Freeway . Austin Chronicle . 03-29-99

Freeway

DIRECTED BY: Matthew Bright

REVIEWED: 03-29-99

The opening credits for this film show R. Crumb-ish drawings of sexy Little Red Riding Hoods being chased by a lascivious wolf and that's exactly what it turns out to be; a modern-day Little Red Riding Hood story. When we first meet heroine Vanessa (Reese Witherspoon) she's in a class with her boyfriend learning how to read at kindergarten level. Her coke-whore mom gets arrested by an undercover cop while her stepdad paws her in the motel room where they all live. Rather than go to foster care, Vanessa handcuffs her probation officer to the bed and sets off for her grandma's house, basket in hand. She says good-bye to her boyfriend, who gives her a gun to sell to finance her trip. On the way, she's picked up by yuppie/solid citizen/youth counselor Kiefer Sutherland, who also happens to be the big bad wolf in the form of the "Highway 5 serial killer." Maybe you've gotten weary of serial killers in movies, but Sutherland brings a new twist to his part, oozing real malevolence as the hideously (yet somehow comically) disfigured Bob. Freeway is disturbing, terrifically violent, and funny as hell, breaking free of clichés you'd expect to see in this kind of film. The Vanessa character is a real switch as well; when you think she's going to be another helpless victim, she turns out to be self-reliant and tough. She's smart, sexy, and takes absolutely no shit from anyone, not even the cops. All in all, an original, inventive twist on a too-familiar theme, with great dialogue, believable characters, and bizarre set-pieces. Best line: Vanessa calling anyone a dumbass in her Southern twang.

--Jerry Renshaw

Full Length Reviews
Freeway

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