Synopsis

Two friends leave Arkansas for a weekend fishing trip, hoping to escape their frustrating routines. After a violent encounter changes everything, they flee across the Southwest with the law close behind. As their options narrow, Thelma and Louise grow more independent, discovering courage, loyalty, and freedom while refusing to return to the lives they once accepted.

Factoids & Trivia

• Callie Khouri conceived the screenplay in 1988 while working as a music video producer. The script was optioned in 1989 before production began.

• The film was shot entirely on location in California, Colorado, and Utah. Tarzana stood in for Thelma's Arkansas neighborhood, while several desert sequences were filmed around Moab and nearby national parks.

• The production cost was reported at approximately $16.5 million to $18.6 million.

• The movie received six Academy Award nominations and won for Khouri's original screenplay.

• Both lead performers received Best Actress nominations, a rare achievement that has occurred only a handful of times in Academy Awards history.

• The role of J.D. became a major career breakthrough for Brad Pitt. Several better-known performers had been considered before the part was cast.

• Christopher McDonald's fall while leaving for work was accidental. The moment was retained because he stayed in character.

• The film generated controversy in 1991 over its treatment of gender roles and male behavior, but it became widely recognized as a landmark feminist road movie.

• In 2016, the Library of Congress selected the film for preservation in the National Film Registry.

• The American Film Institute later included the film among its lists of the greatest American movies, most inspiring films, and cinematic heroes.