Review: Thelma

The feature directorial debut of Josh Margolin, THELMA is a poignant action-comedy that gives veteran Oscar® nominee June Squibb (NEBRASKA) her first leading role on-screen and features the final performance of trailblazing actor Richard Roundtree (SHAFT). Squibb, who did many of her own stunts in the film, plays Thelma Post, a feisty 93-year-old grandmother who gets conned by a phone scammer pretending to be her grandson (Fred Hechinger) and sets out on a treacherous quest across Los Angeles, accompanied by an aging friend (Roundtree) and his motorized scooter, to reclaim what was taken from her. Parker Posey, Clark Gregg, and Malcolm McDowell also star.

Inspired by a real-life experience of Margolin’s own grandmother, THELMA puts a clever spin on movies like MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE, shining the spotlight on an elderly grandmother as an unlikely action hero. With infectious humor, Margolin employs the familiar tropes of the action genre in hilarious, age-appropriate ways to tackle aging with agency. In the first leading film role of her 70-year career, Squibb portrays the strong-willed Thelma with grit and determination, demonstrating that she is more than capable of taking care of business – despite what her daughter Gail (Posey), son-in-law Alan (Gregg), or grandson Danny might believe.

What We Thought:

It’s mid-June which means we’re about half way through 2024 and if you had told me my favorite movie of the year so far would star a 90+ year old woman, I would have laughed at you. Yet that’s exactly what Thelma is, my favorite film of the year so far. I don’t know if it’s because it’s hitting at the right time (my dad recently had hip replacement surgery and Thelma reminds me of my mom as well) or if the movie is so oddly different than everything else out there, but it’s absolutely charming with a delightful and charismatic performance from June Squibb.

Most movies about older people tend to punch down for easy laughs because old people are bad with computers and technology. Are most old people bad with computers and technology? Yes. Is Squibb’s Thelma bad with computers and technology? Also yes, but the difference with this movie is, it’s not played for an easy joke. Her being bad at this stuff is what gets the plot going, she gets scammed out of $10,000 because of a phone call. When the authorities and her family won’t do anything about it and want her to get over it, Thelma takes matters into her own hands and gets herself into a little bit of a spy thriller that even Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt from Mission: Impossible would enjoy.

That’s what truly makes this movie so different, it gives actors/characters of that age something we don’t normally see on the big screen, action and adventure. Thelma knows she needs help, but soon realizes most of her friends are dead or in homes. She teams up with an old friend named Ben (the late Richard Roundtree) and they set out on his scooter to get back her money from the scammers. Along the way they pick up a gun, stakeout the address of the scammers and run into countless people they think look familiar, but don’t actually know which is a hilarious running gag.

The countless running jokes make the film so effortlessly enjoyable. Whether it’s Ben’s roommate who sits there and stares the entire time, Ben talking about the food he enjoys at the complex he lives at especially the melons or how over protective Thelma’s daughter is to her and her grandson Danny, I sat there roaring out loud at the movie. Sitting in a row of similarly aged people who have parents of a similar age bonded us and made us laugh at a lot of the same situations. A few of us take handfuls of pills for medical issues ourselves so seeing Thelma filling up her weekly pill scheduler made me laugh louder than others.

The character of Thelma is so relatable to me that it just felt like my current life and the movie even takes place in parts of Los Angeles that I once lived in. Hearing older people talking about falling down and having new titanium hips while my dad rehabs with his new hip and seeing an older grey haired woman still wanting her own independence and doing things she shouldn’t (my mom) tugs on the heart strings. But it also shows that maybe we are too overbearing on this generation. Squibb herself did a lot of her own stunts like rolling over the bed that proves some of that generation are more capable than we give them credit.

Thelma is one of those movies that if you are of a certain age with family members of a certain age it will delight the pants off you. I probably hadn’t laughed that much all year and Squibb has more leading lady charisma than actresses a third of her age. Every character serves their purpose flawlessly and the film avoids all low hanging fruit clichés that would pander to a younger audience. They know who they want seeing the film and it works because of it. Nothing else to say besides…

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!