Mixed martial arts champion Ronda Rousey will star in a remake of the 1980s action movie Road House, taking the role made famous by Patrick Swayze, who played a bouncer employed to clean up a rough Missouri bar, reports Variety.
Rousey, the undefeated UFC female bantamweight champion, has been making a name for herself in Hollywood with supporting roles in Fast and Furious 7 and Entourage, as well as a cameo in last year’s action sequel The Expendables 3. She is also due to star as herself in a biopic based on the New York Times bestseller My Fight/Your Fight, the Olympic judo medallist’s recently published autobiography.
Road House debuted in cinemas in 1989 to poor reviews and disappointing box office returns. It has not gained critical traction over time but is recognised for a preposterous plot that sees Swayze facing off against a series of goons hired by Ben Gazzara’s corrupt mobster Brad Wesley, who wants to continue extorting businesses in the town of Jasper, west Missouri. The film also features Coen brothers favourite Sam Elliott as an older bouncer who acts as a mentor and aide to Swayze’s James Dalton.
The New York police department came under scrutiny in February following a report that it had been using Road House to train its officers. The key scene shown to them involves Swayze training his employees on the best way to treat a rowdy customer.
Variety reports Rousey has won the blessing of Swayze’s widow, Lisa Niemi, to star in the remake. The Dirty Dancing star died of pancreatic cancer in 2009 at the age of 57.
