Thelma & Louise Script
FADE IN:
INT. RESTAURANT - MORNING (PRESENT DAY)
LOUISE is a waitress in a coffee shop. She is in her early-
thirties, but too old to be doing this. She is very pretty
and meticulously groomed, even at the end of her shift. She
is slamming dirty coffee cups from the counter into a bus
tray underneath the counter. It is making a lot of RACKET,
which she is oblivious to. There is COUNTRY MUZAK in the
b.g., which she hums along with.
INT. THELMA’S KITCHEN - MORNING
THELMA is a housewife. It’s morning and she is slamming
coffee cups from the breakfast table into the kitchen sink,
which is full of dirty breakfast dishes and some stuff left
from last night’s dinner which had to "soak". She is still
in her nightgown. The TV is ON in the b.g.
From the kitchen, we can see an incomplete wallpapering
project going on in the dining room, an obvious "do-it-
yourself" attempt by Thelma.
INT. RESTAURANT - MORNING
Louise goes to the pay phone and dials a number.
INT. THELMA’S KITCHEN - MORNING
Phone RINGS. Thelma goes over to answer it.
THELMA
(hollering)
I got it! Hello.
INT. RESTAURANT - MORNING
LOUISE
(at pay phone)
I hope you’re packed, little
housewife, ’cause we are outta her
tonight.
INT. THELMA’S KITCHEN - MORNING
THELMA
Well, wait now. I still have to ask
Darryl if I can go.
LOUISE (V.O.)
You mean you haven’t asked him yet?
For Christ sake, Thelma, is he your
husband or your father? It’s just
two days. For God’s sake, Thelma.
Don’t be a child. Just tell him
you’re goin’ with me, for cryin’ out
loud. Tell him I’m havin’ a nervous
breakdown.
Thelma has the phone tucked under her chin, as she cuts out
coupons from the newspaper and pins them on a bulletin board
already covered with them. We see various recipes torn out
from women’s magazines along the lines of "101 Ways to Cook
Pork."
THELMA
He already thinks you’re out of your
mind, Louise, that don’t carry much
weight with Darryl. Are you at work?
LOUISE (V.O.)
No, I’m callin’ from the Playboy
Mansion.
THELMA
I’ll call you right back.
Thelma goes through the living room to the bottom of the
stairs and leans on the banister.
THELMA
Darryl! Honey, you’d better hurry
up.
DARRYL comes trotting down the stairs. Polyester was made
for this man, and he’s dripping in "men’s" jewelry. He
manages a Carpeteria.
DARRYL
Damnit, Thelma, don’t holler like
that! Haven’t I told you I can’t
stand it when you holler in the
morning.
THELMA
I’m sorry, Doll, I just didn’t want
you to be late.
Darryl is checking himself out in the hall mirror, and
it’s obvious he likes what he sees. He exudes over-confidence
for reasons that never become apparent. He likes to think
of himself as a real lady killer.
He is making imperceptible adjustments to his over-moussed
hair. Thelma watches approvingly.
THELMA
Hon.
DARRYL
What.
THELMA
(she decides not to
tell him)
Have a good day at work today.
DARRYL
Uh-huh.
THELMA
Hon?
DARRYL
What?!
THELMA
You want anything special for dinner?
DARRYL
No, Thelma, I don’t give a shit what
we have for dinner. I may not even
make it home for dinner. You know
how Fridays are.
THELMA
Funny how so many people wanna buy
carpet on a Friday night. You’d
almost think they’s want to forget
about it for the weekend.
DARRYL
Well then, it’s a good thing you’re
not regional manager and I am.
He’s finally ready. He walks to the door and gives Thelma
the most perfunctory kiss on the cheek.
THELMA
’Bye, honey. I won’t wait up.
DARRYL
See ya.
Darryl leaves. We see his Corvette parked out front. As he
closes the front door, Thelma leans against it.
THELMA
He’s gonna shit.
Thelma laughs to herself. She goes back into the kitchen
and picks up the phone and dials it.
INT. RESTAURANT - MORNING
The pay phone on the wall RINGS. ALBERT, a busboy in his
50’s, answers.
ALBERT
Good morning. Why, yes, she is. Is
this Thelma? Oh, Thelma, when you
gonna run away with me?
Louise comes over and takes the phone out of his hand.
LOUISE
(to Albert)
Not this weekend, sweetie, she’s
runnin’ away with me.
(into phone)
Hi. What’d he say?
THELMA (V.O.)
What time are you gonna pick me up?
LOUISE
You’re kiddin’! Alright! I’ll be
there around two or three.
THELMA (V.O.)
What kind of stuff do I bring?
LOUISE
I don’t know. Warm stuff, I guess.
It’s the mountains. I guess it gets
cold at night. I’m just gonna bring
everything.
THELMA (V.O.)
Okay. I will, too.
LOUISE
And steal Darryl’s fishin’ stuff.
THELMA (V.O.)
I don’t know how to fish, Louise.
LOUISE
Neither do I, Thelma, but Darryl
does it, how hard can it be? I’ll
see you later. Be ready.
They both hang up.
EXT. RESTAURANT - DAY
Louise pulls out in a green ’66 T-Bird in mint condition.
INT. THELMA’S BEDROOM - CLOSEUP - SUITCASE ON BED - DAY
Going into the suitcase is bathing suits, wool socks, flannel
pajamas, jeans, sweaters, T-shirts, a couple of dresses, way
too much stuff for a two-day trip. REVEAL Thelma, standing
in front of a closet, trying to decide what else to bring,
as if she’s forgotten something. The room looks like it was
decorated entirely from a Sears catalog. It’s really frilly.
INT. LOUISE’S BEDROOM - CLOSEUP - SUITCASE ON BED - DAY
A perfectly ordered suitcase, everything neatly folded and
orderly. Three pairs of underwear, one pair of long
underwear, two pairs of pants, two sweaters, one furry robe,
one nightgown. She could be packing for camp.
REVEAL Louise. Her room is as orderly as the suitcase.
Everything matches. It’s not quite as frilly as Thelma’s,
but it is of the same ilk. She is debating whether to take
an extra pair of socks. She decides not to and closes the
suitcase. She goes to the phone, picks it up and dials. We
hear:
ANSWERING MACHINE (V.O.)
Hi. This is Jimmy. I’m not here
right now, but I’ll probably be back
’cause... all my stuff’s here. Leave
a message.
Louise slams down the phone. A framed picture of Louise and
Jimmy sits on the table next to the phone. She matter-of-
factly slams that face down, too.
INT. THELMA’S BEDROOM - DAY
Thelma is still throwing stuff in, randomly now. She talks
to herself quietly the whole time.
She is taking stuff off of her nightstand, a small clock,
fingernail scissors, etc.
She opens the drawer of her nightstand. Her attitude is
purposeful; she looks as if she knows exactly what she’s
doing; although, frankly, she has no idea, and each decision
is completely arbitrary. As she rifles through it, plucking
various items from among the jumbled contents, we see there
is a gun in there, one Darryl bought her for protection. It
is unloaded, but there is a box of bullets. She picks up
the gun like it’s a rat by the tail and puts it in her purse.
THELMA
(muttering to herself)
Psycho killers...
She grabs the box of bullets and throws them in, too. She
tries to close her suitcase, but there is stuff hanging out
all over the place. She stuffs things back in the sides and
heaves all her weight against the top.
EXT. THELMA’S HOUSE - DAY
Louise’s green ’66 T-Bird convertible pulls into the driveway
of Thelma’s house. The garage door goes up and Thelma is
standing in the garage with all her gear. A suitcase that
looks like it might explode, fishing gear, a cooler, a
lantern. Thelma’s car, a beat-up gray Honda, is parked in
there, too. Louise gets out of the driver’s seat.
LOUISE
We don’t need the lantern. The place
has electricity.
THELMA
I wanna take it anyway. Just in
case.
LOUISE
In case of what?
THELMA
In case there’s some escaped psycho
killer on the loose, who cuts the
electricity off and tries to come in
and kill us.
LOUISE
(going along with her)
Oh yeah, sure, Thelma, that lantern
will come in real handy. Maybe we
could tow your car behind, in case
he steals the spark plugs.
THELMA
We’d have to. That thing barely
makes it down the driveway.
They load everything into the car. The trunk barely closes.
Thelma heaves all her weight against it. They get into the
car and pull out of the driveway. As they drive down the
street, we hear Thelma let out a long howl.
She is laughing and she sticks her arms straight up in the
air.
EXT. CAR - DAY
They are driving down the interstate. Thelma reaches for
her purse and finds the gun.
THELMA
Louise, will you take care of the
gun?
Louise shrieks at the sight of it.
LOUISE
Why in hell did you bring that?
Thelma wonders if Louise is really that naive.
THELMA
Oh, come on, Louise... psycho killers,
bears... snakes! I just don’t know
how to use it. So will you take
care of it?
Louise reaches over and takes the gun out of Thelma’s purse
and holds it in her hand. She tests the weight of it, and
then puts it under the seat. Thelma puts the bullets under
the seat.
They are speeding off down the highway with the RADIO blaring.
Louise puts in a TAPE of wild R&B MUSIC.
THELMA
Whose place is this again?
LOUISE
It’s Bob’s, the day manager’s. He’s
gettin’ a divorce, so his wife’s
gettin’ this place, so he’s just
lettin’ all his friends use it till
he has to turn over the keys.
THELMA
I’ve never had the chance to go out
of town without Darryl.
LOUISE
How come he let you go?
THELMA
’Cause I didn’t ask him.
LOUISE
Aw, shit, Thelma, he’s gonna kill
you.
THELMA
Well, he has never let me go. He
never lets me do one goddamn thing
that’s any fun. All he wants me to
do is hang around the house the whole
time while he’s out doing God only
knows what.
They are both silent for a minute.
THELMA
(looking straight
ahead)
I left him a note. I left him stuff
to microwave.
After a pause.
THELMA
I guess you haven’t heard anything
from Jimmy... yet?
Louise’s jaw tightens. The car speeds up.
THELMA
...never mind.
A huge semi-tanker carrying gas passes them on the highway
and HONKS. The mud flaps are the shiny silhouettes of naked
women. There is a bumper sticker on the back that says:
"Lick you all over -- ten cents."
LOUISE
One of your friends?
Thelma is watching herself in the side mirror, pretending to
smoke a cigarette.
THELMA’S POV OF A SIGN alongside the road that reads "See
you in church on Sunday!"
Thelma pushes in the lighter and waits for it to pop out.
Louise gives her a sidelong glance, but does not say anything.
INT. CAR - COUNTRY ROAD - DAY
THELMA
How much longer is it gonna be? I’m
hungry.
LOUISE
Another hour of so. We’ve got enough
food for a month.
THELMA
I’ll never make it... Can’t we stop
just for a few minutes...
LOUISE
We’ve not gonna get to the cabin
till after dark as it is, Thelma.
THELMA
Then what difference does it make if
we stop? Come on. I never get to
do stuff like this.
Louise realizes that Thelma is going to revert to a teenager
and continue whining unless she gives in.
LOUISE
Alright, but it’s gonna be a quick
stop.
EXT. SILVER BULLET - NIGHT
They pull off at a place down on the right all lit up with
neon. It’s called the SILVER BULLET. The sign flashes
COCKTAILS -- BEER -- DANCING -- FOOD. There is a huge gravel
parking lot with lots of pickup trucks and older cars. Even
though it’s early, you can tell this place is a real night
spot. It’s already pretty crowded.
INT. SILVER BULLET - NIGHT
This place is jumpin’. There are ten pool tables with crowds
all around. The long bar is filled with customers.
There are tables and booths. The room is dense with smoke.
There is a dance floor, but no one is dancing yet because
the band is still setting up. There are a lot of single
men. Many heads turn and follow Thelma and Louise to an
empty table.
LOUISE
I haven’t seen a place like this
since I left Texas.
THELMA
Isn’t this fun?
A WAITRESS comes over and drops two menus on the table.
WAITRESS
Y’all wanna drink?
LOUISE
No thanks.
THELMA
I’ll have Wild Turkey straight up
and a Coke back, please.
As the Waitress leaves:
LOUISE
Thelma!
THELMA
Tell me somethin’. Is this my
vacation or isn’t it? I mean, God,
you’re as bad as Darryl.
LOUISE
I just haven’t seen you like this in
a while. I’m used to seeing you
more sedate.
THELMA
Well, I’ve had it up to my ass with
sedate! You said you and me was
gonna get outta town and, for once,
just really let our hair down. Well,
darlin,’ look out ’cause my hair is
comin’ down!
As the Waitress returns:
LOUISE
(laughing)
Alright...
(to Waitress)
I changed my mind. I’ll have a
margarita with and a shot of Cuervo
on the side, please.
THELMA
Yeah!
As the Waitress leaves, a MAN comes over with a chair which
he pulls up to the table and straddles backwards.
He is in his late-40’s, heavyset, his face is shiny in the
neon light.
MAN
Now what are a couple of Kewpie dolls
like you doin’ in a place like this?
LOUISE
Mindin’ our own
business, why don’t
you try it.
THELMA
Well, we left town for the
weekend ’cause we wanted
to try and have a good
time. And because Louise
here is mad because her
boyfriend won’t call her
while he’s out on the
road...
Louise kicks Thelma under the table.
THELMA
(quieter)
We just wanted to get somethin’ to
eat.
MAN
Well, you come to the right place.
You like chili? They got good chili.
The Waitress returns with Louise’s drink.
WAITRESS
Harlan, are you botherin’ these poor
girls?
HARLAN (MAN)
Hell, no. I was just bein’ friendly.
WAITRESS
(making eye contact
with Louise)
It’s a good thing they’re not all as
friendly as you.
Louise understands.
THELMA
Your name’s Harlan? I got an uncle
named Harlan!
HARLAN
You do? Is he a funny uncle? ’Cause
if he is, then he and I got somethin’
in common.
Harlan laughs. Thelma laughs, too, but doesn’t really get
the joke. Louise does not laugh.
LOUISE
(to Harlan)
I don’t mean to be rude, but I’ve
got something I need to talk to my
friend about. In private.
HARLAN
Aw, I understand. I didn’t mean to
bother ya. It’s just hard not to
notice two such pretty ladies as
yourselves.
(standing, to Thelma)
You better dance with me before you
leave, or I’ll never forgive you.
THELMA
Oh, sure. That’d be fun.
Harlan leaves, then:
THELMA
Jeez, Louise, that wasn’t very nice.
LOUISE
Can’t you tell when somebody’s hittin’
on you?
THELMA
So what if he was? It’s all your
years of waitin’ tables has made you
jaded, that’s all.
LOUISE
Maybe.
THELMA
Well, just relax, will ya. You’re
makin’ me nervous.
Thelma knocks back her shot of Wild Turkey and holds up her
glass to the Waitress to bring her another one. The Waitress
sees her and nods. She turns back to face her friend.
THELMA
So, Jimmy still hasn’t called yet?
LOUISE
Givin’ him a taste of his own
medicine. Asshole.
THELMA
I’m sorry, Louise. I know you’re
all upset. It’s just I’m so excited
to be out of the house, I guess.
(pause)
I wonder if Darryl’s home yet.
LOUISE
I wonder if Jimmy’s gotten back.
THELMA
Why don’t you tell him to just to
get lost once and for all?
LOUISE
Why don’t you ditch that loser husband
of yours?
They both drift off momentarily, contemplating their domestic
problems, until the Waitress comes over:
WAITRESS
(rolling her eyes)
This one’s on Harlan.
Thelma looks over at the bar where Harlan is grinning at
her, making dancing motions. She smiles and waves at him.
Her face becomes serious again as she turns back to Louise.
THELMA
Jimmy’ll come in off the road, you
won’t be there, he’ll freak out and
call you a hundred thousand times,
and Sunday night you’ll call him
back and, by Monday. He’ll be kissin’
the ground you walk on.
Thelma’s mind goes too fast for her mouth, and the speed at
which she speaks can be staggering. Louise is used to it.
Louise smiles wistfully at Thelma’s assessment of the
situation.
LOUISE
Exactly.
THELMA
In the meantime, you said we were
gonna have some fun. So let’s have
some!
She again drinks her whole shot of Wild Turkey and holds up
her glass, as the BAND strikes up a lively tune.
Practically the whole place "whoops" and heads for the dance
floor. Louise drinks her shot of tequila and holds up her
glass, too.
LATER
Thelma is dancing with Harlan and has been for quite a while.
Louise has been dancing with a quiet guy named DAN. Thelma
is breathless, drunk and giggly. She holds a beer bottle in
one hand. She is laughing a lot about nothing, and Harlan
is studying her closely. Louise notices this.
LOUISE
(over the noise)
Thelma, I’m gonna hit the little
girls’ room, and then we gotta hit
the road.
THELMA
(eyes closed, swaying
with the music)
Ready when you are.
Louise heads off to the bathroom.
THELMA
(eyes still closed)
Louise, I’m gonna come with you.
(she gets a funny
look on her face)
I don’t feel so good.
She stumbles a step and drops her beer bottle.
Louise is heading towards the bathroom, where there is a
line of at least fifteen women in front of her.
HARLAN
(catching Thelma,
copping feels)
Oopsy-doopsy. We need to get you
some fresh air, little lady.
He steers her towards the door.
Louise leans against the wall, waiting in line.
CUT TO:
EXT. SILVER BULLET PARKING LOT - NIGHT
Harlan is hauling Thelma out the door into the parking lot.
She is pretty limp.
THELMA
Oh shit.
HARLAN
What’s wrong?
THELMA
Stop.
HARLAN
What for?
THELMA
I’m spinning.
INT. SILVER BULLET - NIGHT
The Waitress is going over to their table. She picks up
Thelma’s purse off the floor and puts it on her chair.
She sets the check on the table, looks around to see if she
can see them and walks away.
INT. BATHROOM - NIGHT
Louise goes into the bathroom. She stands in front of the
sink and looks at herself in the mirror.
EXT. PARKING LOT - NIGHT
Thelma has been sick. She has Harlan’s handkerchief and is
wiping her mouth. Harlan has backed off for this part, but
he’s right back in there.
HARLAN
How you feelin’ now, darlin’?
Harlan is leaning close to Thelma’s head, and she pulls her
head away.
THELMA
I guess I’m startin’ to feel a little
better.
HARLAN
Yeah, you’re startin’ to feel pretty
good to me, too.
He pulls her to him and tries to put his arms around her.
Thelma pulls away.
THELMA
(uncomfortable)
I think I need to keep walking.
INT. SILVER BULLET - NIGHT
Louise comes out of the bathroom as the next woman goes in.
She scans the room looking for Thelma. She doesn’t see her.
She goes over to the table and sees Thelma’s stuff there.
She picks up the check and looks at it.
EXT. SILVER BULLET PARKING LOT - NIGHT
Harlan has led Thelma off to the far end of the parking lot.
He is trying to kiss her now. He is pushing her arms down
and turning her head away.
THELMA
Don’t. I’m married. I don’t feel
good. I’ve been sick.
HARLAN
It’s okay. I’m married, too.
Harlan i