Perhaps the most unexpected buddy action comedy of the Summer is the delightful new film, Thelma. With a fantastic cast, a witty script, and plenty of charm I have to say I absolutely loved this film.
Thelma (played by June Squibb) is an aging retiree living alone but is frequently visited by her doting grandson Danny (played by Fred Hechinger), who worries about her and keeps reminding her to wear her medical alert bracelet. One day she gets a call from an unlisted number and picks up. The person calling claims to be her grandson saying he was in an accident and was in jail. This is enough to panic her and she doesn't pick up on the obvious cues that it's a scam when they tell her she needs to mail in $10,000 to bail him out. Distressed, she collects cash she has stashed around the house and heads out to the post office to send it without even thinking twice. It's only when she talks to Danny, as well as his parents, Gail (played by Parker Posey) and Alan (played by Clark Gregg) that she realizes what happened. Furious, Thelma sets out to get her money back, enlisting the help of her friend Ben (played by Richard Roundtree) to help. The two set out on an adventure as they venture to the P.O Box she was instructed to send the money to and find the scammer who ripped her off.
The film was written and directed by Josh Margolin, taking inspiration from his own grandmother and crafts a highly entertaining film about the least likely action hero. I loved the way he re-purposed all the usual tropes of the action movie genre into the realm of Senior Living, including a car chase except it's scooters through a Retirement Home or using hearing aids synched to cellphones for surveillance purposes. Pairing nicely with this is the heartwarming aspects of the story, especially with Thelma and Ben showing they're still capable adults despite their older age. Josh Margolin balances the humor and more dramatic aspects of the story well, keeping things reasonably light and fun throughout while giving the proceedings just enough emotional weight to give it some poignancy.
June Squibb is fantastic in the titular role of Thelma. She hits the right notes with her performance, handling the more easily trusting and vulnerable aspects of her character at the beginning of the movies quite well. She also handles her character's transition to deciding not to be a victim and taking the initiative to track down her victimizer and get her money back when it appears the Police is either unable to uninterested in helping. She also handles the physical comedy of her character quite well whether it is trying to sneak through a cluttered room or trying to balance on a bed to retrieve a gun from a high shelf at a friend's house. Fred Hechinger is quite endearing as Danny. He plays off June Squibb well and the two really sell how close their characters are and adds some nice emotional weight to the movie. It's a really sympathetic performance as Danny is at a bit of a crossroads himself. He's not currently in school and he and is girlfriend are on a break and seeing those two parallels play out between two characters in different stages of their lives play out was well done. Richard Roundtree is great as Ben, often acting as the voice of reason who continues to go along with Thelma's crazy adventure because he just can't let her go at it alone. His more level headed character plays off well with Thelma's stubborn determination. They make a great pair as they go through their adventure together. Parker Posey is a hilarious as Gail, the harried daughter of Thelma and mother to Danny. She sells how much her character cares about her family, especially both Thelma and Danny who she is both worried about and Posey finds the right balance between genuine and funny throughout the movie. Clark Gregg, much like Richard Roundtree' Ben, provides a voice of reason throughout the film for his family unit of himself, Gail, and Danny, who spend the second half of the movie trying to find Thelma and bring her home. It's a fun performance and he's amusing in the role in that uniquely Clark Gregg way.
Josh Margolin has hit a home run with Thelma, smartly upending the oft told revenge tale with real wit and humor as it centers on two elderly main characters who show they can still get it done in their own uniquely brilliant ways. It's a warm and funny film that was a delight to watch from beginning to end backed by an equally delightful cast. I loved every minute of this film. If you're in the mood for something other than the usual Summertime blockbuster fare, this one comes highly recommended.
