Thelma & Louise/YMMV
- Idiot Plot: If Louise just turned herself in and explained she killed the attempted-rapist to save Thelma she would have been let off easy.
- Actually, she would not. Only 1% of rapists are ever prosecuted, and in the South it is unlikely a jury would have been sympathetic, especially since Harlan had already let Thelma loose. Louise explains this to Thelma in the car shortly after the attempted rape. The real Idiot Plot is why Louise had to shoot Harlan in the first place, which can be explained by Louise being a rape victim herself.
- Agreed, people are only charged with self-defense if they use the least amount of force necessary. So shooting Harlan after Thelma was perfectly safe would be considered manslaughter at least, second degree murder at most.
- Although one could argue that the drunken would-be rapist was lunging toward Louise at the moment she pulled the trigger.
- The argument would actually be pretty good, if the local laws on self-defense aren't putting the standard --but that's mostly in the Northeast. More importantly, by running they pretty much burn any chance of such a defense being sufficient, gain more charges, and probably ensure that the prosecutor can't try to minimize the charges against them...which, if Harlan has a history of sexual assault/attempted sexual assault, could have been something the prosecutor would very much want to do if they had been acting like upstanding & honest citizens.
- Although one could argue that the drunken would-be rapist was lunging toward Louise at the moment she pulled the trigger.
- Robot Chicken makes fun of this, showing that the ladies survived the fall but are horrifically, painfully, and irreparably handicapped and stuck in the bottom of the canyon. They then point out to each other that this was a really dumb move in hindsight, and that they'd probably had just gotten out of prison after a few years and still be able to live normal lives, and how prison seems so nice compared to their current condition.
- There are plenty of other moments where if the characters had two brain cells to rub together, they'd realize what they're doing is very, very dumb. Left your life savings in a room with a random guy you picked off the road? Robbing a convenience store to get some quick cash? Calling the FBI agent who is on your tail for the 3rd time because you're feeling lonely (keep in mind that they finally manage to trace the call on Third Time's the Charm)?
- Back to Thelma & Louise