I’m surprised at how the film has stayed in the conversation – I mean, the moniker ‘Thelma and Louise’ has become a shortcut for describing any number of events from ‘two-headed snake’ to people who are seemingly committing some kind of political suicide or otherwise. Audiences still seem to respond very positively, and I don’t how I can be anything other than grateful for the fact that it’s still in the consciousness. When they see it people say, ‘Wow, it’s amazing how relevant it still is,’ which is kind of a sad statement on the one hand, but I’m glad that they feel that way. I just wish I could say I felt things had changed in a more positive direction as far as women making strides in film and television, and in the political arena. The numbers are absolutely so unbalanced, it’s hard to imagine that this could be considered progress.” The Annual 17th Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards". Los Angeles Film Critics Association . Retrieved August 24, 2021. The film also received harsh criticism from those who thought it was biased against men and that its depictions of men were unfairly negative. [31] [32]

Gibson, Caitlin (April 20, 2016). "25 years ago, 'Thelma & Louise' was a radical statement. Sadly, it still is". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on July 19, 2020 . Retrieved July 19, 2020. Benson, Sheila (May 31, 1991). "True or False: Thelma & Louise Just Good Ol' Boys?: For all its craftsmanship, the Ridley Scott film is just a high-toned 'Smokey and the Bandit' with a downbeat ending and a woman at the wheel". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved July 29, 2022. Callie Khouri: “ Thelma & Louise was a movie I was making because, one, I had never seen a movie that made me feel good about the way the women were represented, and two, it was speaking to issues that were important to me. Not that I was really thinking of it in terms of issues, it was more about (asking myself), ‘Well, let’s just see what the reality would be if these things were to happen. If two women were to do what they did, how would it be perceived?’ I don’t think I realised (how the film would resonate with people), I just knew it was the film I knew I really wanted to see.”a b Smith, Kyle (April 7, 2016). "As a Feminist Film, 'Thelma & Louise' Fails Miserably". Entertainment. New York Post. Archived from the original on July 7, 2018 . Retrieved July 7, 2018. Festival de Cannes: Thelma & Louise". festival-cannes.com. Archived from the original on October 15, 2014 . Retrieved August 12, 2009. Meyer, Dan (January 23, 2021). "Thelma and Louise Musical in the Works From Screenwriter Callie Khouri". Playbill . Retrieved October 22, 2023.

That leads, as such flirtations sometimes tragically do, to an attempted rape in the parking lot. And after Louise comes to her friend’s rescue, there is a sudden, violent event that ends with the man’s death. And the two women hit the road for real. They are convinced that no one would ever believe their story -- that the only answer for them is to run, and to hide. The following morning, they discover J.D. has stolen Louise's savings and fled. Louise is distraught, so a guilty Thelma takes charge and later robs a nearby convenience store using tactics she learned from J.D. Meanwhile, the FBI closes in on them after witnesses at the bar identify Louise's 1966 Ford Thunderbird convertible. Their whereabouts are also questioned by the owner of the fishing cabin after they fail to arrive.Lang, Brent (October 10, 2017). "Michelle Pfeiffer on Her Hollywood Hiatus and Return to Superhero Films". The greatest legacy of Thelma & Louise is a reminder not to settle. It still strikes a nerve.’ Photograph: MGM/Everett/Rex Gorton, Thomas (July 2, 2015). "All the cult film references in 'Bitch Better Have My Money' ". dazeddigital.com. Archived from the original on August 26, 2018 . Retrieved August 25, 2018.

In an article commemorating the film's 20th anniversary in 2011, Raina Lipsitz called it "the last great film about women" and said that it heralded the achievements of women that caused 1992 to become "the year of the woman". [41] However, she also said that women-themed films have since been losing ground. [41] Accolades [ edit ] AwardCook, Bernie, ed. (2007). Thelma & Louise Live! The Cultural Afterlife of an American Film. University of Texas Press. ISBN 9780292794658. Archived from the original on July 7, 2018 . Retrieved July 7, 2018. Perry, Kevin (October 22, 2022). " 'I was screwing up his audition': Geena Davis on the moment she knew Brad Pitt was perfect for Thelma & Louise". The Independent . Retrieved October 22, 2022. In her review for the Los Angeles Times, film critic Sheila Benson objects to the characterization of the film as feminist, arguing that it is more preoccupied with revenge and violence than feminist values. [39] The pair stop off for drinks at a roadhouse where Thelma dances and then goes outside with a creep who tries to rape her. Louise pulls a gun on him in the parking lot, and the chilling ruthlessness of the result, still startling even now, turns the two women into fugitives from the law. But the experience makes them more alive and wide-awake than they have been in their lives. Harvey Keitel is the kindly state cop who tries to get Thelma and Louise to turn themselves in peaceably, and Brad Pitt made his debut as the sweet-talking young rascal for whom Thelma briefly falls, but who turns out to be (almost) as bad as the rest of the menfolk. Roger Ebert also praised the film but withheld a perfect score on the basis of "the last shot before the titles begin. It's a freeze frame that fades to white, which is fine, except it does so with unseemly haste .... It's unsettling to get involved in a movie that takes 128 minutes to bring you to a payoff that the filmmakers seem to fear." [21]

It sounds like a depressing ride on paper, but Thelma & Louise comes alive on screen as an exhilarating story of female friends discovering their potential – sexual, physical, human ­– in the most desperate of circumstances. Hailed at the time for its bold embrace of third-wave feminism – and criticised, depending on which side of the fence you were on, for its “male-bashing” tone or “betrayal” of the feminist cause – Khouri’s script wound up winning the best screenplay award at the 1991 Oscars, an occasion she used to declare that, “for everyone who wanted to see a happy ending for Thelma and Louise, to me this is it”. a b c d e f Weller, Sheila (February 11, 2012). "The Ride of a Lifetime". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on August 10, 2020 . Retrieved July 19, 2020. Documentary featuring Davis; Khouri; Sarandon; Scott; actors Michael Madsen, Christopher McDonald, and Brad Pitt; and other members of the cast and crew Arkansas State Police Investigator Hal Slocumb, leading the investigation, questions both J.D. (who was caught) and Jimmy, and taps into the phone line at Darryl's house. He sympathizes with the pair's situation, and understands why they did not report Harlan's killing (partly due to Louise's own experience in Texas). During a few brief phone conversations with Louise, Hal expresses his sympathy but is unsuccessful in persuading her to surrender.

Malkin, Michael Schneider,Marc; Schneider, Michael; Malkin, Marc (January 13, 2023). "Amanda Seyfried and Evan Rachel Wood Workshopping a 'Thelma & Louise' Musical Adaptation (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety . Retrieved October 22, 2023. {{ cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list ( link) Awards Winners". wga.org. Writers Guild of America. Archived from the original on December 5, 2012 . Retrieved June 6, 2010. Obviously, I was thrilled when Geena and Susan were cast. From the first conversation that Geena and I had, I knew she was just gonna nail it. She just saw a really clear picture, she really knew the movie we were making. I had been wanting Michael Madsen, who I thought he would be so great for the boyfriend, and I was very happy that that happened. Brad (Pitt, in an early breakout role) was the very last person to be cast. We’d had a really hard time finding anybody, and then he just walked in out of the rain and, you know, stole the show. He’s gone on to do OK for himself.” They have adventures along the way, some sweet, some tragic, including a meeting with a shifty but sexy young man named J.D. ( Brad Pitt), who is able, like the dead saloon cowboy, to exploit Thelma’s sexual hungers, left untouched by the rug salesman. They also meet old men with deep lines on their faces, and harbingers of doom, and state troopers, and all the other inhabitants of the road.