Freeway (1996)

I've yet to see Tiptoes, the film from which director Matthew Bright was fired (and, sadly, his last movie to date), but I've found everything else by the film-maker to be hugely entertaining thanks to a unique off-kilter style that appeals to my sense of the bizarre. Bright's distinctive approach is very much evident in his debut Freeway, an unforgettable spin on the tale of Little Red Riding Hood: the twisted plot is extremely exploitative and suitably lurid, the characters are grossly exaggerated, the direction is lively, and even though the fairytale is known to most, I'll wager you've never seen it told quite like this.Reese Witherspoon plays white trash juvenile delinquent Vanessa Lutz, who, after her streetwalker mother (a hilariously OTT turn by Amanda Plummer) and crack-head stepfather are arrested, escapes from her social worker to go looking for her grandmother up North. En route, Vanessa experiences car trouble, but is aided by good samaritan Bob Wolverton (Kiefer Sutherland), who offers her a lift. What Vanessa doesn't realise is that Bob is the serial killer who has been slicing up hookers on the I-5 interstate, and he plans to do very bad things to her (AFTER he's killed her, of course!); unfortunately for Bob, Vanessa is more than capable of protecting herself.What follows is a darkly humorous tale full of surprises, memorable characters, extreme violence and great performances, not just from Witherspoon and Sutherland, but also from an excellent supporting cast that includes Dan Hedaya, Brooke Shields and Brittany Murphy. The film also benefits from a quirky score by Danny Elfman that suits the demented material perfectly. Any film that features the star of 24 with a messed up face and a poop bag, and the star of Legally Blonde hiding a makeshift knife up her holiest of holies is easily worth a 9/10 from me.

An absolutely brilliant film in so many different respects. At it's most basic it's a modern take on Robin Hood, but it can be enjoyed on many different levels. There are several just plain brilliant performances. This is first film that I watched Reece Witherspoon in that really showed me her depth and stretched her ability as an actress, and she was only 18 years old! She's strong, powerful, empathetic and like-able as the wayward teen looking for her grandmother. Keifer Sutherland also has a strong role, with some of my other favorite performances being from Britany Murphy as a completely transformed and nearly unrecognizable pyromaniac lesbian delinquent. Another great performance is Michael T. Weiss (from the TV series Pretender) as a complete crack-head, and Brook Shields as the wife of Keifer Sutherland's character. This is not a film for children, despite it being based on a children's tale, but if you approach it with an open mind I think you'll really enjoy it.

This movie is horrible. I spent the majority of the time holding down the fast forward button on my remote.Reese W. does well despite the horrible film that this is. Keifer S. should just stay retired or go in hiding or wherever he was before this came out.Reese has to regret doing this film.Very predictable, with no plot or storyline that you're average movie buff couldn't come up with. I don't see where this has anything to do with the little red riding hood story. They forced that association onto this film.This is not worth watching at all. The weekend opening gross tells the story. Don't waste your time, or spoil your thoughts that Reese W. is fun to watch on film.

Freeway is written and directed by Matthew Bright. It stars Reese Witherspoon, Kiefer Sutherland, Dan Hedaya, Wolfgang Bodison, Brooke Shields & Brittany Murphy. Plot is darkly based around the Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale and sees young runaway Vanessa Lutz (Witherspoon) hit the road after her parents are arrested. Setting off to visit her grandmother she agrees to a lift from the kind and well spoken Bob Wolverton (Sutherland), only to find that he's not as nice as she first thought. He in turn is in for a big surprise himself since Vanessa is more than capable of looking after herself.Twisted and richly humorous, Matthew Bright's movie oozes originality and quite frankly deserves to be better appreciated: never mind better known! Going into it for a first time completely oblivious to its structure will arguably aid the experience. Suffice to say that the less known about it prior to viewing it the better. All I have to say is that it's violent, sweary and contains very sexually explicit dialogue, so if those things are likely to offend then perhaps stay away from it. But what if I offer up that those things are dealt with a satirical bent? That the tough scenes, and some of them are very tough, are basis to a caustic narrative about social hypocrisy and the often stupidity of the law? Interested? You should be, because once viewed you're unlikely to forget it. It's no surprise to see Oliver Stone's name etched onto the production credits, since this very much feels like a dirty second cousin to his Natural Born Killers. I'd argue that here we have the better acted film with Witherspoon and Sutherland giving virtuoso performances: with admirable support coming from the likes of Bodison, Shields and Murphy.One of the most undervalued film's of the 90s? You bet it is! 8.5/10