Brad Pitt, Juliette Lewis, Michelle Forbes

David Duchovny is a blocked author with a fascination for outlaw killers who hatches a plan to road trip through America's mass-murder landmarks to finish his book. He enlists his frustrated photogr...( read more  read more... )apher girlfriend Michelle Forbes, who desperately wants to leave the East Coast for L.A., to illustrate the tome, and they advertise for riding partners. Luckily for them, they wind up with a veteran killer, the greasy trailer-park ex-con Brad Pitt, who decides to skip parole with his cowering child-woman girlfriend Juliette Lewis. Duchovny is enamored by gun-toting Pitt's recklessness and lawless disregard for, well, everything; he's simultaneously terrified and thrilled by Pitt's brutal beating of a barfly. Meanwhile, Pitt's leaving a trail of corpses in their wake.

Directed with a cool remove by Dominic Sena (Gone in 60 Seconds 2000), Kalifornia falls somewhere between Badlands and Natural Born Killers. Pitt brings a ferocious magnetism to his part, but it's still hard to buy genial Duchovny's odd attraction; Juliette Lewis conveys a terrifying sense of victimization with her poor dumb creature. Despite the film's best efforts, it never really plumbs the psyche of Pitt's simmering psycho--he's just plain bad, you know--but it does fashion an effective little thriller out of the tensions brewing in the restless quartet. --Sean Axmaker

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64% liked it

14,643 ratings

Critics

65% liked it

23 critics

R, 1 hr. 57 min.

Directed by: Dominic Sena

Release Date: September 3, 1993

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DVD Release Date: October 28, 1997

Stats: 1,415 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (1,415)


  • September 24, 2009
    I really liked it when it first came out, not so much now on a resent re-watch, it?s become a bit of a cult classic now though. Juliette Lewis does annoy me at times, she's a much better singer!
  • January 18, 2009
    Formulaic yet a genuine thriller, thrilling in no small part due to Brad Pitt's wonderfully psychotic character. Ironically, he's also the funniest character in the movie--laugh-out-loud funny. That said, I suffered a couple oh-my-god-that-can't-be-a-woman-it-must-be-a-man-eurysm...( read more)s throughout the movie. *cough* Juliette Lewis, Michelle Forbes *cough*
  • September 27, 2008
    great acting, wish it had more violence
  • March 5, 2008
    Pitt is always mesmerizing...but he doesn't have much of a script to work with
  • February 8, 2008
    Sadly overshadowed by NBKs.
  • October 28, 2009
    great acting highlights this one.
  • October 24, 2009
    sounds like my cuppa tea!!!
  • October 11, 2009
    You know what? I'm starting to think Brad Pitt stars in some really bad movies
  • September 24, 2009
    Yes now that is what I call a badguy.
  • September 21, 2009
    An early Brad Pitt movie in which he stars with his then girlfriend Juliette Lewis. An okay thriller, a bit rough around the edges and Lewis tends to whinge and whine through a lot of the movie. They do make a pair of cool criminals though.

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Kalifornia Trivia


  • name the actress who plays in all that movies. -From dusk till dawn -old school -Kalifornia -some girl   Answer »
  • Match the quote to the movie: "Early don't eat breakfast. He thinks it's a conspiracy put together by the cereal people."  Answer »
  • In which of these movies does Juliette Lewis say to Brad Pitt's character, "You're mean, Early!"  Answer »
  • What male lead played opposite Brad Pitt in Kalifornia?  Answer »

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