Thelma and Louise

    I thoroughly enjoyed this 1988 chase action comedy by Callie Khouri. Two women who are unsatisfied with their lives set out for an adventure that will change their lives more than they ever could imagine. A housewife's dream come true. 

    Thelma and Louise, are unhappy with their day-to-day lives and decide to get away and go on a two-day trip to a cabin in the mountains. On the way, Thelma gets hungry and the two are encouraged to stop at a Bar & Restaurant for dinner. Thelma meets a real charmer and the two dance the night away cheek to cheek. Thelma gets sick and the man accompanies her outside. He becomes too friendly with Thelma as the situation escalates quickly into him attempting to rape her. Louise stops the man and holds him at gunpoint. The girls begin to leave, but when the man continues to utter degrading words showing he didn’t learn his lesson, Louise pulls the trigger. Never being in this situation before, the girls jump in their convertible and speed away. The women continue to run from authorities and move from location to location. Louise tells Thelma she’s off to Mexico because she has no reason to go back since her boyfriend doesn’t love her. Thelma attempts to phone home to her husband, but when he takes a fatherly role of control, Thelma finally tells him to fuck off. 

From there, the two meet a very attractive hitchhiker named Simon, who Thelma falls for and has the night of her life with. Other than the best sex ever, Simon also shares with Thelma his techniques of robbery, which prove to be useful to Thelma later on. Louise boyfriend, Jimmy, shows up with the money he was supposed to just wire to her. After a romantic night of engagement, marriage, and consummation Jimmy leaves promising to love her no matter what happens. Thelma and Louise are back to their change purses after realizing Simon has stolen the money Jimmy brought. Thelma then uses Simon’s skills to rob a convenient store so Louise doesn’t have to sell her ring. Thelma and Louise continue to outsmart the police and teach ignorant men who are woman users a lesson. The two almost completely switch characters and become true criminals along the way. After a final run from the police, there’s no going back now and the two decide to...I can't ruin the best movie ending of all time -read the screenplay or WATCH THE MOVIE!!
    The plot was highly original and significantly different from other adventure films. Many popular themes were addressed such as women’s rights, but the overall plot of two harmless women becoming criminals has never been explored in this manner. This plot was successfully interesting. Watching these two characters roll with the snowball effect never seized to entertain. I do believe given the right circumstances and time, anyone is capable of anything. These characters were driven to their questionable actions. I reasoned with them the whole way. This plot is plausible, not necessarily likely, but given the characters circumstances it is believable. The premise from which the conclusion is drawn from works for me, however some may feel the two needed to eventually be caught and return home. I was glad they were never caught and in the end, they found the only possible solution to remain free and wild.

    The concept of two characters that are finally going to seek a fulfilling life and the way they go about it, completely transforming their identities, was sincerely original and appealing to any audience. The housewife, whose life is totally controlled by her husband, takes off with out permission and has the time of her life. When Thelma’s husband demands she returns home instantly, she finally tells him to fuck off. After finally telling off her husband, Thelma is free from him and runs wild. This script demonstrates how hell is other people. People make people crazy. After years of suppression, Thelma is out of her cage. Louise is a real man hater, but she falls in love and shows she actually has a sensitive side. Thelma has the best sex of her life with a stranger, and Louise shoots one. These small town girls become big time criminals. The characters make this movie. Unsatisfied best friends step out of their comfort zones for a break from their daily scene, but never return. The fact that these two women are two of the most unlikely people to become criminals only furthers the interest of the reader/viewer. Even hot stuff Darryl, is taken off his pedestal and put in his place. The concept holds interest and the characters only become more intriguing and developed as the script progresses.    

    The dialogue was humorous and not over done. I enjoyed reading each character’s dialogue and their words fit well with their character persona. I love when Simon tells Darryl he liked his wife. This comment only parades Thelma’s actions and recent sense of self-discovery. Also, the script for robbing the bank was especially entertaining. Even the corny wedding vows read well and entertained. The action and scene description was highly detailed and painted a clear picture for the reader. The descriptions were unique and kept the interest of the reader. The description of the bar in the beginning, and when Louise is waiting in the line for the bathroom, are so well written I can still envision these specific scenes in my head. Harlan suffocating Thelma’s personal space and then getting his brains blown out all over some nice car, is just one more out of the many impressive scenes described in this well developed script. The cinematographer has it easy with this script. The writer just lays everything out for the reader. The actions and scenes were so meticulously described the reader could in fact paint the scene onto film. However, I do not believe the write went overboard; instead she just clarified the situations. The writing flowed well and kept pace, as this was a chase story. The ending scene was a masterpiece as it speaks volumes and highlights the entire meaning and intent of the script and its characters.
    This screenplay is so interesting because of its unlikely criminals. The characters were amusing and exciting people to follow around. Witnessing their thought process and tagging along to see the effects of their decisions made their onscreen/on-page transformations all the more enjoyable. The ending might catch some people off guard as it was quite edgy, but nonetheless the perfect ending in my opinion. 

The Difference Between The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

   The Action-Thriller film genre is best known for its exciting action packed plot and intense visual appeal. But spending a little more time on developing their heroes has proven to not only boost box office sales, but also provide new market space for sequels, prequels, and even figurines. Filmmakers are running out of new ways to save their damsels in distress and keep their car chases fresh. Action seeking fans are now going to the theater expecting more than the same stunts they’ve seen executed from different angles; now they want complex characters and simulating storylines. Whether moviegoers are realizing it or not, they’re flocking to character driven action films.

   The Coen Brothers have been keeping audiences entertained for years with their mix of action, thrill, and complex characters. Marge Gunderson (if her name isn’t enough of a description) is the unforgettable heroine in the 1996 thriller Fargo. She’s the pregnant sheriff in town, but make no mistake, she means business. Her intelligent and polite police work along with that Minnesota accent, makes her a likeable heroine few audiences can forget. And the Coen Brother’s antagonist from No Country For Old Men haunts your nightmares with his retractable steel bolt airgun reminding you to never steal money from him—the all-knowing, merciless Anton Chigurh. Characters like Marge and Chigurh are becoming the difference between a good action film and a great action film.

   Some of the best action films are defined by their protagonists such as Jason Bourne, John Rambo, Peter Parker and John McClane. These films can simply be referred to by their main characters because lets just face it, they are what make these movies great. Big explosions and bloody deaths just aren’t enough these days and more is being asked from writers of this formulaic genre. Now they have to edit out a few story twists and make room for compelling characters with more than a double barrel shotgun.

   Action films lack in dialog and usually focus more on telling story through physical action and that part is also changing more and more as we see more characters developing onscreen. Ridley Scott’s 1991 Thelma & Louise is a thriller adventure film that takes a serious interest in these two women’s lives and their characters grow and develop along with all the action. The action in this film appears to serve a greater purpose than just blowing up something or killing someone who gets in the way unlike many other films in its genre such as the 2008 Death Race which does just that. Death Race’s Jensen Ames (Jason Statham) is unbelievably underdeveloped and the film suffers as a result. Too many characters die senseless deaths and explosions are pointless and have no effect on the lives of the characters. Visual appeal? Maybe, but nothing more. Death Race struggled to make its expected profit from box office sales and this should not come as a surprise to those who witnessed its absurdity.

   Christopher Nolan’s 2008 The Dark Knight has numerous complex characters that develop onscreen and without a doubt contribute to the film overall success. Heath Ledger portrays the best Joker to ever hit the screen. He adds the missing link that other jokers—including Jack Nicholson—couldn’t seem to grasp. He’s cruel and cold, heartless and thrillingly psychotic. His character alone makes the film a successful action thriller. In comparison, Halle Berry’s Patience Phillips in the 2004 Catwoman is an example of a poorly developed character that is to blame for the film’s failure. The filmmaker’s first mistake was choosing an idolized sex symbol like Halle Berry to play an already over sexed role like Catwoman. The action and killing in the film appears humorous rather than thrilling and no one can take Halle Berry’s performance for anything more than soft-core porn. Characters can easily make or break a film even in the action thriller genre.

   It’s no debate fans of action films aren’t going to the theater expecting life changing stories or heart felt dramas, but what films do they call great action thrillers? Is it films like Dragonball Evolution, The Mummy Returns and Hitman or Fight Club, Rocky, and Lethal Weapon? Many of the most popular and favorite action thrillers have an undeniable similarity in common. That similarity rests in its characters and their onscreen development.

   Psychotic Dr. Hannibal Lecter and relentless FBI agent Clarice Starling are among the many complexed characters in the 1991 thriller The Silence of the Lambs. This thriller is packed with jaw dropping action, but unlike most action films, it makes room for dialog and a slice of drama. Clarice doesn’t blow up anyone’s car or go on a random shooting rampage, but she does hunt down the scariest serial killer to ever graze the screen. Compared to the action crime thriller Bangkok Dangerous, …well there is no comparison other than the genre title. Bangkok Dangerous doesn’t have one intriguing character or memorable plot moment. The film is comprised of scenes where Nicolas Cage chases people, makes a mess, shoots them and blows stuff up—but nobody cares. The characters are so severely underdeveloped and simple that the viewer just doesn’t care enough about them for the ending of their lives to feel dramatic or be the least bit entertaining.

    Not all filmmakers are going to change their clichéd formula for action films into character driven action thrillers like The Matrix, Kill Bill, and Iron Man. But highly developed characters appear to be what’s attracting audiences and selling the tickets. Writers of the action thriller genre should make room in their scripts for an unethical Dirty Harry or an impervious Terminator; or otherwise prepare to suffer an excruciating death in sales.