Thelma

Watched the film at Sundance Film Festival. It's a really great film, super-funny, super-entertaining, but also with a great heart and a very interesting human exploration of the condition of elderly people. It is also very very tender. The writer/director was inspired by his grandma, and you get this love and tenderness towards the limtis and conditions of the elderly people. The action dimension is funny but realistic, and is played in reference and contrast to the Tom Cruise Mission Impossible franchise. I would say a Mission Impossible with a 93 unstoppable protagonist. Great acting, I liked especially Fred Hechinger, the grandson, and obviusly June Squibb, which ia absolutely great. Not surprised if June Squibb gets a nomination to the Oscars, or the Oscar itself.

A 93-year-old woman living alone is scammed by a caller pretending to be her grandson who steals $10,000 from her. In spite of the concerns from her family, Thelma Post goes on an adventure to get her money back. She gets the help from her reluctant friend Ben to find and confront her swindlers.

Thelma is a movie excels at comedic timing. There are a lot of gags in this movie, some witty dialogue, some physical, a couple running gags and a lot about the situations older people are in. Nearly all of them land. I was laughing as hard as I did in Bad Boys: Ride or Die and the people I was with laughed throughout the film too. While there may have been a joke or two that did not work for me, I would say I laughed about every five minutes with this film. The best part about this movie is the timing of the jokes too and they never come across as mean-spirited or mocking elderly people. I think that people of all ages can find something humorous in this action-comedy flick.

The story is not about the capabilities of a senior citizens and how you do not have to let anyone take advantage of you. In this movie, Thelma handles herself very well and pushes herself to catch the thieves that swindled her. She is shown to be very resilient and refuses to let her weaknesses stop her from getting her money back. However, the movie is also about not tackling dangerous situations alone. Thelma is very resilient, but there are times she does need help on her quest and she learns throughout the film. The message comes across as knowing when you need an extra hand in difficult situations. The script handles the themes in this movie beautifully and it comes off as encouraging and uplifting.

Thelma Post is a great protagonist. She is funny, she is lovable and kind and she is one of the most resilient people I have seen in a while. She does not let anything or anyone stop her. There is one moment in the film that I cheered on the inside from her. Thelma is flawed in that she can be selfish and few times, but she is shown to have her heart in the right place and admit when she was wrong. June Squibb is terrific in the role. She is funny, charming and has fantastic expressions and comedic timing. Thelma Post as a character could not work nearly as well without Squibb's enthusiasm and wit.

The supporting cast is strong too with the late Richard Roundtree as a standout as Ben. Roundtree plays as Thelma's cautious and helpful friend beautifully and shares very fun chemistry with June Squibb. This is one of those movies where I could tell the two stars seemed like friends in real life. Thelma's family is very likable and concerned, but I am not sure how to feel about the rant from the grandson. I could see that scene being relatable to a degree because it is dealing with a missing person and he feels as if his grandmother's disappearance is his fault, but it is a bit tough to watch, especially when he rants in front of his parents. Fred Hinchinger's acting in that scene works well because he is relatively calm most of the movies and then he lets that out of nowhere. Malcolm McDowell is in the movie and he is great here. The cast is really good and everyone contributes to the plot.

As I said earlier, Thelma is not a typical action movie in the slightest. The movie is more about the adventure of Thelma and Ben than a film with chases or action scenes. It's another part of the film that makes it more charming because it still finds ways to make the story tense by showing how dangerous this seemingly simple journey for Thelma can be. One of my favorite scenes though is the scooter chase in the nursing home. It is such a creative and entertaining sequence. The climax is fantastic in the buildup and payoff with how far Thelma has come. The cinematography by David Bolen is solid, but the editing by Magolin is what makes this movie so dynamic. The film is edited in a way that builds up the tension and comedic beats at the perfect time. The musical score by Nick Chuba is really good and it fits the tone of the movie.

I really enjoyed Thelma. This is the perfect mix of funny, heartwarming and intense moments. It is also surprisingly original as an action movie. This is a movie that takes full advantage of its premise from start to finish. It encourages older people that they still have their lives to live. This is one of the funniest movies I have seen in a while and it had a few moments that I found pretty touching. This movie is a gem. I highly recommend Thelma if it is playing in a theater near you.

"Thelma" gives June Squibb and the late Richard Roundtree the chance to deliver a couple of fun performances in the rare movie that prominently features elderly characters without patronizing them.

The central relationship in the movie is between a young man and his grandmother, but I saw a lot of my mom in the character of Thelma. She's 81 and in pretty good shape, the usual wear and tear issues of aging aside. She has mobility issues and has said that it would be tempting to sit on the couch all day and watch T. V., but she forces herself to stay active and independent. As a result, she's doing pretty well, and I know that if she had the choice between getting out and about and running the risk of getting injured or overdoing it vs. Wasting slowly away from a sedentary lifestyle, she'd say bring on the risk. I don't blame her, as I think I'll feel the same way.

"Thelma" nails what it's like to be children trying to care for an elderly parent. You want to let them be independent, but you also know that anything that happens to them as a result is going to fall on you to handle, so you do things for them instead and caution them against trying to do too much themselves. But then you're taking away the very thing that is helping them stay sharp and healthy, even though you mean well. It's a crappy position to be in, and it's no wonder that studies show people in their 40s have the least life contentment of any other decade.

On the other hand, I could not relate at all to the helicopter parenting of the characters played by Parker Posey and Clark Gregg in this movie, as that isn't how I parent at all.

Grade: A-

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.

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.