I’ve been invited to a special 20th anniversary screening tonight of Thelma and Louise at the Academy theatre in Beverly Hills, starting at 7:30 pm. Indiewire‘s Anne Thompson will moderate a q & a with three of the creators — screenwiter Callie Khouri, costar Geena Davis and producer Mimi Polk Gitlin.

It would be cooler if the whole gang showed up, but costar Susan Sarandon and director Ridley Scott are otherwise engaged, I’m told. Ditto costars Brad Pitt, Harvey Keitel and Michael Madsen. And what about that rasta guy who blows pot smoke into the trunk of the car with the cop in it?

This isn’t really a 20th anniversary event, of course, as the film opened on May 24, 1991. And it’s not about the T&L Bluray, which was released early last February.

The famous ending is the only part of this film that I don’t respect. Not the driving off the cliff, but the way the music swells up and Scott goes into a montage showing what a great and spirited pair Thelma and Louse were. If you’re going to send the girls off the cliff, don’t sugercoat it. It’s not some Masada-like triumph — it’s the end, and it’s going to be ghastly. Drive off the cliff with the camera running in the back seat and the Sarandon and Davis dummies in the front seat, and keep filming all the way down until you crash into the rocks below. That would have been amazing and brave.