Freeway (1996)

Director:

Matthew Bright

Writer:

Matthew Bright (written by)

Release Date:

3 September 1997 (France)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Her life is no fairy tale.

Plot:

A twisted take on 'Little Red Riding Hood' with a teenage juvenile delinquent on the run from a social worker traveling to her grandmother's house and being hounded by a charming, but sadistic, serial killer/pedophile.

Plot Keywords:

Road | Little Red Riding Hood | Prostitution | Delinquent | Drugs

Awards:

6 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Kiefer Sutherland	...	Bob Wolverton
Reese Witherspoon	...	Vanessa Lutz
Bokeem Woodbine	...	Chopper
Paul Perri	...	Cop #1
Robert Peters	...	Cop #2
Ben Meyerson	...	Cop at Truckstop
Craig Barnett	...	Cop #3
G. Eric Miles	...	Cop #4
Wolfgang Bodison	...	Detective Mike Breer
Dan Hedaya	...	Detective Garrett Wallace
Chris Renna	...	Doctor
Kathleen Marshall	...	ER Nurse
Melinda Renna	...	Female Anchor
Guillermo Díaz	...	Flacco
Kitty Fox	...	Naomi Frohlegger - Grandma

MPAA:

Rated R for strong lurid violence and sexual dialogue, some sexual situations, drug content and language.

Runtime:

110 min | Australia:97 min | France:102 min | USA:102 min (cut version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | USA:R (No. 34357) (edited for re-rating) | New Zealand:R18 | Netherlands:16 | Australia:Refused Classification (original rating) | Australia:R (edited for re-rating) | Canada:R | Finland:K-16 (video premiere) | France:-16 | Germany:16 | South Korea:18 | UK:18 (video premiere) | USA:NC-17 (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Encino, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Kushner-Locke Company, The

Trivia:

Originally rated NC-17, reduced to R after the removal of some explicit dialogue.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): In the opening scene, Vanessa can hardly read the simple sentence "The cat drinks milk", but she seems to have no trouble reading the menu in the "Hi-Way cafe".

Quotes:

Vanessa: Well you don't have to worry about him anymore. I took care of him.
Detective Garnet Wallace: Mr. Wolverton is in critical condition, but he's not dead.
Vanessa: [smiles] Oh, yeah right. I shot him so many times.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "SexTV: Fairy Tales/Karin Rosenthal/Tart Cards (#6.2)" (2003)

Soundtrack:

RUDE MOOD

"Well, look who got beat with the ugly stick!!!"

I loved this movie, the execution really did justification to the premise. The idea of bad and unfair and corrupt and evil all around you, with only your spirit and your integrity and, especially in the case of Vanessa Lutz, your anger to help you deal with all the evil fools of the world. Nobody seems to have it worse than Vanessa, and Reese Witherspoon is so vivid and funny and fearless, the actress is never caught dozing off. She is so alert to her surroundings. It is simply one of the most fully inhabited characters I've ever seen in a movie. And I really love that her character does not back down, no matter what the consequences. It is so easy to empathize with Vanessa, her unfortunate circumstances allowing her truly astounding character to not have its due. The fact that she never loses her fighting spirit makes me fall absolutely under her spell. And the contrast between her totally uncorrupted self and just about everybody else in the movie makes for some startling in-your-face action (e.g., Bob's post-accident appearance in the courtroom and Vanessa's unapologetic reaction. Also, when the black cop starts baiting Vanessa and the way she turns the tables on him and his nasty hypocrisy. Whoah! I was just as startled as the cop was. Too much fun for one movie.) Her integrity is pure and fierce, and I think she could take on Mothra and come out on top. The brazenness of the movie's main ideas which are embodied by the convictions of the main character is more than matched by Reese Witherspoon. From what I have seen, only Sissy Spacek has the same natural range as RW. And in terms of sheer entertainment, this movie is every bit as exhilarating as "Pulp Fiction", which resembles "Freeway" a bit in dark glee. Because of the likability of the main character, it is a much richer experience. Now, if only Carrie White and Vanessa Lutz had met in high school...