Don't mess with Thelma & Louise

                                                                                 By Tom Pacak
For over twenty-six years, Thelma & Louise has been regarded as one of the great road trip movies. When the film was released, it was critically acclaimed by both critics and audiences. It won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay in 1991.

Like other classics road trip films (Easy Rider, Little Miss Sunshine, Rain Man, and Planes, Trains, and Automobiles) the films follows the formula of insecure people finding themselves through a road trip. The only difference between Thelma & Louise is that it centers on women instead of men.

The film focuses on two characters, Thelma and Louise. They are the only two characters in the film that really get great development. In fact, all of the other characters are male. The male characters in this film are ineffective, scheming, dumb, or a combination of all three. The movie greatly shows female empowerment and how to rebel against men who have done them wrong. I thought it was clever how the only two characters with real depth were the characters of the film title.

The plot starts out as the two women wanting to take a road trip to a cabin in the mountains for a fishing trip. Thelma is a housewife married to a rude and controlling businessman named Darryl. She’s so scared of her husband, that instead of telling him in person that she’s going on vacation, she writes him a letter on the fridge telling him. Meanwhile, Louise is the cautious decision maker and is a waitress working at a diner. She is dating a musician named Jimmy who may or may not be abusive to Louise.

            During their drive, the two women decide to stop at a rodeo bar for dinner and drinks. While there, Thelma lets out some excitement in her life by dancing and being flirty with one of the guys at the bar. This is a rare moment for Thelma due to not being able to experience this fun as a housewife. Louise on the other hand, wants to get drinks and leave quickly. Things get out of hand quickly for Thelma as the man she was with attempts to rape her. In a great character-developing scene, Louise comes to Thelma’s rescue by holding the attempting rapist by gunpoint. After the man insults Louise, she acts out of anger and guns the man down. This scene really shows that Louise may be hiding a secret about her past that shows why she is the way she is throughout the movie.

            So then were off, the two women assume that they’ll be wanted for murder and decide to hit the road to Mexico. On the way they come across a pretty boy thief (played by Brad Pitt in a star making breakout role), a perverted truck driver, and even some bank robbing. Throughout the trip and the obstacles the women dodge, they slowly start to find out who they really are and their character traits change. After escaping her boring house life, Thelma becomes the risky decision maker and rebel. Louise, now uncertain about who Louise is becomes the one who isn’t sure about what’s going to happen.

            Overall in my opinion, Thelma & Louise is a great addition to the cannon of road trip movies. Some people criticize the ending as being too sad. I disagree. I think the ending was perfect because these women had the opportunity of finding out who they are. If the two women were to just go to the cabin and come back, they wouldn’t have found out who they really are. Thelma would return to her pig of a husband while Louise would be still hanging on to the past. After repeated viewings, Thelma & Louise has aged well.