Thelma and Louise (1991)

 Now, this was an excellent film. You think that Thelma (Geena Davis) and Louise (Susan Sarandon) are just headed out for a fun road trip, but things take a quick and ugly turn when Thelma is nearly raped by this total asshole, Harlan (Timothy Carhart) and Louise holds a gun against his head and refuses to apologize so she shoots him, fatality. 

So, they are on the run, and need cash which leads to their next big, bad mistake. The honey trap, J.D. (Brad Pitt) who claims that he just needs to hitch a ride to get back to school when he's actually a convicted felon, for robbery and yet Thelma leaves him alone with a buttload of cash, big mistake, huge. Yeah, he robs them blind though first he does give Thelma her first night of true pleasure in her life (her marriage is a farce). So, Thelma robs a bank and then they speed wildly down the highway, never a good idea to drive at 110 mph, so they force a state trooper into his car trunk and then get payback at a creepy truck driver by blowing up his tanker so yeah, they make a bunch of stupid, stupid choices, but they are both also victims, Louise was raped back in Texas which is why she avoids the entire state (not a bad choice, by the way) though she refuses to admit it and of course, Thelma has a mentally abusive husband, louse of a husband and then is quiet nearly raped herself, yet, all the stops are pulled out. I mean, for just four crimes (and only one fatality), it is an all out manhunt and just when it appears that they've escaped, they haven't but together they make the choice to end it all, by driving off a cliff into their inevitable end. 

Still, they have some support, namely from Louise's long-term boyfriend, Jimmy (Michael Marsden) who wires her some money and doesn't ask too many questions and then the head detective Hal (Harvey Keitel) who just wants to talk to them and does want to help even after the incident with the state trooper, though no one listens to his pleas either. 

Though this is an excellent film, I do wish we learned how Louise and Thelma became friends in the first place as they live different lies, Thelma's a bored, unhappy housewife while Louise is a busy but great waitress. And then, how does J.D. manage to meet up with them again after the first gas station? But seriously, these are largely just nit-picky details in an otherwise great film. Grade: A-

Side Notes:

-Despite her excellent performance, Sarandon is easily a decade too old for her role.

-Thelma is trapped in a loveless marriage with Darryl (Christopher McDonald), but she knows him so well that when he greets her happily on the phone, she knows something is up, and it is.

-If they really needed money, they should have just pawned off their wedding ring (Thelma) and new 'engagement' ring (Louise).

-Darryl, Thelma's husband, is 100% having an affair.

-While I don't condone murder, Harlan needed to be punished and based on what the waitress said, this wasn't the first time he'd done something wrong.

-The waitress (Lucinda Jenney) doesn't believe that the two women are murderers because she was left a big tip, probably because Louise is a waitress herself and knows how difficult the job can be. 

-I can't explain the kiss between Thelma and Louise at the end. 

-I can't believe that Louise goes back to her drink after spending time on the dance floor; first rule of going out, never leave your drink unattended.

-Props to Hans Zimmer's brilliant score, he should have at least earned an Oscar nomination for this.