Freeway (1996) is one of the darkest but also funniest films I’ve ever seen, and it’s the movie that made Reese Witherspoon a star.
And this is shocking stuff. It’s Reese Witherspoon like you’ve never seen her. I don’t think she’d ever take on a role like this again. She was 19 when the movie was released, and she displays an impressive range—really hits the high notes—that few actors ever achieve in their entire careers.
Let’s be real: this movie isn’t high art. It can be lowbrow at times. But it has something to say.
Freeway is an urban retelling of Little Red Riding Hood—except here, Little Red Riding Hood is Vanessa Lutz (Reese Witherspoon), a 14-year-old girl who can’t read. Her mother is constantly turning tricks on the corner outside their house, and her stepdad is a drug addict who won’t stop trying to have his way with her. But when her mom gets arrested, and shortly after, her stepdad too, Vanessa is left alone. She’s about to be taken in by Child Protective Services when she gets an idea: she’ll go live with her grandmother instead. So, stepping out on her social worker, she heads down the freeway—and that’s where she meets Bob Wolverton (Kiefer Sutherland), who exudes an impressive menace. And, as his last name implies, he’s the wolf in this retelling.
As you can probably imagine, Vanessa and Bob collide in a battle of wills. But Vanessa, a victim of the system, does things no 14-year-old in a healthy environment would ever do. This film is as much about her descent into criminality as it is about the world that made her this way. Because Freeway makes a point: girls like Vanessa don’t just happen. They are created. They are products of an unjust world. We already know what kind of person Vanessa is going to become because the system makes her. When you grow up like that, you’re just trying to survive. And sometimes, the only thing keeping you alive is your will to live. That’s what this film is about.
Now, I have to mention the supporting cast—because they’re amazing. Brooke Shields plays Bob Wolverton’s wife, Mimi, and wow, is she obnoxious. I wanted to slap her a few times. Brittany Murphy has a short but memorable role—she grabbed my attention right away, and honestly, it’s too bad she didn’t get a longer career. RIP, Brittany Murphy. Wolfgang Bodison and Dan Hedaya play the detectives, and they are riveting.
Now, to say this film is offensive is an understatement. It is wildly offensive. If I had known some of the scenes that were coming, I might not have watched it at all. At one point, Vanessa utters the N-word, and I was furious that the scene even made it into the movie. It was inexcusable. There is no situation where a white person should ever say that word, and it came with a hard R. Had I known, I wouldn’t have watched the film.
And yet—I have never seen a movie like this before, and I don’t think a movie like this will ever be made again. I don’t think Reese Witherspoon will ever play a character like this again. It’s kitschy, maybe even trashy. There were moments where I laughed and immediately felt like I was going to hell for laughing—but it was funny. Especially when Vanessa, pointing a gun at someone, drawls in her thick Southern accent (I think it’s Southern, not sure if it’s Texan—my ear for American accents isn’t great):
“Do you accept Jesus into your heart as your personal Lord and Savior?”
Come on. That’s funny.
Do I regret watching this movie? No. Did I laugh? Yes. Did it give me a lot to think about? Absolutely. Is Reese Witherspoon an incredible actress? No doubt.
But the one thing that keeps me from recommending this film is that N-word scene. I just don’t think there’s ever a reason for that word to be said.
All I can say is, I wish more films like Freeway could be made. It’s just too bad about that N-word, though.
I’ve never seen the movie, but my thoughts on a racial slur being used are such that I think it really depends on how the racial slur is used/portrayed. Is it being used to celebrate racism? Is it being used to display how flawed or awful a character is?
Are people murdered in the film? If they are, maybe consider how much more awful pretend murder is than pretend racism. Are you okay with murder in storytelling and not racism?
I’m not a fan of racism and I think it has no place in real life, but to deny it exists is just folly.
As long as it’s not being used as “cool” and instead being used to display the awfulness or at least how very flawed a character is, it has a place in storytelling. Django Unchained is a pretty good example. It’s supposed to make you feel uncomfortable.
@atomicpoet @movies This is a great film!
That entire movie is genius. Every performance had just the right amount of tongue in cheek where it was called for, and none when it wasn’t.
Reese killed every scene she was in. Well, she only killed someone in one scene, but she killed in the rest too lol.
And, the use of the n word was controlled and had a purpose, so it didn’t register to me as egregious. If anything, it brought a little extra bit of grit to the scene it was in, made it hit a little harder and truer than it otherwise would have.
It’s got a pretty loyal cult following, btw.
There was also a sequel, but it sucked.
I don’t think it could be made now. Not and get a distributor.
I’ll heartily recommend it to anyone, though I would also warn them that it can be a tough watch.
