On its surface, the plot doesn't sound too promising -- two disaffected women hit the road for a weekend getaway ending in rape, murder, and suicide. It sounds like the stuff of drive-in movies, but Callie Khouri's Oscar-winning screenplay isn't really about those things. Like all good road movies, it's really about freedom, movement, and how sometimes even bad choices can be better than the status quo. Thelma (Geena Davis) is an abused and neglected wife, while her friend Louise (Susan Sarandon) is a bitter, hard-edged waitress. The two decide to take a brief vacation to escape the drudgery of their everyday lives. Immediately, they run into trouble, as Louise shoots and kills a man who tries to rape Thelma in the parking lot of a country bar. Sarandon and Davis give depth, dimension, and humor to characters who could have easily become walking ideas rather than people. Yes, guys, it's also a feminist film, but it's proof that those also can be entertaining when they let the story drive the message rather than the other way around. Besides, the message here comes not from a rant, but from good old rock 'n' roll: it's better to burn out than to fade away.