I adore Amanda Seyfried as much as the next guy, but eh…
…if I wanna see a great adaptation of Little Red Riding Hood, nothing beats Reese Witherspoon and Keifer Sutherland in Freeway:
This trailer gives away way too many of the best scenes, but rewatching it I’m struck by how much cooler Reese was when she was a real character actress*.
But that’s neither here nor there. Freeway‘s great because it truly reconceptualizes the danger of being a girl all alone inherent in the original fairy tale in a modern context. And then sort of slyly suggests that not all girls take that danger seriously; some actually respond with anger at the thought of being victimized. The film walks a fine line that few films of its type do.
Seyfried’s version makes me think of Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow – pleasant, but unnecessary.
*Nothing more irritating to me than watch great character actors become lame ass movie stars. (see also: DiCaprio, Leonardo; Lopez, Jennifer; Rudd, Paul)
