Thelma and Louise on DVD

Forget what you heard about Thelma and Louise being a male-bashing feminist rant. It isn’t.

It’s a buddy movie in which the protagonists just happen to be female; and while the trouble they get into may have been started by males these aren’t man-hating women at all.

Geena Davis is Thelma, a woman married to an idiot, but he’s the only idiot she’s ever known. Susan Sarandon is Louise, whose boyfriend may leave a lot to be desired but who wants to do what’s right by her - at least when it appears he’s about to lose her.

But the men are minor characters at best as this movie follow best friends Thelma and Louise as they head off for a weekend adventure at a cabin belonging, for now, to one of Louise’s co-workers.

But almost as soon as they head out in Louise’s classic 1966 Thunderbird they run into trouble. At a cowboy bar, the wide-eyed innocent Thelma makes friends with the wrong person, a good ol’ boy with romancin’ on his mind who won’t take no for an answer. This leads to a frightening situation for Thelma as he begins raping her out in the parking lot - until Louise’s timely arrival to save Thelma's, er, bacon.

Unfortunately for the women (let alone the man), Louise’s solution to the problem is one that puts them at odds with the law and, frightened and confused, they head out in the T-Bird (what a great way to be inconspicuous, eh?), looking for a place to hide.

The rest of the movie follows that search as the women head for the supposed safety of the Mexican border, as well as the authorities’ (led by compassionate cop Harvey Keitel) attempts to collar the women.

Thelma and Louise, the film, has similarities with such other buddy films, including action/comedies such as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid - though this is definitely not a comedy! And while it does have its violent moments, it’s never gratuitous and the violence generally stems from the women defending themselves in one way or another. Except once, when they humiliate a trucker and destroy his livelihood - at a point later in the movie when they're under the impression that their importance is greater in the grand scheme of life than it really is.

Geena Davis is excellent as the innocent Thelma, and Sarandon also does a very good job as the much more worldly, baggage-carrying Louise. The supporting cast is also top notch, including Keitel as the cop who’s more interested in helping the women than in merely bringing them in, Brad Pitt as an itinerant robber who gives Thelma some important life lessons, Christopher McDonald as Thelma’s jerk of a husband, and Michael Marsden as Louise’s boyfriend.

Director Ridley Scott generally crafts movies that, if nothing else, are a treat for the eyes and even though Thelma and Louise unfolds almost as a travelogue, the shots are still wonderful, rich in color and depth and shot against some beautiful backgrounds.

The DVD is also very good, indeed. The picture is presented in anamorphic widescreen (16x9 TV compatible), and does Scott’s vision justice with a very sharp image and great color. The audio is Dolby Digital 5.1 surround and though we’d have loved to hear more surround the general audio quality is also first rate.

Then there are the extras, which include the entire second side of the disc.

Accompanying the movie on side one, is a pair of running commentaries, one with director Scott and the other featuring stars Sarandon and Davis and screenwriter Callie Khouri. You also get an alternate ending with Scott’s commentary about why it was changed (or, depending on your opinion, watered down), and some other deleted/extended scenes.

Side two has plenty of meat, too, including four documentaries featuring contemporary interviews with the director, cast, and scriptwriter, and Glenn Frey’s “Part of Me, Part of You” music video. There’s also a photo gallery, multi-angle storyboards (we love actually being able to use the “angle” control on our DVD player’s remote), trailers, and TV spots.

In all, an excellent presentation.

Thelma and Louise, from MGM Home Video
129 min. anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1), 16x9 TV compatible, Dolby Digital 5.1 surround
Starring Susan Sarandon, Geena Davis, Harey Keitel
Produced by Ridley Scott and Mimi Polk
Written by Callie Khouri, directed by Ridley Scott

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