maverick trio of visionaries who overcame tremendous odds and opposition to realize their dream, and in doing so allowed millions of people to dream with them.

The trailer opens with Jean recruiting the two scientists and makes it clear that what she's proposed would not work without them. The scientists are on board as Patrick reiterates the work's importance. New medical procedures are usually met with skepticism, especially when they deal with a topic as sensitive as reproduction, and if that's true today, the reality in the late 1900s was much more stark. The trailer promises ups and downs for the trio. The procedure is bound to raise eyebrows, especially with the press who way lay the pioneers seeking a story. The trailer ends on a positive note as they hold little Louise Joy Brown in their hands with huge smiles plastered on their faces.

Who Is Behind 'Joy'?

The amazing story comes from Jack Thorne and Rachel Mason , a real-life couple who did seven rounds of IVF. They wrote the screenplay, which Ben Taylor directed. Thorne teased the story and what the characters would go through, saying:

“It’s set between 1968 to 1978 and it’s a story of three people who worked together despite the whole world being against them to try and bring up the story of infertility. And we tell the story of the three of them. There’s Robert Edwards, who’s a scientist, Jean Purdy who works with him and who has never been given the credit for this that she deserves and hopefully, this film resets that slightly. And Patrick Steptoe, who’s the surgeon and they don’t get any support from the Medical Research Council. They get abused in the press, they get abused by other people and they fight on, and it eventually results in the birth of Louise Joy Brown. ”

There is no release date set for the film yet. Watch the teaser above.

Joy Teaser Trailer Previews Netflix Drama About First IVF Treatment

By Maggie Dela Paz

Netflix has released the Joy teaser trailer for its upcoming historical drama starring Last Night in Soho’s Thomasin McKenzie as one of the pioneers of IVF treatment.

The video highlights the story behind the birth of the world’s first IVF baby. The film is expected to make its debut sometime this year.

Check out the Joy teaser trailer below ( watch more trailers ):

What is Joy about?

“It tells the remarkable true story behind the groundbreaking birth of Louise Joy Brown in 1978, the world’s first ‘test-tube-baby,’ and the tireless 10-year journey to make it possible,” reads the synopsis. “Told from the perspective of Jean Purdy, a young nurse and embryologist who joined forces with scientist Robert Edwards and surgeon Patrick Steptoe to unlock the puzzle of infertility by pioneering in vitro fertilization (IVF), the film celebrates the power of perseverance and the wonders of science as it follows this maverick trio of visionaries who overcame tremendous odds and opposition to realize their dream and, in doing so, allowed millions of people to dream with them.”

Joy is directed by Ben Taylor from screenplay written by Jack Thorne, based on a story by Rachel Mason. The film will be led by McKenzie as Jean Purdy, Bill Nighy as Patrick Steptoe, and James Norton as Robert Edwards. It is produced by Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey.

Maggie Dela Paz has been writing about the movie and TV industry for more than four years now. Besides being a fan of coming-of-age films and shows, she also enjoys watching K-Dramas and listening to her favorite K-Pop groups. Her current TV obsessions right now are FX’s The Bear and the popular anime My Hero Academia.

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‘Road House’ Review: Jake Gyllenhaal Takes Command in an Ultraviolent Retread That Makes Slumming Look Artful

Doug Liman stages it like a Jason Statham movie directed by Jonathan Demme, at once brutally vicious and teasingly humane.

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“ Road House ” is an infectiously stylish piece of slumming. It’s a remake of the 1989 Patrick Swayze cheeseball action cult film, and it’s staged with a verve and wit and dynamic grittiness that make the original film look even more rickety than it once did. Doug Liman, the director of the new “Road House,” has always been a gifted maverick, but I still like his earliest films (“Go,” “Swingers”) the best. For years now, he has worked hard to make interesting and responsible dramas, but watching “Road House” you can taste how good it must have felt for him to be irresponsible — to give in to his savage B-movie id.

The original “Road House” was nominated for five Golden Rasberry Awards, and it probably deserved most of them, yet it was a modest hit, and it’s a potboiler that’s fondly remembered, because it’s the kind of trash you can relax into. It’s like a Chuck Norris film with a real actor at its center. As Dalton, not a bouncer but a “cooler” (i.e., the coolest level of super-bouncer), who is hired to clean up a hooligan dive bar in Jasper, Missouri, Swayze sizes up every adversary with an utter lack of fear — he’s all Zen blue eyes and cheekbones and “I wouldn’t bother to fight you” lethal calm. He’s like the Western gunfighter reborn as a Buddhist shitkicker.

So why remake this late-’80s piece of nostalgia-inducing junk? Because in a world where some consider the “John Wick” movies to be high art, slumming has become its own form of hipsterism. Liman, who showed up tonight (in a cowboy hat) for the film’s SXSW premiere, has reacted with howls of betrayal over the fact that his film, backed by Amazon Studios, is not going to be playing in movie theaters. Without getting into the weeds of who promised what deal to whom , I think Liman is dead right about one thing: If it were to play in theaters, “Road House” could be a decisive hit. (I bet it would gross $50 million or more.) If the first “Road House” was a better Chuck Norris movie, the new one is something more uncanny — it’s like a Jason Statham movie directed by Jonathan Demme.

Demme, the most humane of filmmakers, had a classical and nearly invisible technique. He knew exactly how long to hold a shot, how to structure a movie with fluid ingenuity. Yet what defined him was how he treated everyone onscreen as a genuine person. Liman, in “Road House,” approaches the debased spectacle of sadism and revenge in a comparable way. He milks it for the satisfaction you want from a film like this one — the joy of watching bad guys get what’s coming to them. Yet he never makes it look too easy. He lets the action unfold against a bevy of bar bands doing their thing, and damned if the music doesn’t work in a Demme-like fashion (the way it did in, say, “Something Wild”). There’s something cathartic about how “Road House” serves up bone-crunching vengeance with an island party-tavern beat.

Gyllenhaal’s hero, who is still named Dalton (now he’s Elwood Dalton), is introduced entering the gladiatorial ring of a sordid underground-circuit ultimate fighting competition, where all he has to do is remove his hoodie and shirt and reveal who he is; that’s enough for his opponent to give in. What the audience sees is a set of abs so awesome they appear etched, as well as the Gyllenhaal ‘tude. He makes Dalton that rare thing, a pensive and considered badass. When he first confronts the goons who have shown up to cause trouble, he asks them if there’s a hospital nearby (this is his funny form of warning). After kicking the crap out of them in the parking lot, he drives them to the hospital.

Gyllenhaal makes Dalton sincere yet sarcastic, and his punches are so fast they practically stop time. (He also takes one man’s pathetic fist in the face as if a baby were punching him.) And though he’s basically a sweetheart, just like the Swayze character was, he’s got more torment, and more anger, bubbling underneath. Gyllenhaal, with his perfect coif and his stoic smirk, is like Anthony Perkins stripped of self-doubt. He plays Dalton as almost ironically recessive, but you wouldn’t want to get in his way.

The plot is simplicity itself, but each of the villains has his own maniacal flavor. Brandt, scoundrel that he is, actually believes that he’s a virtuous architect of the community; that’s his evil folly. And once Dalton puts Dell (JD Pardo), ringleader of the local motorcycle gang, out of business with the help of the crocodile who lives under the houseboat he’s crashing in, Brandt’s powerful father calls in a brute-force fixer: Knox, played by the Irish mixed-martial-arts fighter Conor McGregor in a stunning movie debut. Thick-bearded and bulky-chested, with gleaming white teeth, he makes Knox move around like a gorilla on pep pills, and the exuberance of his homicidal fury could be out of a “Mad Max” film.

This is an adversary worthy of Dalton — his equal, except for the fact that he’s on the side of wrong. But as the film builds toward their ultimate showdown, getting very vehicular in the process (Liman turns the crashing confrontations of trucks and boats into a kind of nihilistic action ballet), you feel the low-down momentousness. This is not a war that’s going to be won by punching. Only stabbing — a great deal of it — will do.

I don’t want to overpraise “Road House.” It’s a movie, like the first film, that’s been assembled out of standard components. Yet that’s part of its scuzzy pleasure — that it has no pretense about itself, except for the intensity with which Liman stages it, turning the fight scenes into rollicking spontaneous smashfests. Daniela Melchior, who takes the Kelly Lynch role (the local physician who falls for Dalton), amps up the tough-nut romanticism. But it’s Gyllenhaal’s movie. He has always exuded a warm and almost ethereal decency on screen, yet he has had difficulty finding the perfect vehicle for it. Who would have thought that the ultimate expression of Jake Gyllenhaal’s heart would be his ability to punch this hard?     

Reviewed at SXSW (Headliner), March 8, 2024. MPA Rating: R. Running time: 114 MIN.

• Production: An Amazon Prime Video release of a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Silver Pictures production. Producer: Joel Silver. Executive producers: JJ Hook, Alison Winter, Aaron Auch, Audie Attar.
• Crew: Director: Doug Liman. Screenplay: Anthony Bagarozzi, Charles Mondry. Camera: Henry Braham. Editor: Doc Crotzer. Music: Christophe Beck.
• With: Jake Gyllenhaal, Daniela Melchior, Billy Magnussen, Jessica Williams, Joaquim de Almeida, Conor McGregor, Lukas Gage, Arturo Castro, B.K. Cannon, Beau Knapp, Darren Barnet.

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• ‘Joy’ Teaser: James Norton, Bill Nighy & Thomasin McKenzie Create The First IVF Treatment In Netflix Drama 

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The screenplay was penned by Jack Thorne. Story is from Thorne and Rachel Mason. Producers are Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey from Wildgaze and Executive Producer: is Cameron McCracken. Release dates have yet to be announced. Netflix has said the pic is “coming soon” to the streamer. 

Discussing the story, Thorne said: “It’s set between 1968 to 1978 and it’s a story of three people who worked together despite the whole world being against them to try and bring up the story of infertility. And we tell the story of the three of them.”

He added: “There’s Robert Edwards, who’s a scientist, Jean Purdy who works with him and who has never been given the credit for this that she deserves and hopefully this film resets that slightly. And Patrick Steptoe, who’s the surgeon and they don’t get any support from the Medical Research Council. They get abused in the press, they get abused by other people and they fight on, and it eventually results in the birth of Louise Joy Brown.” 

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Road House Review

A fun remake buried in horrendous cinematography, cgi fights, and poor lighting..

Road House premieres on Prime Video Thursday, March 21. This review is based on a screening at the 2024 SXSW Film Festival.

Jake Gyllenhaal plays a Hulk in a Looney Tunes world in Road House, and that’s the main reason to watch this remake of the 1989 Patrick Swayze vehicle . Gyllenhaal makes the most of his role, and Doug Liman – who has long known how to harness the power of a leading man, be they Matt Damon or Tom Cruise – maximizes his star's skills to highlight the darkness lurking beneath the charming face and Mr. Rogers attitude of UFC-fighter-turned-bouncer Elwood Dalton.

The original Road House is an action romp with a simple premise: A kind but tough guy gets hired to clean up a roadhouse bar and ends up in a war against a corrupt businessman terrorizing a small town. It is simple, it is silly, it is fun, it is a movie where Swayze’s brawler-with-a-PhD-in-philosophy (really) rips someone’s throat out like he’s performing a Mortal Kombat fatality. To his credit, Liman doesn't try to just do the same thing again, nor does he strip Road House of everything that made it great. Instead, he translates the basic plot and the fun vibes, and adds a seriousness that's an awkward fit with the off-the-wall antics.

Road House Character Poster Gallery

This time, our hero is a down-on-his-luck ex-mixed martial artist with a dark past and murderous intent who finds himself thrown into a situation where he has to defend a bar in Key West, Florida from a rich criminal, the corrupt cops on his payroll, and biker gangs. Liman trades the throat-ripping, the advanced degree, the surprise hot-young-Sam-Elliott role, and the bouncer’s "be nice" gospel for a violent, gritty, but always hilarious approach. The sheriff calls himself "Big Dick," a crocodile becomes an unlikely ally, a biker is the sweetest guy you can meet, and real-life UFC champ/ subject of a particularly long Wikipedia “controversies” section Conor McGregor enters the picture (and exits it, too) by walking down a busy street fully naked like it's a regular Tuesday afternoon.

Somehow, it works – kind of – and that’s mostly because of McGregor's outlandish villain and Gyllenhaal's play-it-straight approach. Dalton is brooding and angry and you best believe he can rip your throat out if he wanted to. And he only barely hides it, living in a world of cartoon characters causing chaos. The character has a serious face until it comes time to punch or slap, which is when he starts cracking jokes and delivering quips like he’s in a Marvel movie. On the other side of the superhero-movie coin, he’s Batman going down to the same level of zaniness as his rogues' gallery, and it functions thanks to Gyllenhaal's charisma alone.

What's your favorite Jake Gyllenhaal performance?

Meanwhile, McGregor steals the show by playing someone so deranged he trades his Ferrari for a driving-school car because he feels like it, then stops the vehicle by ramming into a tree just for the hell of it. The supporting cast isn’t too far behind: Billy Magnussen plays a pathetic loser who thinks he's a Bond villain and Arturo Castro shines in the role of a surprisingly reasonable and nice gang member.

Screenwriters Anthony Bagarozzi and Chuck Mondry's most significant update is thematic, shifting the focus of the bouncer-versus-businessman dynamic to be more about class and race – with the cops taking on a bigger role. The problem is that it all falls flat. Their Road House script tries to expand on the many side characters of the original, but just as that starts to get interesting, they’re left behind in favor of the main story. There are some intriguing aspects to the portrayal of a rich white dude and his sheriff’s-department cronies terrorizing a mostly low-income and non-white community. Unfortunately, there's not much commentary to it. Road House never goes deep enough to be poignant – its priorities are the action and the silliness.

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Unfortunately, it all looks ugly as sin. Liman doesn't aspire to John Wick -style operatics, but he does make choices – and most fail miserably. For one, the action tracking feels like it has motion smoothing on, with the moves looking synthetic and unnatural. There's a constant change in camera lens (recalling the whiplash-inducing aspect-ratio shifts of Transformers: The Last Knight ) plus what looks like several scenes shot with phones. Any good fight choreography is obscured by insufficient lighting, with awful color correction that changes from shot to shot. (Don't try to track the time of day in any given scene by looking at the sky.)

Worse yet, for a movie built around simple fist fights, much of the combat is computer generated, which should be a crime given how many movies, from big budget to small indies, can craft compelling and thrilling fights better than these. There are also allegations that production was completed with the use of AI during the 2023 actors’ strike . While it remains to be seen whether those allegations are true, what’s painfully obvious is how much of the dialogue is ADR – particularly McGregor's lines, which sound about as bad as the villain in Madame Web . Still, the performances and the goofier tone manage to overcome the visual and narrative issues, and if you're willing to vibe with it, Road House is a fun (but empty) ride.

Road House trades '80s earnest silliness with a Saturday-morning-cartoon tone that manages – barely – to overcome its flaws. The original’s bouncer-versus-businessman plot is refashioned and almost given some thematic weight, pitting a charismatic Jake Gyllenhaal against a feral Conor McGregor. (Not that you can really see them going to head to head amidst the murky cinematography and computer-generated fisticuffs.) This is the movie equivalent of a band performing at a seedy bar while drunks chuck bottles at the stage’s chicken-wire barrier. You can hear some cool music if you really try, but everything is working against it.

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The New Road House Movie's Positive Reviews Are A Miracle After Last Year's 32-Year-Old Remake Failure

• Road House's 2024 remake impresses critics with genuine praise, nearing double the Rotten Tomatoes score of the 1989 original.
• The remake stays true to original's cheesiness and emotion, favoring action-packed cheese over storytelling smarts.
• A risky straight-to-streaming release on Prime Video may hinder the Road House remake's potential for winning over audiences.

The critical consensus on the 2024 remake of Road House is that it’s a surprisingly great movie, which is especially astounding after last year’s failed remake of a different cult classic. The original Road House , released in 1989, stars Patrick Swayze as a bouncer at a newly refurbished roadside bar who defends a small Missouri town against a crooked business tycoon. The remake, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, revolves around a former UFC middleweight fighter who winds up taking a similar job as a cooler at a roadside bar in the Florida Keys and running afoul of some local troublemakers.

When a remake of Road House was first announced, it seemed wildly unnecessary, because the original isn’t a particularly great story; its popularity rests entirely on Swayze’s star power, so remaking it seemed like a fool’s errand. However, now that the reviews are in, it seems that 2024’s Road House is actually an awesome movie, and might even surpass the 1989 original. Filmmaking is challenging, so it’s a miracle when any movie turns out good, but the Road House remake’s positive reviews are particularly miraculous, considering the circumstances (and the fate of a similar remake).

Why The Road House Remake's Reviews Are So Great (& How They Compare To The 1989 Movie)

The 2024 remake of Road House has an impressive “fresh” score of 71% on Rotten Tomatoes, which is nearly double the “rotten” score of the 1989 original, a dismal 41% . The reviews for the original Road House either appreciated the film in a so-bad-it’s-good way or denigrated the film in a so-bad-it’s-bad way. It received some points for Swayze’s typically charismatic performance and the shameless cheesiness of the action scenes, but most critics agreed it was nothing special. The 2024 remake, on the other hand, has received genuine praise from the majority of critics.

This new version of Road House has been lauded for maintaining the original movie’s best qualities. It’s refreshingly heartfelt, leaning into its cheesiness and unembarrassed emotions without any winking self-awareness. Critics have noted that the remake favors action-packed cheese over storytelling smarts, but they’ve also pointed out that that’s faithful to the original film. Doug Liman’s grounded direction has been hailed for his Jonathan Demme-like approach to ludicrous material , and the performances of Gyllenhaal and his co-star, MMA legend and first-time actor Conor McGregor , have been positively received for their commitment.

The Road House remake will drop on Prime Video on March 21.

Road House's Rotten Tomatoes Score Is A Welcome Change After 2023's Cult Classic Movie Remake

When a cult classic like Road House gets remade, it’s par for the course for critics and audiences alike to hate it. Usually, the critics have written half of their review before they’ve even seen the movie, because it’s become so predictable for remakes to be bitter disappointments that pale in comparison to the original. In many ways, it’s even harder to remake a cult classic than a regular classic. Regular classics are just timeless gems with well-told stories, and it’s obvious why they work, but cult classics with a certain so-bad-it’s-good charm are trickier to pin down.

Last year’s White Men Can’t Jump remake is a perfect example. The 1992 original succeeded because of Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson’s unique on-screen chemistry, and because it brought clever storytelling and sharp characterization to the familiar genre of sports comedy. The 2023 remake was panned for smoothing down the edges of the original for a safe, formulaic sports movie. Based on the reviews, it seems that the Road House remake is everything the White Men Can’t Jump remake wasn’t: it’s true to the spirit of the original and it’s a fresh take on a well-known story.

Road House 2024 Still Shares 1 Major Obstacle With White Men Can't Jump's Remake

While Road House has won the battle for positive reviews, the war isn’t over yet. It still needs to win over audiences, which will be tough because it’s being released straight to streaming on Prime Video. Road House had a bit of behind-the-scenes controversy with Liman strongly opposing Amazon’s decision to skip a theatrical release and Gyllenhaal claiming that a straight-to-streaming release was always the plan. Either way, the Road House remake won’t be coming to theaters and will go directly to Prime Video to be watched at home.

This means that the Road House remake could still face the same fate as the White Men Can’t Jump remake. 2023’s White Men Can’t Jump was buried in the streaming library of Hulu, and as a result, it made no splash in the cultural conversation. Sadly, the same could end up happening with 2024’s Road House . Some of Road House ’s reviews have pointed out that it could have been a decent-sized hit if it was released in theaters, but it’s too late for that now.

Screen Rant

10 reasons jake gyllenhaal's road house remake reviews are so positive (& way better than the original).

2024s Road House was bound to be a hit after the cult status of the original and the talent and work that went into retelling that story.

• Road House 2024 is rating better than its 1989 predecessor at 73% on Rotten Tomatoes.
• The movie stays true to the original concept but introduces modern elements to the storyline.
• Jake Gyllenhaal and Conor McGregor lead a talented cast in the action-packed remake.

Road House gained cult status when it was released back in 1989, but the modern reimagining in 2024 appears to be taking a sharp lead over the original. When Road House came out in 1989, the movie earned a decent sum in theaters with a domestic box office of $30 million (via The Numbers ). However, the movie failed to find its audience until after its release when it aired on cable TV and gained cult status. The excessive violence and cheesy humor fit in with a niche demographic and thus continued to be held in high regard as an influential action movie of the 80s.

In 2006, the movie was granted a sequel with a direct-to-video movie that continued the story, but without any of the core cast, it felt like a hollow cash grab. So, when a reimagined version of the 1989 film was announced starring Gyllenhaal, and featuring UFC legend Conor McGregor in his acting debut , there were doubts about what would be achieved. However, following the film being shown at the SXSW film festival, early reviews appear to rate the film much higher than its predecessor . But, there are reasons why that was always going to happen.

Road House (2024)

Road House is a remake of the original 1989 film, which followed protagonist Dalton, a Ph.D. educated bouncer at the roughest bar in the south known as the Double Deuce. Jake Gyllenhaal stars as Dalton, with two major changes including Dalton being a retired UFC fighter and the bar locale being in the Florida Keys.

10 Nostalgia For A Cult Classic

Like with top gun: maverick, and star wars.

While Top Gun: Maverick and Star Wars were considerably more popular, nostalgia has proven to be a massive driving force for people enjoying and paying to go and see a movie. Road House is set to release via streaming, but considering the cult classic status of the original, a more dedicated fanbase came after the movie's release, and may well have paid for a ticket to see the cult film brought up to date. 1989's Road House walked so that 2024's could run, and with more appreciation for the movie than ever before, the remake was bound to perform well.

9 True To The Original

At least in spirit.

In some early reviews, critics highlighted the movie's faithfulness to the original concept . Despite changes to some names, criminal activities, and the location, the story remains very much in line with what the original Road House set out to achieve . The movie is not designed to be serious, or full of intense drama, but rather, it is an action flick like those made popular in the 80s and 90s. Road House is violent, corny, funny, and adrenaline-fuelled, nothing more, and nothing less.

10 Great 1980s Action Movies We're Surprised Didn't Become Franchises

8 different enough to avoid comparison, starting with a new villain.

While the modern version of Road House may hearken back to the movie that inspired it, it's also a distinctly modern movie . Gyllenhaal's Dalton is an ex-UFC fighter who fought his way up in giant brightly lit stadiums. Patrick Swayze's Dalton, on the other hand, was a black belt in karate with a tragic past. The main antagonist in 1989 was a sleazy businessman in a suit and a dark shirt who sent others to do the fighting for him, while 2024's places the hulking and intimidating McGregor as Gyllenhaal's opponent.

7 A Real Action Hero Movie

Action heroes are few and far between in hollywood right now.

While former wrestlers are transitioning into action stars, and actors like Jason Statham and Vin Diesel frequently appear in modern action titles, action heroes like those in the 80s and 90s are rarer now . With Gyllenhaal clearly putting in the work to take on a physically demanding role like this and featuring the skilled fighter, Conor McGregor, as the antagonist, this movie feels more true to the pure and simple action heroes of the past, and that is sorely missing from Hollywood in the present cinematic landscape.

6 Big Talent

From multiple disciplines.

Jake Gyllenhaal has long been a Hollywood A-lister, and with his talent matched by others from other areas of entertainment , Road House has an outstanding cast for attracting viewers. Post Malone is one of the most popular musicians in the world, and Conor McGregor is one of the biggest legends in UFC history. Despite never being crowned the king, his loud and energetic displays earned him global recognition. In addition, talented actors like Billy Magnussen round out the cast with rising stars in the industry, which all adds to an incredible cast.

5 UFC Legend Conor McGregor

Ufc fighter conor mcgregor's cinematic debut.

As mentioned above, McGregor was one of the biggest names in UFC before retiring. He has repeatedly returned and retired, but at the height of his career, he earned the number 2 spot in the overall rankings, and became the highest-earning star in UFC (via SportBible ), thanks to his louder-than-life approach and entertainment value. Now moving into the world of cinema, McGregor is sure to bring some of that clout with him , and in a debut role that essentially serves up his next big fight, his fans will be happy to see him return in a familiar role.

10 Wildest UFC Reveals In Netflix's Conor McGregor Documentary

4 doug liman as director, known for: swingers, the bourne identity, jumper, mr. & mrs. smith, and edge of tomorrow.

When creating a spectacular action film, it pays to have someone with a wealth of experience in the genre. With Doug Liman at the helm, Road House could not be in better hands in this regard. With his credits adding up to many of the best action movies in modern cinema , along with several cult classics of his own, like Jumper , Liman is one of the best action directors in Hollywood. Giving him the reins to recreate the bloody, brutal, and action-packed Road House movie for a modern audience was the perfect call.

3 Road House 2024 Is Self-Aware

Over the top, but in the best way possible.

From the blood and brutality to the humor, everything is extra, and it works. Road House owns its place as a film that isn't trying to win acclaim and awards but to engage its audience and give them something that is thoroughly entertaining. The movie does not try to create some political statement, a critique on action movies of the 80s , or anything else, it just aims to be the best action picture that it can be, and with a simple and clear vision, the results are equally simple and clear.

2 The Locations Are Spectacular

From the dominican republic to vegas.

Road House capitalizes on a far bigger budget than the original film with $85 million at their disposal (via IndieWire ). With that, the film was able to shoot a scene in the Octagon Arena in Las Vegas, as well as stunning location filming in the Dominican Republic (via Collider ). These beautiful and unique settings give the film a greater sense of scale and make it visually stunning, which is helpful when it comes to visual media.

1 It's Fun To Watch

Making it perfect for streaming.

Like the original, Road House is designed to be fun and easy to watch. From the humor to the action, and the stars filling up the screen, the movie is designed to be a good time. The original Road House became a cult classic because of its popularity on cable TV after the movie was released in theaters. In the same way, Road House is likely to climb the ranks of popularity thanks to its availability on streaming, which will make it easy for fans of the film to watch it again and again, ultimately becoming a fan-favorite film.

*Availability in US

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With a story and screenplay by David Lee Henry and direction from Rowdy Herrington, Road House is a 1989 Action release starring Patrick Swayze in the lead role. Swayze steps into the shoes of James Dalton, a bouncer that is hired by a club owner to provide security for the establishment.

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‘Road House’ Review: Jake Gyllenhaal Makes a Bid for ’80s Movie Stardom in an Early Contender for 2024’s Silliest Film

Christian zilko.

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Early in Doug Liman’s “Road House” remake , Dalton ( Jake Gyllenhaal ) explains his current employment situation to a young girl he befriends at a roadside bookstore. He tells her that he moved to Glass Key, Florida after accepting a job offer from a stranger whose roadhouse became overrun with rowdy thugs who like to raise obscene amounts of hell, and that he agreed to use his background as a former UFC fighter to clean the place up.

“Sounds like the plot of an old Western,” she tells him, which would be an astute observation about the situation’s ridiculousness if it wasn’t underscored by the equally ridiculous notion that middle schoolers in 2024 are referencing 1960s Western tropes in casual conversations. But that’s just the kind of movie we’re dealing with here.

It’s the kind of film that should go off the rails — and very nearly does at quite a few moments — but is ultimately saved by the fact that there isn’t a rational moment in its entire two-hour running time. The smallest iota of sanity would short-circuit this story like a grain of sand in a microchip, but Liman and screenwriters Anthony Bagarozzi and Chuck Mondry mercifully spare us from that fate and let us bask in the asininity of a mildly entertaining hangout movie.

Dalton makes quick work of the first few batches of goons who roll through, but it soon becomes clear that they’re just lackeys for a more nefarious operation that wants to take down the bar. The island’s criminal nepo baby Billy (Lukas Gage) is no match for Dalton, but the arrival of his imprisoned father’s lunatic enforcer Knox (McGregor) forces our hero to reach into the darkest depths of his soul and bring out the inner animal that made him a championship fighter.

Gyllenhaal’s star has always shined the brightest when he plays weasels and weirdos who lurk in the shadows, but “Road House” is his most committed attempt at playing a conventional ’80s macho man. Dalton is capable of unspeakable brutality, but he also fires off quippy jokes and uses his extensive knowledge of human anatomy to offer medical advice to anyone he beats up. The actor is predictably excellent at the brooding violence but here lacks the charisma to sell many of his character’s Marvel-style one-liners. While some of his goofier moments help develop Dalton as a well-intentioned gym rat with minimal social skills, others fall victim to the same awkward juxtaposition of masculine activities and Muppet-like vocals that plague so many Patrick Mahomes press conferences.

McGregor, on the other hand, steals every scene he’s in. It’s unclear how much of what he does is actually acting, as he simply plays a rowdy and charismatic Irishman who likes to hit people and show off his ridiculous tattoos. But his first acting role (the end credits cheekily say “Introducing Conor McGregor”) could establish him as his generation’s Arnold Schwarzenegger, an inimitable sports figure whose very existence is unique enough to justify plopping him into countless blockbusters.

“Road House” premiered at SXSW 2024. It will stream exclusively on Prime Video beginning on Thursday, March 21.

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Road House review – Conor McGregor almost steals riotous 80s remake

Jake Gyllenhaal fills Patrick Swayze’s shoes in a brashly entertaining romp featuring a knockout debut from the UFC champ

I t would be easy to dismiss a new Road House – the shoes left by a gritty, sweaty Patrick Swayze in the pulpy 1989 action film are hard ones to fill; sequels and remakes tend to tip the fine balance of good-bad that defined so many films from that period into straight-up bad. Plus, the Road House remake from The Bourne Identity director Doug Liman is ( controversially ) bypassing theaters and headed straight to streaming via Amazon Prime Video – by now, given the deluge of disposable content, a dubious distinction for quality.

The straight-to-streaming release plan, however intentional, is indeed a bummer, as Liman’s rowdy, campy remake both looks and sounds more expensive and textured than what we’ve come to expect from digital releases. This Ultimate Fighting Championship-inflected Road House, starring Jake Gyllenhaal as a brass-knuckled bouncer with a tortuous past, is meant for the big screen, as evidenced by the hoots and hollers at its SXSW premiere. Relocated from honky-tonk Missouri to the Florida Keys, the new Road House, written by Anthony Bagarozzi and Charles Mondry (who collaborated on the story with original screenwriter David Lee Henry), is an entertaining and visceral, if at times unwieldy, romp of scene-chewing trash talk and smackdowns.

Like his predecessor, Gyllenhaal’s Elwood Dalton is a dry and at times philosophical man with exceptional mixed martial arts skills, who flees a fight gone too far (in this case, actual UFC) for smaller, grimier pastures. We meet Dalton living out of his car in skeevy south Florida, scraping by with prize money won from scaring amateur fighters like Carter (Post Malone) out of the ring with just a flash of his professionally toned abs. Enter, with nearly indecipherable exposition, Frankie, a barkeep in the Keys played by Jessica Williams, her trademark sardonic wit almost distractingly reasonable for the south Florida mayhem around her. Faced with aimless depression or a few thousand a month to keep the peace at her family’s bar, Dalton heads to the Road House, a beachside dive that looks like a smaller, cheaper Margaritaville.

It’s a rough establishment. For reasons, the Road House attracts a disproportionate amount of shady characters with hair-trigger rages, and employs a disproportionately high number of good musicians to soundtrack nightly bar fights from behind a chain-link fence. The most destructive patrons are a motorcycle gang led by Dell (JD Pardo), whose 5 v 1 defeat by Dalton illustrates the film’s light superhero touch and gets Dalton embroiled with a cartoonishly villainous developer named Brandt (Billy Magnussen, ever reliable at cartoonish villainy).

There is plot – drugs, corrupt cops, hits, boats, a shirtless Gyllenhaal doing pull-ups, etc – that is generally difficult to follow and also not the point. True to form, the stakes barely make sense, even as they are ostensibly raised by money, death and kidnapping. Which is fine, though to its detriment, especially at a full two-hour runtime, Road House is not interested in backstory for Dalton (save his flashback-inducing crime) or its many underdeveloped supporting characters. Among them: flinty bartender Laura (BK Cannon), aspiring bouncers Billy (Lukas Gage) and Reef (Dominique Columbus), bookstore owner Stephen (Kevin Carroll) and his precocious daughter Charlie (Hannah Love Lanier) and, most egregiously, Dalton’s love interest Ellie (Daniela Melchior), a nurse with connections who manages to sneak one personal question past him in their too-brief courtship. (“You think we don’t have Google on this island?” stands in for the rest.) Intriguing details such as Ellie’s estranged family or Frankie’s lineage of Black business owners, a feat in the Jim Crow south, are briefly floated as character motivations – why are people staying in this town?! – but summarily buried in the brash and brawn.

Still, you come to the Road House for a good time and some knuckle-cracking fights, and on that front, this film delivers, owing to some truly impressive stunt work, a fully convincing performance from Gyllenhaal in Southpaw form, and a crackling screen debut from UFC champ-cum-entertainer Conor McGregor. The Road House bar may be pretty small-time – in fact, some of the film’s enjoyment derives from just how small-town and petty this world is – but the fight sequences are operating on a big, bold, reality-stretching canvas. Big as in crocodile fights big, full cast bar-brawl big, knockout death match between Dalton and McGregor’s cocky (and occasionally bare-assed) hitman big. It’s primal, bruising, ludicrous and very fun.

McGregor, it turns out, is a natural at playing a devilishly flamboyant villain, at times stealing the show from a more grounded Gyllenhaal. Liman keeps the camp in check, though, with a focus on the visceral – broken bones and bloody noses, concussed POV, the sickening crack of a fist connecting with skull. If you have a fear of brain damage or your teeth getting knocked out like piano keys, tread carefully. I have never and, after this movie, will never watch UFC, which I mean as a compliment to Liman’s balance of flair and real, gut-twist fighting. That balance, of serious and faux-serious, is one the new Road House doesn’t always strike, but it gives what it needs to: movie-star charisma and a consistently good time.

Road House is available on Prime Video on 22 March

• First look review
• Jake Gyllenhaal
• Conor McGregor
• Post Malone

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