Roadhouse 66 (1984) from Tuna

Roadhouse 66? And I thought they made a lot of sequels to Friday the 13th!

Roadhouse 66 was actually made before Roadhouse, and is kind of a "mismatched buddy" movie starring Judge Reinhold and Willem Dafoe. Reinhold plays a rich kid working with his father in a fast food chain but itching to break free. Dafoe is a former music star who gave up on life when his partner was killed in a car crash. They meet when the local bad boy in Kingman, Arizona shoots a hole in the radiator of Reinhold's classic '55 T-Bird. Dafoe helps Reinhold limp into Kingman, where they try to buy a radiator, but end up instead with the sisters who own the auto parts store (Kaaren Lee and Kate Vernon). They continue to have problems with the local hood, and the conflict cannot be decided until when the lads agree to take on the bully in a classic car race on old Route 66.

The plot is rather predictable, Reinhold has a shit-eating grin on his face during the entire film, and Dafoe doesn't do Brando well at all. On the other hand, some of the supporting cast members are colorful, and both women are hugely appealing. It's not great filmmaking, but OK as light entertainment. I suppose I should have tagged on "romantic comedy" to the genre because everyone lives happily ever after.

 

DVD INFO

  • no widescreen
  • no features

 

NUDITY REPORT

Kaaren Lee and Kate Vernon show their breasts.

The Critics Vote ...

  • no major reviews online

 

The People Vote ...

  • No theatrical release in the USA
The meaning of the IMDb score: 7.5 usually indicates a level of excellence equivalent to about three and a half stars from the critics. 6.0 usually indicates lukewarm watchability, comparable to approximately two and a half stars from the critics. The fives are generally not worthwhile unless they are really your kind of material, equivalent to about a two star rating from the critics, or a C- from our system. Films rated below five are generally awful even if you like that kind of film - this score is roughly equivalent to one and a half stars from the critics or a D on our scale. (Possibly even less, depending on just how far below five the rating is.

Our own guideline:

  • A means the movie is so good it will appeal to you even if you hate the genre.
  • B means the movie is not good enough to win you over if you hate the genre, but is good enough to do so if you have an open mind about this type of film. Any film rated B- or better is recommended for just about anyone. In order to rate at least a B-, a film should be both a critical and commercial success. Exceptions: (1) We will occasionally rate a film B- with good popular acceptance and bad reviews, if we believe the critics have severely underrated a film. (2) We may also assign a B- or better to a well-reviewed film which did not do well at the box office if we feel that the fault lay in the marketing of the film, and that the film might have been a hit if people had known about it. (Like, for example, The Waterdance.)
  • C+ means it has no crossover appeal, but will be considered excellent by people who enjoy this kind of movie. If this is your kind of movie, a C+ and an A are indistinguishable to you.
  • C means it is competent, but uninspired genre fare. People who like this kind of movie will think it satisfactory. Others probably will not.
  • C- indicates that it we found it to be a poor movie, but genre addicts find it watchable. Any film rated C- or better is recommended for fans of that type of film, but films with this rating should be approached with caution by mainstream audiences, who may find them incompetent or repulsive or both. If this is NOT your kind of movie, a C- and an E are indistinguishable to you.
  • D means you'll hate it even if you like the genre. We don't score films below C- that often, because we like movies and we think that most of them have at least a solid niche audience. Now that you know that, you should have serious reservations about any movie below C-. Films rated below C- generally have both bad reviews and poor popular acceptance.
  • E means that you'll hate it even if you love the genre.
  • F means that the film is not only unappealing across-the-board, but technically inept as well.

 

Based on this description, this film is a C-, passable "guilty pleasure" entertainment.

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