Written and Directed by: Matthew Bright
Starring: Reese Witherspoon, Kiefer Sutherland, Bokeem Woodbine
I know – I just keep adding new categories and subcategories to the website. But, I realized that I kind of watch (and love) a lot of grindhouse, so maybe I should call some out. And Freeway is a stellar example of modern grindhouse. Both movies, actually (stay tuned for a write up on Freeway 2: Confessions of a Trickbaby coming soon). So, a new subcategory is born!
Now, about Freeway:
This movie has a quality ensemble cast for a movie that received very little fanfare theatrically. You’re going to see a lot more big names than just Witherspoon, Sutherland and Woodbine. It also features Brooke Shields, Conchata Ferrell, Dan Hedaya, Guillermo Diaz, Amanda Plummer, and Brittany Murphy to name a few.
So, the story is actually a really dark, gritty retelling of Little Red Riding Hood. I probably don’t need to say this but it is a very loose retelling. Red is Vanessa Lutz – a sometimes completely illiterate, sometimes not (she certainly doesn’t struggle with that diner menu, but can’t read that a cat drank some milk when it’s written on a blackboard) troubled teen. She comes from a terrible family who live in poverty, and is constantly at risk of being put into foster care yet again – something we will come to learn has not worked out well for her in the past.
When her mom (Plummer) and stepdad get arrested, social services is called and Vanessa’s PO comes to visit (is she though, or is she Vanessa’s caseworker? She calls her a PO when describing her later on but contextually she just seems like a DCF/CPS/whatever caseworker. Shoutout Conchata – gone too soon). Rather than risk being placed in yet another abusive foster home, Vanessa decides it’s wise to imprison Mrs. Sheets and steal her car. She’s going to go find her late father’s (who based on the photo she carries is…checks notes…Richard Speck, noted serial murderer) mother. She’s never met her, but that’s fine because she has a picture of ol’ grandma, with her address printed on the back for some reason.
Along the way she meets Bob Wolverton (Sutherland). A seemingly nice man who claims to be a child therapist. He helps her when her stolen car breaks down, and offers to drive her as far north as Hollywood, where he is going. As they’re driving, Bob begins to say some truly questionable things. Those questionable things quickly become repugnant things. At this point, Vanessa begins to suspect that Bob is actually a serial killer that has been all over the news. So she does what any reasonable human would do. She shoots him “a whole bunch of times.” This of course leads to her speedy arrest. When she stumbles into a diner covered in blood her only response to the horrified reaction to those around her is to say:
“I must look a fright. Got a washroom?”
Needless to say, she goes directly to jail. But every god damned second of her time in the courtroom is pure gold. She is delightfully unrepentant, Bob’s wife (Shields) is a precious asshole, and Bob is…well Bob is nightmare fuel at this point. He survived being shot a whole bunch of times, but he is jacked up. I’m not going to tell you any more about the plot because I really think you should watch it. You can even check it out (and F2) on Tubi for free.
It is violent, funny, and really dark. The dialogue is absolutely perfect. Vanessa is the perfect example of an anti-hero. You want her to murder the absolute shit out of Bob, and you want her to get away with it, scot-free. You want her to get away with EVERYTHING. She’s earned it!
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