History YMMV / Freeway

* JerkassWoobie: Vanessa. Sure, she curses to an insane level and she's rude to everyone she meets, even liking to provoke people by calling them ethnic slurs, but she's lived a horribly screwed up life. It almost excuses her actions throughout the film.
** It doesn't excuse her actions, however it does explain why she acts the way she does.

* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: Ever since the release of equally intense films such as ''Film/FightClub'' and ''Film/{{Logan}}'', the cast and the crew even forgot that they did Freeway.

** ''Confessions of a Trickbaby'': [[NunTooHoly Sister Hermana Gomez]] appears to be a kind nun, but is actually a stand-in for the WickedWitch in ''Literature/HanselAndGretel''. In truth a crossdressing, [[ImAHumanitarian cannibalistic]] witch, Gomez lures in parents with his religion, keeping the [[WouldHurtAChild kids]] locked up in the church's basement to be fattened up and killed for Gomez's tamales, keeping some alive to make child pornography. Having been responsible for turning Cyclona into the psychopath she is today by having her raped as a child for his movies, once she's back in Gomez's clutches, he kills two children in front of her and forces her to watch videos of her getting raped as a child, cursing her and White Girl with the wrath of Jupiter before being forced into his own oven.

* TooBleakStoppedCaring: The gritty nature can make people uncomfortable since most of the characters are unreliable.

* CrossesTheLineTwice: "My dick may not function but I have not lost my smile!" This sums Michael T Weisse's entire performance. He's a scumbag pedophile drug addict who regularly molests Vanessa his stepdaughter But he's so DAMN ENTERTAINING TO WATCH

* SpiritualSuccessor: ''Confessions of a Trickbaby'' was originally intended to be a direct sequel to the first film, but Creator/ReeseWitherspoon declined to reprise her role, forcing Matthew Bright to rewrite the script. Some remnants of that earlier version remain, including White Girl at one point mentioning she only dates Black guys (a “coal burner,” like Vanessa Lutz).

* EsotericHappyEnding: Wolverton has been exposed as the I-5 killer and Vanessa has been vindicated of her actions. But, she still escaped from custody, assaulted a guard, is an accessory to the murder of another guard, auto theft (and supposedly the owner's murder), kidnapped a man, robbed him, stole his car, locked him in the trunk and left ''him'' more-or-less for dead. One way or the other, she's going back Juvie. Oh, and her grandmother is dead.

* EsotericHappyEnding: Wolverton has been exposed as the I-5 killer and Vanessa has been vindicated of her actions. But, she still escaped from custody, assaulted a guard, is an accessory to the murder of another guard, auto theft (and supposedly the owner's murder), kidnapped a man, robbed him, stole his car, locked him in the trunk and left ''him'' more-or-less for dead. One way or the other, she's going back Juvie.

* EsotericHappyEnding: Wolverton has been exposed as the I-5 killer and Vanessa has been vindicated of her actions. But, she still escaped from custody, assaulted a guard, is an accessory to the murder of another guard, auto theft (and supposedly the owner's murder), kidnapped a man, stole his car, locked him in the trunk and left ''him'' more-or-less for dead. One way or the other, she's going back Juvie.

* EsotericHappyEnding: Wolverton has been exposed as the I-5 killer and Vanessa has been vindicated of her actions. But, she still escaped from custody, assaulted a guard, is an accessory to the murder of another guard and kidnapped a man, locked him in the trunk and left ''him'' more-or-less for dead. One way or the other, she's going back Juvie.

* EstoricHappyEnding: Wolverton has been exposed as the I-5 killer and Vanessa has been vindicated of her actions. But, she still escaped from custody, assaulted a guard, is an accessory to the murder of another guard and kidnapped a man, locked him in the trunk and left ''him'' more-or-less for dead. One way or the other, she's going back Juvie.

* JustHereForGodzilla: Retroactively, many fans of Reese Witherspoon's acting wanted to see this movie. See SheReallyCanAct below.

* JustHereForGodzilla: Retroactively, many fans of Reese Witherspoon's acting wanted to see this movie.

* SpiritualSuccessor: ''Confessions of a Trickbaby'' was originally intended to be a direct sequel to the first film, but Creator/ReeseWitherspoon declined to participate, forcing Matthew Bright to rewrite the script. Some remnants of that earlier version remain, including White Girl at one point mentioning she only dates Black guys (a “coal burner,” like Vanessa Lutz).

* SugarWiki/SheReallyCanAct: Those who only know Reese Witherspoon for ''Film/LegallyBlonde'' and her other romantic comedies were in for a surprise watching her here.

* DarknessInducedAudienceApathy: The gritty nature can make people uncomfortable since most of the characters are unreliable.

* TrueArtIsAngsty

* CompleteMonster: [[SerialKiller Bob Wolverton]] is an obvious stand-in for TheBigBadWolf in ''Literature/LittleRedRidingHood''. A sadistic murderer and [[WouldHurtAChild ephebophile]] known as the "I-5 Killer", Bob abducts troubled young girls off the freeway and, after gaining their trust, proceeds to rape and murder them. Kidnapping his latest target, Vanessa, Bob taunts her about her sexual abuse she received from her stepfather, before being shot by her, leading to his disfigurement. Seeking revenge, Bob drives to Vanessa's grandmother's trailer, where he proceeds to kill her. When Vanessa arrives, Bob immediately tries to gun her down, shooting a bystander in the process when he walks in on the scene. When asked why he kills, Bob justifies himself by claiming that his victims are garbage, showing a total LackOfEmpathy or remorse for his actions.

* CrossesTheLineTwice: "My dick may not function but I have not lost my smile!"

* MostAnnoyingSound: Reese Witherspoon's high pitched screaming which happens alot in this movie. That is all.

* HarsherInHindsight: This movie was released 13 years before Brittany Murphy's death.
** Two molesters, Bob and Larry are also the names of the characters from WesternAnimation/VeggieTales.

* HilariousInHindsight: Both Reese Witherspoon and Brittany Murphy collaborated in two episodes of WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill. Also, Vanessa was known as [[Film/LegallyBlonde Pooh Bear]]. Both Witherspoon and Alanna Ubach collaborated on Legally Blonde and its sequel.

* LesYay: Subverted. There ''is'' a lesbian inmate during Vanessa's jail time, but she's a kinda creepy junkie so it's not all that hot.
** In the sequel, Cyclona continuously hits on Crystal, much to her annoyance. They later have a drug/alcohol/depression fueled sexual encounter.

* TrueArtIsAngsty

* SheReallyCanAct: Those who only know Reese Witherspoon for ''Film/LegallyBlonde'' and her other romantic comedies were in for a surprise watching her here.