The box copy hints that this is an action-comedy adventure, but don't be fooled. There really isn't much comedy and the action is pretty intermittent for an adventure movie, but the two lead performances make the exercise watchable. Spoiled preppie Judge Reinhold and cool drifter Willem Dafoe make a likable mismatched pair of traveling buddies, and once you get past the odd logic that Dafoe as Johnny would bother taking his social opposite under his wing to show him the rules of survival on the road, the movie passes pleasantly. The wide open, largely empty desert makes a nice setting and is well used as a place of isolation, where a philosophical loner like Johnny can find solitude to think. The viewer gets slowly sucked into Johnny's view of the world and begins to cheer Reinhold in his philosophical make-over, and leaves with a positive glow. The movie is neither particularly striking or memorable visually, but the chemistry between the two actors makes the time pass amiably and it can be revisited to get back the same good feeling. This is one of those movies that is more a mood altering substance than entertainment, but as such it's nice.

One can easily see why Judge Reinhold was cast in the role of Det. William 'Billy' Rosewood in Beverly Hills Cop. This movie, which came out the same year, but was probably made earlier has the same character exactly. It is a real treat seeing him in the role of clueless rich kid. Maybe he gave up on the idea of running Pork Boy franchises and went straight to Beverly Hills for a job.

I always enjoy Willem Dafoe, and I really like his character here. You even get to hear him sing. He does his best work with Kaaren Lee, while Judge is taking care of Kate Vernon.

Great soundtrack and a predictable ending. It even has Stomper (Kevyn Major Howard) from Death Wish II, and 'Bubba' Skinner (Alan Autry) from "In the Heat of the Night".

The 66 Classic was not the most exciting race I have ever seen, but certainly the most scenic. Makes me want to head to Oatman, AZ right now.

My chief complaint about the otherwise tolerable "Roadhouse 66" is that director John Mark Robinson and rookie scenarists Galen Lee and George Simpson spent almost 90 minutes forging Alan Autry into one of the all-time dastardly villain and then they don't allow us to enjoy his comeuppance. Autry steals the show from leading men Willam Dafoe and Judge Reinhold as the cruel town bully of Kingman, Arizona. It seems that Hoot's father is a judge, and this wicked bastard can get away with virtually anything. By the time that the climactic race gets underway, it appears that events may be catching up to Autry's incredibly sadistic villain. Mind you, Autry gives a superb performance and he is truly despicable to the point that you want to see him go out in a blazing inferno. Meanwhile, there are times when you wonder what the heroes were thinking. They fail to take Autry's villain seriously and poor Stephen Elliot in a small but significant performance pays the price.

Ostensibly, Robinson's buddy picture derives its title from a roadside diner on the old Highway 66. Beckman Hallsgood Jr. (Judge Reinhold of "Beverly Hills Cop") is leisurely tooling through Arizona from New York on his way to Palms Springs where he is to learn about the fast-food business. Beck and his father have bought a fast food restaurant franchise called Pork Boy. About the time that our bespectacled hero reaches Arizona, he runs afoul of Hoot (Alan Autry of "North Dallas Forty") and his sidekicks Moss (Peter Van Norden of "Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment") and Dink (Kevyn Major Howard of "Death Wish 2") on the highway. Beck is driving a 1955 Thunderbird when Hoot cruises up alongside him, brandishes his revolver, and blows a hole in Beck's radiator. Roughly about the same time that this incident occurred, a hitchhiker is crossing the road. Johnny Harte (Willam Dafoe of "Platoon") doesn't get hit by either one of them, but he runs into Beck after Beck has had to park his vehicle. The two guys become friends and they arrive in Kingman looking for a radiator.

Eventually, they wind up in Roadhouse 66 where Johnny struggles to convince the owner of an auto parts store, Jesse Duran (Kaaren Lee of "St. Elmo's Fire"),to open the store so his new friend can get a radiator. Jesse has just made it through a long day at work and doesn't walk to set foot in his store until 9 AM the next morning. Nothing that either Johnny or Beck can do will change her mind. Eventually, Hoot and Beck cross paths again in the Roadhouse 66 diner, and they square off against each other in a competitive game of pool. Hoot seizes the white pool ball before Beck can take his final shot and win the game. Beck slugs him, but it is like Beck striking a stone stature. Hoot and his two cronies pile up on Beck and beat him senseless. Johnny takes on Hoot, and Hoot leaves with a chip on his shoulder. All along Beck has been trying to get out the two-bit town, but he has fallen in love with with Jesse's younger sister, Melissa (Kate Vernon of "Malcolm X"),and he is having trouble leaving Kingman. Beck decide to enter his Thunderbird in a race that Hoot has won the last three years running. Hoot refuses to lose and stacks the deck against Beck. At the same time, Johnny comes to grips with the memory of a former musical group singer who died in a car accident. As I said, Alan Autry makes a top-notch but despicable villain, and you will love how they make him into a progressive meaner enemy. Our heroes triumph in the end and leave Kingman with their women following them. During the grueling car race, Beck swerves their car into Hoot's car and he flips. Unfortunately, we don't see him die a richly deserved death.

At fadeout we can hear the old "Route 66" television theme.