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Reese Witherspoon, Kiefer Sutherland, Brooke Shields, Amanda Plummer, Wolfgang Bodison ... see more see more... , Dan Hedaya , Bokeem Woodbine , Brittany Murphy , Michael T. Weiss , Julie Araskog , Susan Barnes , Conchata Ferrell , Lorna Raver Johnson , Sidney Lassick , Kathleen Marshall , Michael Merrins , Ben Meyerson , Louis Mustillo , Chris Renna , Paul Perri , Leanna Creel , Monica Creel , Craig Barnett , Michael Herz & Llyod Kaufman , Ria Pavia , Melinda Ramos Renna , Alanna Ubach , Guillermo Díaz , Kitty Fox , David Andriole , Tara Subkoff , Roberta Hanley , Robert Peters , Manny Rodriguez , G. Eric Miles , Nico Petrakis , Annette Helde , Theodore Garcia , Christine Mourad , Spantaneeus Xtasty

In this postmodern exploitation flick loosely based on "Little Red Riding Hood," the uneducated daughter of a drug-addicted prostitute flees the foster-care system in search of her long-lost grandmoth... read more read more...er but meets up instead with a serial killer. Vanessa (Reese Witherspoon), a nearly illiterate firebug and serial shoplifter, desperately clings to normalcy even though her mother turns tricks, does drugs, and manages to ignore the fact that the girl's stepfather Michael T. Weiss has been abusing her for years. When both of her parents get arrested, Vanessa steals the car of her family-services caseworker (Conchata Ferrell) and heads up Interstate 5 in search of her paternal grandmother, who's never met her. Car problems force her to accept a ride from Bob Wolverton (Kiefer Sutherland), a youth counselor who uses charm and sympathy to get the girl to open up. Confessing the sordid details of her childhood to Bob, Vanessa is shocked when he suddenly declares that she's one of the "garbage people" and that he plans to murder her and have sex with her corpse. Bob, it turns out, is the "I-5 Murderer," who's been slaughtering young prostitutes in the Los Angeles area. Thanks to a gun borrowed from her fiancé, Vanessa manages to turn the tables on Bob, shooting him repeatedly and leaving him for dead. He survives, Vanessa is arrested, and the two meet up again in court -- with her unrepentant, even though the police disbelieve her story, him flanked by his prim wife (Brooke Shields) and the righteous indignation of the American legal system. Locked up in the juvie for psychological evaluation, Vanessa gets in touch with her wild side and eventually escapes, heading off to her fateful meeting with grandma. Although Freeway was originally filmed for HBO, vigorously positive critical response eventually earned it a theatrical release. Alanna Ubach, who portrays Vanessa's nemesis/accomplice Mesquita, would go on to appear with Witherspoon in Legally Blonde. Freeway also features two Clueless alumni: Dan Hedaya, as a police detective, and Brittany Murphy, as the disfigured lesbian who befriends Vanessa in lock-up. Michael T. Weiss, who previously appeared in gay indie Jeffrey, appears in both Freeway and its sequel, Freeway 2: Confessions of a Trickbaby. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi

Flixster Users

72% liked it

21,107 ratings

Critics

76% liked it

37 critics

R, 1 hr. 42 min.

Directed by: Matthew Bright

Release Date: August 23, 1996

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DVD Release Date: August 21, 2001

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Stats: 1,295 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (1,295)

  • murphmann93
    October 24, 2011
    murphmann93
    It's hard not to love Reese Witherspoon in anything. This film was mad, crazy, over the top and at times quite hilarious. It's a great modern version of 'Little Red Riding Hood' and even though the ending is predictable, you can't help but like it and you end up rooting for littl... read moree old Vanessa despite her troubled mind. Even more so because a girl with such a tiny frame was beating up men and genuinelly making them terrified of her. Some scenes shock you and most scenes are unpredicable apart from it's ending. It's a weird yet wonderful film.
  • matertenebraum
    December 27, 2009
    matertenebraum
    Based on the classic Grimm Brothers tale, Little Red Riding Hood; Freeway is the disjointed and frankly weird odyssey following a young girl on the way to her grandmother's home. The film begins much like any other hitchhiking film, with a young girl being picked up by a slightly... read more sinister driver. However, you won't be able to predict where it's going to go from there, as Freeway continually puts its characters in absurd situations and delivers the unexpected. The plot doesn't exactly adhere to the story of Little Red Riding Hood, and after the basics have been laid down, it's basically anyone's game right down to the gripping and hilarious climax. The film sees Reese Witherspoon's juvenile delinquent being picked up by Kiefer Sutherland's child psychologist after fleeing from her home when her mother and step father are arrested. After telling the psychologist of her relationship with her step father, she soon realises that he's enjoying what she's saying a little too much; and it's not long before she asks him if he's the infamous I-5 killer, and he doesn't do anything to convince her he's not...

    Freeway doesn't introduce any characters that are particularly likable, and all are guilty to a degree. Most audience members will be on the side of Witherspoon's character, as although she certainly has personality problems, she's great fun to watch and her twisted logic isn't usually far from being spot on! Witherspoon got one of her best roles in this film, and really does carry it despite her young age. Kiefer Sutherland stars alongside her, and it's rather odd seeing him in the psycho role after getting so used to him being Jack Bauer in 24. He does do it great, however. Perhaps the best thing about this film is the pitch black humour that goes hand in hand brilliantly with the absurdity of the piece. The plot is really freewheeling, and the film jumps from road thriller to prison drama to the court room in the blink of an eye, and this helps to ensure that the audience is always kept on their toes. This film won't appeal to people that don't like their movies to be pitch black and unpleasant, but anyone who enjoys a good does of absurdity shouldn't hesitate to track this film down!
  • LitelBluHli
    March 12, 2009
    LitelBluHli
    I found the movie to be hilarious in so many ways. There were some cheesy parts, but I think that's how they were meant to be...For example, Reese Witherspoon is super tiny, but she was "beating" up these people. Those scenes were also funny to watch. Kiefer Sutherland's characte... read morer was funny as well. The after effects of what happened to him was pretty damn funny, Reese kept laughing at him in the court room. HAHA!

    Reese plays 15 year old Vanessa Glutz, whose mother gets arrested for prostitution and other charges as well as her step father. She decides she wants to go stay with her grandmother in northern California and steals her probation officer's car. It eventually dies on the freeway and Keifer's characther, Bob something stops to help and eventually gives her a ride and that's how it all starts. It also has a young Brittany Murphy and Brooke Shields in here also.
  • cosmo313
    January 6, 2009
    cosmo313
    A very sick and twisted darkly comedic take on 'Little Red Riding Hood', but done with style and an obvious placement of tongue in cheek. The film gets under one's skin, but, due to the high quality of the acting (all around, but especially from Witherspoon and Sutherland), anyth... read moreing off-putting can be seen (by the open-minded/unoffended) as disguised satire, and that's also a good thing. As a nice little bonus, this film features (as Intolerable Cruelty would almost a decade later) a really cool animated opening titles sequence. If one is in the right mood, the nFreeway will not disappoint.
  • puffchunk
    October 8, 2008
    puffchunk
    Wow. What a messed up movie, but in all the good ways. Sutherland's drool face is priceless, and I actually liked Reese Witherspoon for one of the first times in my life. "Do you want me to shoot you a whole bunch of times?"
  • hobster1
    July 13, 2008
    hobster1
    Uncomfortable, funny and dark update of little red riding hood is highlighted by a stellar performance by Reese Witherspoon.
  • kiriyamakazou
    August 26, 2006
    kiriyamakazou
    For a simple TV movie this is very effective and entertaining. A simple update of Red Riding Hood, only making it much more twisted. Kiefer Sutherland is fantastic as the big bad wold/serial killer and Reese is nice and feisty as a bitchy Red. Always seems like a TV movie, but at... read more least it seems like a damn good one.
  • fb717685367
    November 10, 2011
    fb717685367
    Very, very, very, very weird. But so funny at the same time. Reese Witherspoon and Kiefer Sutherland were the perfect crime partners and without them, the film wouldn't of been good. Nothing was predictable and the craziness of it made it even better. It takes you on one wild rid... read moree that will you keep you on the edge of your seat. Two words to describe the whole of the film and that is utter madness.
  • fb20312798
    March 9, 2010
    fb20312798
    A great twist of both the serial killer genre and the tale of little red riding hood. Reese Witherspoon did her best work when she was younger and this film along with Election is a testament to that. Her performance is comedic and terrifying at the same time. You gotta love Kief... read moreer Sutherland in this too who as the villian spends more time getting the shit kicked out of him than actually being terrifying. The film isn't meant to be realistic and don't view it as such, its an over the top exploitation film with just the right amount of satire.
  • ashleymh007
    August 11, 2008
    ashleymh007
    Ok,this is movis is sort of funny and sort of not, which is what makes it interesting. Its definitely campy and Witherspoon is a little too good at being trailer trash. I can also attest that her accent is accurate, as I hear it on a semi-daily basis. One can understand why she i... read mores the way she is, although the story needed some serious polishing and sometimes I felt it was gratuitous for the heck of it. The entire Brittany Murphy character could have been cut out for instance. Its campy and interesting. I would have liked to see it more polished, better dialogue, and a little more concise plot.

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Critic Reviews

Lawrence Van Gelder
May 20, 2003
Lawrence Van Gelder, New York Times

Freeway glints here and there with dark humor amounting to a knowing wink that undercuts the cautionary tale at its heart and the seriousness of its graphic sociology. Full Review

Liam Lacey
July 12, 2002
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail

Cynical, stylish and witty. Full Review

Mick LaSalle
June 18, 2002
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

Rude in the way the truth is rude -- only funnier. Full Review

Kevin Thomas
February 14, 2001
Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times

It's too drawn-out, too talky and, at the most crucial moment, needlessly implausible, to sustain its humor and large dose of violence. Full Review

Charles Taylor
January 1, 2000
Charles Taylor, Salon.com

Alive with the luscious turn-ons of sex and danger, Freeway is the most impressive debut film I've seen all year. Full Review

Joe Baltake
January 1, 2000
Joe Baltake, Sacramento Bee

A wild, audacious drive-in attraction that takes the 'high' from 'highbrow' and the 'low' from 'lowdown' and shakes them up. Full Review

James Berardinelli
January 1, 2000
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

Both grimly funny and thought-provoking. Full Review

Roger Ebert
January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Like it or hate it (or both), you have to admire its skill, and the over-the-top virtuosity of Reese Witherspoon and Kiefer Sutherland. Full Review

Emanuel Levy
March 6, 2011
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

Darkly humorous, witty and nasty, Freeway is an original take on the Red Riding Hood fairytale, featuring a wonderful performance by the teenage Reese Witherspoon, before she became a star Full Review

Jeffrey M. Anderson
January 28, 2011
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid

[The] characters are crisp and fascinating, and the movie has a great anything-can-happen B-movie excitement feel to it. Full Review

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  • What movie featured Reese Witherspoon and Keifer Sutherland in a twisted take on Little Red Riding Hood?  Answer »
  • What movie did Reese Witherspoon play the teenage daughter of a crack whore?   Answer »
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