Thelma

Thelma (2024)

99% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 138 reviews)

Runtime: 98 minutes

Directed by: Josh Margolin

Starring: June Squibb, Fred Hechinger, Richard Roundtree, Parker Posey, Clark Gregg

From: Magnolia Pictures. Yeah, it’s amazing to me too that they’re still around

Like many now, Thelma was inspired by Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt.

Throughout the upcoming month there is plenty to see or I could see on the big screen. Who knows how many of those I’ll get to; it depends on my schedule. However, it did seem like a nice gesture on my part to check out an independent film that has received plenty of good buzz this year. For all the decades that June Squibb has been on stage or on screen, the movie’s marketing proclaims that this is the first time she ever got to be the lead. That is a great feat for someone who probably made this when they were 92 or 93 and for certain is at the age of 94 now. It also appears to be the late Richard Roundtree’s final role. They were both great here; without revealing much, they share many scenes together.

The movie was sparked by an incident where director Josh Margolin’s grandmother Thelma was ripped off in a phone scam. Presumably, the rest of the movie is fiction and she didn’t commandeer a Hoveround scooter to try and track down this individual! If the IMDb is to be believed, the real-life Thema is still alive… at the age of 103! The fictional Thelma lives alone in an apartment after her long-time husband passed away two years ago. She seems to manage for her age; her grandson is kind of a doofus but at least he often comes over to assist; they also watched Mission: Impossible-Fallout together.

After she was scammed, Thelma felt humiliated by the deception; she makes the foolhardy decision to try and solve it herself despite her age and the small detail of not having a driver’s license. She also doesn’t have the assistance of Adam Clay… Sure, I could nitpick some details or note that not all the humor landed. That said, I was just charmed by this movie and how it humorously noted the perils of aging (including your body/deteriorating and your friends passing away) yet was not afraid to have serious or heartfelt moments also-without delving into cruelty over the perils of aging.

This film had a few other familiar faces-Malcolm McDowell, Parker Posey, Clark Gregg-and Fred Hechinger did a nice job as Danny the grandson, but to reiterate I was most impressed w/ Squibb and Roundtree. It was a nice movie which was a heartwarming look at senior citizens-a sentiment often lacking in modern cinema-and while I can’t say with any degree of certainty, elderly people may also be over the moon for the movie. It’s not really something that needs to be seen theatrically—yet I’m glad I did. I don’t have grandparents any longer, nor a mother. Dad, my aunt and my uncle are now are up there in age; hopefully it’s a long while before I really have to be concerned about the twilight of their lives.

One last note: there is a mid-credits scene that was quite touching; hopefully no one missed it.