If there was one person in the movie summer blockbuster that gained stardom, it was Reese Witherspoon for her role in the movie “Legally Blonde” where she played a California dumb blonde who goes to Harvard and becomes a lawyer. Though the film was a box office hit and gained her attention to the Hollywood A-List, as a fan, I found myself uncomfortable with the attention she’s receiving and seeing her in such mainstream magazines as “Entertainment Weekly” and “US” magazine. For someone who’s been a fan since her days when she did movies like “S.F.W.” and “Overnight Delivery”, I’m afraid that she might be typecast as a dumb blonde and at the same time be corrupted by the glitz and glamour that Hollywood provides and she’ll probably end up doing movies that will suck and not showcase her true talent. As she is ready to enter that horrid world, I decide to review what I think made Reese Witherspoon the great actress that she is. The 1996 black comedy “Freeway”.

“Freeway” is a modern remake of the children’s story “Little Red Riding Hood” but with a 90s dark twist that is reminiscent to the Oliver Stone flick “Natural Born Killers” and the independent films of Quentin Tarantino. Written and directed by Matthew Bright who had previously wrote for the Drew Barrymore movie “Guncrazy” gave the “Little Red Riding Hood” story a much darker and twisted makeover with a slice of black comedy. With help from executive producer Oliver Stone and music from Oingo Boingo leader and veteran film score composer Danny Elfman, Bright’s film for “Freeway” is a dark but hilarious masterpiece that would not only send Reese Witherspoon further into her acting chops but also making a darling with film critics. With the help from such veteran actors like Dan Hedaya, Michael T. Weiss, Kiefer Sutherland, Brooke Shields, Amanda Plummer and acclaimed newcomers like Brittany Murphy and Bokeem Woodbine, “Freeway” would be neither a movie that would not be imitated so easily nor a film that no filmmaker would touch.

The story for “Freeway” is set in a Southern California redneck type-of-place where a young illiterate girl named Vanessa Lutz (Witherspoon) who is also a potty-mouth finds her mother Ramona (Amanda Plummer) prostituting herself again in order to score drugs for herself and husband Larry (Michael T. Weiss). Unfortunately, Ramona and Larry got busted for drug possession and prostitution and Vanessa decides to up north to live with her grandmother. On the way, Vanessa gets help from her boyfriend Chopper (Bokeem Woodbine) who gives her his gun that was going to be pawned later but a gang kills Chopper later over the usual gang-activity stuff. While on her way to Stockton, California, Vanessa’s car gets into trouble and she gets help from a counselor named Bob Wolverton (Kiefer Sutherland) who gives her a ride. On the way, Wolverton and Lutz have a conversation about her trouble with the law and Wolverton decides to help her with her trouble.

Then the story takes a dark turn as Wolverton starts to say mean things like the fact that she enjoyed being molested by her stepfather Larry, Vanessa then gets angry and tries to get out of the car. Suddenly, Wolverton starts assaulting Vanessa who refers to her as “garbage people” as Vanessa learns that he is the I-5 Killer who was being hunted for killing young girls in a freeway. Wolverton keeps assaulting her until he calls her the “C” word and all hell breaks loose as Vanessa starts beating up and have her gun up to his head. As he confesses to the killings, Vanessa starts to shoot him repeatedly and he dies but he goes to a hospital with blood all over him from the gunshot wounds without her knowing it. Vanessa then gets caught with her gun and was like “oh wow” in her sarcastic quip. Wolverton’s wife Mimi wants her dead for paralyzing her husband who becomes a freak who can’t walk and have children.

Vanessa then meets up with investigators Wallace (Dan Hedaya) and Breer (Wolfgang Bodison) who tells them that he is the I-5 Killer but she is already in trouble with attempted murder and Breer insults her and she starts calling him racial slurs and is then sent to a female juvenile facility where she meets a paint-sniffing lesbian (Brittany Murphy) and a Latin gang leader named Mesquita (Alanna Urbach) who Vanessa assaults after she gets called “b*tch* by Mesquita with a telephone and stuff. Very shocking and I got pretty scared of meeting girls with that kind of attitude. Wow. She is then sent to isolation as her trial awaits but escapes jail where she seeks revenge on Wolverton as he is being investigated as the I-5 Killer.

Witherspoon’s performance was not only shocking but also confrontational as she belts out racial slurs and profanity with her Southern accent that makes you wish she were offered several bars of soap to wash that dirty mouth. While the veteran actors like Sutherland, Hedaya, and Plummer stay strong in their performances, it was Witherspoon who not only overshadows them but also is a scene-stealer with her confrontational approach in her role. Bright not only kept up surprises in his screenplay but he also adds a lot of dark humor that is laughable but might offend some people. Even the violence in the movie is shocking and not for the squeamish but does give the film a good balance with its comedic format.

“Freeway” is a wonderful masterpiece from Bright. Sadly, he would end up making a horrible sequel to “Freeway” called “Freeway 2: Confessions of a Trickbaby” which lacked the intense violent approach and black comedy that the first one had. “Freeway” originally premiered on HBO in early 1996 to as an unknown independent action film that would gain the attention of film critics and independent film fans that hailed Witherspoon as a bright young actress who had great potential. Though Witherspoon would appear in such acclaimed films as “Pleasantville”, “American Psycho”, and “Election” and the box-office smash “Cruel Intention” with husband and the extremely untalented actor Ryan Philippe, “Freeway” would be the movie her true devoted fans like myself would consider her crowning achievement. If she’ll never play another role like Vanessa Lutz, then her role in “Freeway” is pretty much her greatest character in her remarkable career.



Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: Good for Groups
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age