Thelma

This is the kind of movie that was popular in the 90's. A feel-good comedy clocking in at an hour and a half. No big action scenes, no CGI, no superheroes, no T&A, and ABSOLUTELY NO POLITICS. Pretty much the bane of modern audiences, but that's just fine because modern audiences have no taste.

The movie follows Thelma, a 93 year old woman who is conned out of some money. When she won't let it go, her family starts to worry about her living on her own, but her grandson has her back. She sets out to get what's hers, but instead of shooting a bunch of stupid action scenes with old people doing wirework pretending to do kung-fu, it keeps everything within the realities of what a 93 year old can do. The scenes presented as action scenes are done so for comedic effect. June Squibb and Richard Rountree (RIP) were great, Fred Hechinger reminds me sooo much of Joaquin Phoenix (which is a good thing), and Clark Gregg/Parker Posey are always good. I'm struggling to find anything negative to say, really. Maybe a little more Malcolm McDowell?

It's a quick, fun movie with some creativity, and it handles the challenges that the elderly face in a modern world very tastefully.

Movies with people at advanced ages as characters are all the rage. At the rate they are being produced and released, the Academy may soon create a new category of Academy Awards - for Best Actor/Actress over 85. If such a thing were to happen next year, then one of the nominations (at least) would belong to June Squibb, who at 93 plays a woman who is exactly her age, in the sparkling and tender comedy 'Thelma' (2024) written and directed by Josh Margolin. June Squibb is a phenomenon. She has about a hundred films and TV series in her filmography, but she was over 60 years old when she debuted on the big screens. But once started, she didn't stop. She featured in 'About Schmidt' (she's the wife who dies in the opening scene) and received an Oscar nomination for a supporting role in 2013. She's been on screen in several movies or TV shows every year for the past decade. For writer-director Josh Margolin, this is his feature film debut, but, to use a cliché, I'll mention that it doesn't show. With the role of Thelma, June Squibb comes close the awards zone, even if the Academy does not establish that new and imaginary category.

Widowed for two years, Thelma is 93 years old, still strong and lucid enough to live alone. At least she thinks so. She is helped by her grandson, the adorable Daniel, who at 24 has not found his way in life, but is kind enough to visit often his grandmother and to introduce her to the secrets of computers and the Internet. When the somewhat naive old woman falls victim to an Internet fraud sending ten thousand dollars to the address of some crooks for a supposed bail for Daniel, neither the family nor the police can do much to help her get her money back. Then Thelma decides to act alone. Not that she critically needs the money, but a matter of principles. Her only help - reluctant too - comes Ben, an old friend from the same generation, who has chosen to become a resident in a nursing home and is very happy with life there. Will the two aged persons, using an electric scooter in the urban jungle of the Los Angeles area, manage to find the criminals, recover the losses and do justice? What is certain is that their disappearance puts the family, nursing home staff and the police on alert. Everyone is looking for the two, who are looking for the crooks.

Getting older is not a very nice thing. Physical and mental limitations appear, the world around is changing in terms of technology and mentalities, and not necessarily for the better, loved ones and friends have disappeared, or if they still exist, they are also suffering from the ravages of old age. Josh Margolin's script is sometimes naive and simplistic, in the style of television sitcom series, but it has the great quality of getting it right in what concerns the old age, dealing with it with understanding and empathy. I also have in care a soon-to-be 96-year-old mother, and I can testify that I recognized many experiences and situations in what I saw in 'Thelma'. June Squibb does not act, she rather lives her age on the screen, and therefore her role is truthful and also loaded with humor. Richard Roundtree, her partner in the film plays the role of Ben, who would be the same age as Thelma, but in reality he was 13 years younger. He died in October 2023 and this was his last feature film. Malcolm McDowell is probably the best-known actor in the cast, and he's 14 years younger than June Squibb. Her Thelma dominates the film, not only because of the character but also because of the quality of her performance. The narration is cursive - even if the events on the screen do not quite fit into the calculation of the hours of a day - and the humor is natural and constantly present. 'Thelma' is good summer entertainment that proves that even the experiences of older ages can be made into funny, sensitive and good taste comedies.

"Taking from an elderly person is as bad as stealing from a child." The Beekeeper

I liked Jason Statham's exclamation and reason for violence (above) as he seeks revenge on scammers of a kindly old friend. Thelma (June Squibb at 93 years old) in the current titular action/comedy tries to help her grandson Danny (Fred Hechinger) in need of being bailed out of trouble, so the scammers say. Sending them cash was not just a bad move; it also revealed the electronic vulnerability of the elderly.

Josh Margolin, in his debut as a director and the writer who recollects his aging grandmother, has a firm hand on the whimsical adventure as Thelma tracks down the crooks while keeping her dignity and avoiding the cliches of the old-folks drama. We know she's already had a brain tumor, sepsis, edema, hip replacement, double mastectomy, and valve replacement, but we also know she's a survivor, leaving her family less able to handle her aging's infirmity than she.

Margolin gives her no heroic speeches but rather shows by using mostly her point of view a human being of sweet, even temper not ready to give in to the grim reaper. After all, her spirit animal is Mission Impossible.

Pleasantly the film rolls around Thelma's need for independence, which she handles well, as the family considers if it's time to talk assisted living. Because she'll have none of that, she drives a scooter with her friend, Ben (a skilled Richard Roundtree in his final role), to find the malefactor, Harvey (Malcolm McDowell, lending his considerable chops to a film that could well use another seasoned cinema vet). Autonomy rules for Thelma.

Although the film's setup slows its pace, it take its Geritol in the last half with the confrontation and resolution. Thelma shows it's not too late for the aging to use the Internet and to take life by the horns. The virtue of this sometimes-flaccid actioner is its respect for the aging and condemnation of ageism.

No infantilization of the elderly here-just an honest depiction of old bodies, sharp minds, and loving family bonds, the best Geritol ever.

Watched this at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.

"Thelma" isn't perfect but as a whole, it is a fun and entertaining movie about the lives of elderly people, issues of scam calls and family with fun energy, good direction and a wonderful performance from June Squibb. Director Josh Margolin does a pretty good job on blending comedic and dramatic elements together into the narrative with good humor, fun characters and interesting dynamics between the characters. Squibb's character was highly entertaining to observe and while the other characters were okay, I found each of the characters to have some decent chemistry and energy together.

The production is solid, the camerawork is okay, and the dialogue is pretty good, while some moments could be better. Margolin has a lot of fun references to Tom Cruise's Mission Impossible and he was able to add the jokes and references well into the narrative and action that is occurring in the movie. Although I did found the ending to be slightly anticlimactic and a little unrealistic, as a whole, the heart in the movie is strong and Margolin clearly put a lot of passionate into this project.

Fun movie to watch with friends and it really is sweet.

June Squibb is an interesting actress, today as I write this she is 95, she was 93 when this movie was shot. She started acting in theatrical productions in her 20s, even played a stripper when she was 30. She didn't start her movie career until she was 61. This movie, "Thelma", is built around her.

She is Thelma, living alone in the L. A. area, her family encourages her to always wear her emergency monitor, in case she falls and they will be notified. But she is stubborn, she doesn't always wear it and tells her grandson that is why she is careful and avoids falling.

One day she gets a call, presumably from her grandson who says he was in a car accident, he hit a pregnant lady, then puts "the lawyer" on the phone. He says it is very serious, she needs to go to the bank and take out $10,000 in cash and mail it to the address he provides.

This is a serious crime in real life, almost every day we hear in the news of a man or woman, usually elderly, losing thousands in sophisticated phone scams. The one depicted in this movie is rather amateurish but the caper makes for a funny story.

Richard Roundtree of "Shaft" fame all those years ago is a good addition as old friend Ben. He is in assisted living now (sadly in real life he passed away just last year) and has a three-wheeled two-person electric scooter that comes in handy to look up the P. O. box where the cash was sent.

The first six minutes of the movie are very slow, establishing the characters. The hunt caper on the scooter goes on a bit too long, but the last 15 to 20 minutes are very entertaining.

At home on DVD from our public library, with two short "extras" that aren't very interesting. My wife and I enjoyed the movie as light entertainment. June Squibb is still very energetic in her 90s.