# The Film FREEWAY With Reese Witherspoon & Kiefer Sutherland **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 12, 2007, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-film-freeway-with-reese-witherspoon-kiefer-sutherland/387677 "2007-01-12T06:14:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2007, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-film-freeway-with-reese-witherspoon-kiefer-sutherland/387677/1 "2007-01-12T06:14:14Z")
I had never even heard of this film before, but it was showing on Showtime the other night and caught it. [Here](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116361/) is the IMDB link with cast and plot. It was a very funny, bloody, odd film that would make John Waters proud. There were quite a few laugh out loud scenes and the whole film is just the strangest thing…I really liked it a lot. It ranks high as one of my new, all-time-favorite B films! Anybody else seen this film? ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2007, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-film-freeway-with-reese-witherspoon-kiefer-sutherland/387677/2 "2007-01-12T06:29:59Z")
Oh yeah! [SPOILER] Reese w/gun: Do you accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior? Serial Killer Kiefer (blubbering): Yes! Yes, I do! Reese: That’s very good. (BLAM!)[/SPOILER] ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2007, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-film-freeway-with-reese-witherspoon-kiefer-sutherland/387677/3 "2007-01-12T06:38:55Z")
I’ve got the DVD and I first saw the movie way back when it was first released on video. I was glued to the screen, it’s so intense and different. Reese Witherspoon is brilliant in this. Those who have only seen her in _Walk The Line_, the \*Legally Blonde \* movies, or her forgettable romantic comedies don’t know what they’re missing. Her character in Freeway is one of the most realistic badass bitches I’ve seen in the movies (as opposed to the more cartoonish badass chicks like those in \*Kill Bill \* or other action movies). She is hardcore. ---
**Author:** ![Stuffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@Stuffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stuffy)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2007, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-film-freeway-with-reese-witherspoon-kiefer-sutherland/387677/4 "2007-01-12T06:49:32Z")
The funny thing about this movie is I thought I saw it on cable before it was released in theaters. Can somebody confrim my memory of this? ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2007, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-film-freeway-with-reese-witherspoon-kiefer-sutherland/387677/5 "2007-01-12T11:58:47Z")
Great flick. I saw it after **Election** but before **Legally Blonde** – young Ms. Witherspoon has made some interesting choices, hasn’t she? ---
**Author:** ![Scoundrel\_Swanswater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dfb087/32.png) [@Scoundrel\_Swanswater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scoundrel_Swanswater)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2007, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-film-freeway-with-reese-witherspoon-kiefer-sutherland/387677/6 "2007-01-12T13:06:55Z")
I love it, especially how it is basically an updated version of Little Red Riding Hood. I especially loved Kiefer Sutherland’s performance in the halo. My God, that looked uncomfortable. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2007, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-film-freeway-with-reese-witherspoon-kiefer-sutherland/387677/7 "2007-01-12T13:22:33Z")
I saw _Freeway_ at a prescreening in Santa Monica. I loved the courtroom scene. Kiefer Sutherland’s character was a nasty child molester who was seriously injured by his victim. Reese Witherspoon saw him come into the room with his orthopedic ‘halo’ and laughed. And laughed, and laughed and laughed. It was hilarious. After the show when we were filling out the evaluation cards, and as the audience walked out of the theatre, I heard people commenting on the scene. I heard people say ‘It’s wrong to laugh at handicapped people! How could they have put that in there?’ :rolleyes: People, the character was _evil!_ He _deserved_ to have his victim laugh at him! And it was funny. But this was in Santa Monica, a place where Political Correctness was (and may still be) virtually a religion. Laugh at a ‘handicapped’ guy? Heck, those people probably thought Witherspoon’s character shouldn’t have defended herself at all! I saw the film one time after the pre-release screening. I think it was on cable. The courtroom scene was severely edited. It wasn’t as brutally funny as it was when I saw it the first time. It may have worked for people who hadn’t seen the original, but having seen the director’s version of it I was disappointed. I won’t go out of my way to watch it again unless the scene is restored. ---
**Author:** ![Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4da419/32.png) [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gala_Matrix_Fire)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2007, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-film-freeway-with-reese-witherspoon-kiefer-sutherland/387677/8 "2007-01-12T13:29:30Z")
I always like a film that surprises me. I try to learn as little as possible about a movie before I see it, just enough to make me want to see it. To me the best aspect of the movie is how Reese’s character starts out as a sweet but stupid teenager growing up in a scary home, and is eventually revealed to be…somewhat different from that. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2007, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-film-freeway-with-reese-witherspoon-kiefer-sutherland/387677/9 "2007-01-12T14:51:00Z")
It’s one of my favorites. You can usually find the DVD in Wal-Mart bargin bins for $4.99. Amanda Plumbers performance is great also as Reese’s wacked out mother. ---
**Author:** ![Wee\_Bairn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90db22/32.png) [@Wee\_Bairn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wee_Bairn)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2007, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-film-freeway-with-reese-witherspoon-kiefer-sutherland/387677/10 "2007-01-12T17:37:46Z")
Probably the best black comedy ever. Dozens of great lines- tis a shame it bombed in theatres (was it ever in theatres?) ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2007, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-film-freeway-with-reese-witherspoon-kiefer-sutherland/387677/11 "2007-01-12T17:44:52Z")
I love this movie. In it’s genre it’s a classic IMO. It was the first time I’d ever seen Reese Witherspoon in a movie and she impressed me greatly. I always recommend it to people looking for a good thriller. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2007, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-film-freeway-with-reese-witherspoon-kiefer-sutherland/387677/12 "2007-01-12T18:26:14Z")
“well, look who got hit with the ugly stick.” Loved it, not for the faint of heart ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2007, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-film-freeway-with-reese-witherspoon-kiefer-sutherland/387677/13 "2007-01-12T22:54:18Z")
[QUOTE=DMark] It was a very funny, bloody, odd film that would make John Waters proud. [/QUOTE] And in fact was chosen by Waters for a film series he hosted for here! television titled “John Waters Presents Films That Will Corrupt You.” Saw it a couple years ago, have been waiting for it to come back on cable and need to get around to watching it on demand before it goes away again at I think the end of this week. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2007, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-film-freeway-with-reese-witherspoon-kiefer-sutherland/387677/14 "2007-01-13T04:15:21Z")
Discovered this twisted little bit of insanity on HBO one night. Came in with Keifer giving her a ride where it seems so normal and serious, and then, bam! WTF!!? Little Reesie Cup carried that whole film! It could have so easily gone from black comedy to camp if it weren’t for her performance. And then out of nowhere, freakin’ Brooke Shields as Sutherland’s wife?! This was back before she had her TV show, or was doing much or anything really. My favorite line was near the end: During the final fight between Reese & Keifer when she sees her Grandma bound & gagged & naked & dead she screams, “You killed my grandma” Sutherland responds maniacally and via his vocoder, “That’s not all I did to grandma!” ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2007, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-film-freeway-with-reese-witherspoon-kiefer-sutherland/387677/15 "2007-01-13T04:57:02Z")
I guess I need to see it again. I must have missed something the first time–I thought it sucked. What the hey, I’ll give it another chance. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2007, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-film-freeway-with-reese-witherspoon-kiefer-sutherland/387677/16 "2007-01-13T05:05:20Z")
The Movie is great, and I dispute its characterization as a B movie. Definitely a mainstream movie, influential in my opinion. I’ve seen it several times. It showed on HBO several years back… they played the shit out of it. Very disturbing and a bit to visceral for me in all honesty. If you liked this movie, try a triple feature: [Freeway](http://imdb.com/title/tt0116361/) [Kalifornia](http://imdb.com/title/tt0107302/) [Retroactive](http://imdb.com/title/tt0117468/) These are effective movies from the same period and genre of genre (genre= painting that depicts scenes or events from everyday life usually realistically). The primary women in these movies also happen to be a fantasy foursome. Reese Witherspoon, Juliette Lewis, Kylie Travis, and Shannon Whirry…very sexy actresses. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2007, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-film-freeway-with-reese-witherspoon-kiefer-sutherland/387677/17 "2007-01-13T10:58:58Z")
Love this movie! I knew right then Reese Witherspoon would be a star. And you’re right. Odd freekin’ movie. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2007, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-film-freeway-with-reese-witherspoon-kiefer-sutherland/387677/18 "2007-01-13T14:29:51Z")
Hail Ants writes: \> And then out of nowhere, freakin’ Brooke Shields as Sutherland’s wife?! This \> was back before she had her TV show, or was doing much or anything really. No, the movie came out about the same time as her TV show started. She was already well known at the time. I don’t even think that it came out during a lull in her career. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2007, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-film-freeway-with-reese-witherspoon-kiefer-sutherland/387677/19 "2007-01-15T17:51:18Z")
[QUOTE=Stuffy] The funny thing about this movie is I thought I saw it on cable before it was released in theaters. Can somebody confrim my memory of this? [/QUOTE] It was a made for HBO movie. (One in a long line of excellent flicks.) The cruel irony is that after HBO made it and played the shit out of it, it got a whole new life. First getting a distribution deal to be released in theaters, it then became a Showtime-exclusive, so I (an HBO subscriber) can no longer see it on cable, despite it being made by a channel I subscribe to. I noticed it was on Showtime just last week. Boooo! ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-film-freeway-with-reese-witherspoon-kiefer-sutherland/387677/20 "2007-04-12T23:05:32Z")
(BUMP) I saw this last night at a special screening at the Roxie (who was the original film distributor for the movie). When I got home, I immediately went to Netflix it, but it was already on my queue… most likely because of this thread. I’m kind of ashamed that some parts were just too fucked up for even me to laugh at. (Cut me a break, I grew up in San Francisco!) I maintain that no one can play creepy like The Kiefer. And Reese Witherspoon is amazing, choice of movies notwithstanding. I also see there’s a sequel starring Natasha Lyonne and David Alan Grier. Awesome. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-film-freeway-with-reese-witherspoon-kiefer-sutherland/387677.md?page=2)