It’s a massive week for Jake Gyllenhaal fans, with one of Amazon Prime Video’s biggest action flicks making its linear television debut. While the streaming giants usually prefer to keep their exclusive content behind a paywall to keep subscriber numbers ticking over, they occasionally let a few titles slip through to traditional broadcasters. In this instance, Road House is following the premiere of Fast & Furious 10 on ProSieben, giving viewers a chance to catch the remake of the Patrick Swayze classic without needing a Prime subscription. Of course, for those who’ve already got the app sorted, the film remains available to stream on demand, offering the choice of the original English audio for purists who prefer hearing Gyllenhaal’s actual voice.
A Mixed Bag of Reviews
Whether the film is actually worth a watch is a bit of a debate. The reboot sees Gyllenhaal stepping into the boots of Elwood Dalton, a former UFC fighter taking up a gig as a bouncer at a rough-as-guts beach club in the Florida Keys. He finds himself locking horns with local heavy Ben Brandt, played by Billy Magnussen, who’s keen to bulldoze the bar for a luxury resort. Things go properly pear-shaped when a completely unhinged enforcer, played by Conor McGregor, gets thrown into the mix. Despite the film smashing streaming records and pulling in massive viewing numbers for Amazon, critics haven’t been entirely convinced. It’s certainly got plenty of scraps, but some reckon it doesn’t quite capture the magic of the 80s original. The team at FILMSTARTS, for example, only gave it two out of five stars. Regardless of the critical reception, the commercial success has been undeniable, with talk already circulating about a sequel to this remake, as well as a continuation of the original franchise.
Trading Punches for Pies
Away from the camera and the choreographed brawls, Gyllenhaal’s life is looking decidedly more settled. The 43-year-old actor recently opened up to The Hollywood Reporter, hinting that his days of putting his career above all else might be behind him. He’s been with French model Jeanne Cadieu since they met at a New York restaurant back in 2018, and while he’s keeping mum on any specific wedding dates, stating flatly that he’s “not going to give you timing,” the intention is clear. He admitted that after years of being in a space of “work, work, work,” he’s come to the realisation that family is the only thing that truly matters to him now.
Family First
The couple has managed to keep things fairly low-key over the years, only making their red carpet debut in 2021. Their downtime sounds refreshingly normal; Gyllenhaal shared a yarn about a recent date where they headed to a pie festival, hung out with a drag queen baker named Bertha, and got stuck into a fair bit of tasting. It’s a far cry from the intensity of Hollywood. Cadieu seems well and truly integrated into the wider clan as well, having spent holidays with Jake’s sister Maggie Gyllenhaal, her husband Peter Sarsgaard, and their two daughters. It seems that while Gyllenhaal is still happy to throw punches on screen, he’s prioritising a much quieter life when the director calls cut.
