The Antiplanner doesn’t ordinarily review movies, but then, not many movies cover the dark side of urban renewal. Someone once called Road House, featuring the late Patrick Swayze, the “cheesiest movie ever made,” but they must not have been aware of the political subtext.
In the movie, Brad Wesley (played by Ben Gazzara) is the evil executive director of the urban-renewal district for a small town named Jasper, Missouri (which he calls an “improvement district”). The district taxes all of the businesses in the town and uses the money to make investments that attract new businesses. Like most advocates of tax-subsidized economic development, Wesley takes credit for all the good things that happen in town. “J.C. Penney is coming here because of me,” he brags, as if J.C. Penney didn’t ordinarily locate in small towns like Jasper.
“I’m taking your business by the power of eminent domain.”
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Patrick Swayze plays the roving citizen advocate, who is brought to the town by a local business owner to fight the high taxes charged by the urban-renewal district. Wesley retaliates by using eminent domain to take and demolish the businesses and homes of a few of the tax resisters. The conflict escalates as Swayze relies on the power of the people to eventually prevail against Wesley.
“Yours too.”
This could be a movie about Anywhere, USA. Of course, as with all Hollywood movies, Road House takes several liberties with the facts for dramatic effect. The movie kind of skipped over the process of eminent domain, which Wesley must have used before demolishing local businesses. And instead of beating up the employees of the urban-renewal district, Patrick Swayze, in at least some states, would have used an initiative petition to give voters the opportunity to shut the district down.
Still, Road House was a fairly realistic portrayal of the problems members of the public face when dealing with out-of-control government agencies that have nearly unlimited power to tax and face little public oversight. The Antiplanner missed this movie when it first came out, but it is clearly on a par with other political thrillers such as Erin Brokovich and All the President’s Men.
Sounds like just the kind of honest enterprise Dan, Highwayman, and the other libtards here would support. Any plans to build a streetcar or light rail in this town?
Any plans to build a streetcar or light rail in this town?
Naw, they want to be a real town – nothing less than high speed rail will do.
Thanks
JK
Sheesh, you guys don’t understand the word “context”.
It’s already bad enough with all the Kool-Aid you drink that Koch, Cato, Reason & Fox News gives you.
For that matter big box stores using eminent domain is clearly an abuse of eminent domain!
I am assuming that “context” means, in the “context” it’s being used, that eminent domain is OK in the context of being used for say, fraud rail or high fraud rail construction.
Oh, by the way, I don’t watch Fox News, and Kool-Aid is the drink of choice of Obama zombies!
I see our Resident Troll(tm) is his ole’ self. Sometimes it (are we sure it isn’t actually an updated version of the old “Eliza” program that automatically spews out bile based on certain keywords??) strikes me as being an idiot savant, but not with the savant part.
As usual, msetty weighs in with his words of wisdom. While you no doubt secretly support the government thuggishness in this movie, you won’t dare say so publicly.
“Still, Road House was a fairly realistic portrayal of the problems members of the public face when dealing with out-of-control government agencies that have nearly unlimited power to tax and face little public oversight.”
If only we could solve our problems with brass knuckles and martial arts. Today’s post is preachin’ to the choir down here in TX. We’ve been a plannin’ an uprisin’ against Big Brother for some time now, as the talks of succession are always around. Lock n’ load boys!
BTW, I missed the Christmas post. Merry Christmas Mr. O’Toole. Here’s to another year of fascinating debate.
I can understand blatantly making up parts of the plot out of whole cloth and trying to get away with it – there must be a contractual deadline. And few have seen this movie so who’s around to quibble about the made up plot elements (save me, I’m a Jeff Healey fan)?
Surely the couple dozen folk who have seen this cr*ptacular movie know that Randal is making up shhh…tuff again.
The rich guy antagonist is into extortion and obstruction, and uses various means of violence including murder to embigger his fortune. The tough guy takes on the bully and wins, and gets the hottie in the process.
The only similarity to government isn’t in the land-use part, but the violence, extorting the weak, and pandering to the rich. And maybe Julian Assange is the Swayze character, save for the looks and the hottie in the end. Oh, and the blowing up sh*t part. There’s that too.
So my review of the review is that it doesn’t get much weaker or more tenuous than that. Unless you’re under deadline, then that’s OK.
DS
Here’s a carbon credit Dan, I know you tried your best.
Well congrats Metrosucks at being an asshole. You do your job very well, almost as well as Mr.O’Toole.
Thank you Fraudman, I wouldn’t expect anything else from you.