The director of a 'Road House" reboot is mad the movie won't run in movie theaters -- potentially costing Jake Gyllenhaal an Oscar -- but Patrick Swayze's widow says that's a highbrow aim compared to the OG film ... which was never meant to win Academy Awards.
Lisa Niemi Swayze tells TMZ ... the original "Road House" wasn't really Oscar-worthy material and it never tried to be ... it was just supposed to be a guilty pleasure.
Doug Liman directed the new 'RH' with Jake playing Patrick's main character role of John Dalton ... and he's ripping Amazon for sending it straight to its Prime Video streaming service, instead of giving it a theatrical run first.
Doug says Amazon is depriving Jake from being recognized come award season for what he says is a career-best acting performance ... and he's boycotting SXSW, where the film is set to debut.
Patrick's wife isn't bashing Doug or the new movie when she says the original wasn't geared at winning Academy Awards, though ... she's just saying the 1989 film was really just for pure entertainment.
In fact, Lisa says Patrick truly respected Jake as an actor and thought he was a great talent.
As for the raging debate over the benefits of a theatrical release versus a straight-to-streaming release ... Lisa says she's not qualified to give a hot take.
Bottom line for Patrick's widow ... her late husband's 'Road House' was just supposed to be good old-fashioned fun. It appears the reboot will be the same, much to its director's chagrin.