Look, I know that there’s tons of 2024 movies left to see within this summer movie season (including surefire Marvel blockbuster Deadpool and Wolverine), but for now I’m calling it: Thelma is the action comedy of the summer. My summer, anyway. And, I invite you to join me. It may sound like something one might joke about, but I’m totally serious. I highly doubt another one of the action movies coming out this summer is going to make me laugh, cry and have me on the edge of my seat as much as Thelma did.
The new release was so good on so many levels as June Squibb gives an incredible performance as a 93-year-old grandma who decides to get revenge on the phone scammers who trick her out of thousands. Richard Roundtree, who died this past October, gets an all-time great last role as an old friend of hers whom she rolls with on an adult scooter throughout the journey. But, I particularly can’t get over how beautifully writer/director Josh Margolin crafted a love letter both to his grandmother and the action-comedy genre. Let me talk about it further!
Thelma Tackles A Real And Concerning Problem Affecting The Elderly
When it comes to Hollywood representing elderly people in movies and TV, I often find that they are either the butt of jokes, or in absolutely brutally depressing movies about death. No wonder a lot of older actors call it quits (or just can’t find good roles) when they reach a certain age. But, Thelma treats our elders differently. The movie places June Squibb’s Thelma in the center of a role (her first leading role role) that feels realistic to the experience of aging and is also a ton of fun at the same time.
The inciting incident of Thelma is when the 93-year-old gets scammed when she receives a phone call from someone claiming to be her grandson (played by Fred Hechinger) saying he’s been in a car accident and he needs $10,000. Thelma believes the phone call and sends over the cash. Later, she discovers that her grandson is perfectly fine and she feels rather dumb for the whole thing. It reminded me of my own grandmother, who is always expressing the feeling that she is behind the times with every new piece of technology that comes out. Sure, it’s easy to brush off the rapid changes in society across the past seven to ten decades that affect the world’s oldest generation, but things like phone scamming is a real issue that often targets older people in order to take advantage of them. The movie gave me empathy for people like my grandma because they grew up in a more innocent world where people wouldn’t even think of doing such a thing, or have the means to.
Thelma’s Perspective About Aging Is Realistic And Important
After Thelma gives into the phone scam, she quietly goes into revenge mode, not letting her family know or come along on her fun (and rather dangerous) ride to get her money back. I could see from her perspective while she decided to initially make it a solo mission, because she knew they would discourage her from accomplishing the task and suggest it could not be done. While I can totally relate to her grandson’s sympathetic approach, the movie also reminded me that many older people really struggle with not feeling useful when their family is always hovering over them and perhaps telling them they shouldn’t be doing something because of their age. As one line says: "People don't like old things." I see some of this behavior in my own grandmother, who has her own moments of determination that she doesn’t want to involve family in, likely because she needs to prove to herself she can do it.
There was something really empowering (even for my 28-year-old self) to see Thelma defy her family and go off her own, just because she decided she could. Of course I’d be scared as hell if my grandparents had ever pulled something like this like her family does when she goes missing, but the movie offered a solid perspective about the frustration that comes with being taken advantage of. Thelma and Roundtree’s Ben as the pair find themselves in their own action moments by breaking away from the norm. Age does not end drive, so why do we often treat older people like they shouldn’t have aspirations, and oftentimes simply not tell their stories? (Even if it’s revenge!) The movie helped me see how isolating it can be when others dismiss the elderly. Thelma can certainly count itself among inspiring movies about getting older because it allows The Silent Generation to be really heard.
I Love How Thelma Approaches Action Sequences For Elderly Actors
In addition to Thelma’s necessary message about aging, I also really appreciate how the movie treated the action element of the film. When I heard about the movie, I figured it would involve some really wild scenes of June Squibb like high-kicking that most people in their 90s would not be able to do. However, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Squibb did her own stunts thanks to the movie’s action actually catering to her age. What Margolin understands and beautifully executed through Thelma is changing the stakes of what we’d typically see in an action movie – but absolutely respecting it as if it was a Tom Cruise movie.
For example, there’s a chase sequence involving adult scooters in a senior home that is just as engaging as a car chase scene. Or, when Thelma needs to acquire something later in the film, the scenes are shot and feel as a heist sequence, but what the character is actually doing is simply going up stairs and finding a way to reach something on a tall shelf. Sure, it incites a chuckle or two, but not in a way that looks down on the elderly.
All and all, I can’t stop thinking about Thelma. I won’t spoil the ending for you, but the movie left me with such a glowy feeling of respect and appreciation for the filmmaking and the elders in my life and the peculiar experience aging is! It’s a weird concept we’ll likely deal with in our lives, so might as well not let it define us and talk about them more in all their forms. I love that Thelma defies what we usually see from action comedies, but I love even more how its messages about aging alongside it that I'm not going to forget anytime soon.
