Thelma

Thelma

Deceived by a phone scammer pretending to be her grandson, a 90-year-old woman sets out on a quest to reclaim what was taken from her.

  • Released:
  • Runtime: 97 minutes
  • Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy
  • Stars: Fred Hechinger, Parker Posey, Malcolm McDowell, June Squibb, Clark Gregg, Richard Roundtree, Nicole Byer, Coral Peña, Chase Kim, Sheila Korsi, Annie O'Donnell, Hilda Boulware, Zoë Worth, Ruben Rabasa, Quinn Beswick, Bunny Levine, Annie Korzen, Ivy Jones, Sandra Lee Gimpel, Aidan Fiske
  • Director: Josh Margolin
 Comments
  • dyjo-76059 - 29 June 2024
    Funny, sweet, heartfelt... you'll walk away smiling
    We need more wholesome and beautiful 90-minute movies like this one. Thelma is thrilling, surprising, and oddly not as predictable as you might think. June Squibb is outstanding as always, and her performance undoubtedly propels this heartfelt story with so much charm and earnestness that you can't help but giggle all the way through.

    She may not receive an Oscar nomination, but as a 93-year-old leading woman who commanded the screen throughout, she is more than deserving. It's fun, sweet and something that people of all ages can really enjoy. In a year that's already had some strong choices, Thelma is one of the best comedies of 2024. This one will really surprise people! Strong 8/10.
  • jaredkjacoby - 23 June 2024
    Hilarious and Heartfelt
    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.
  • gregl-04396 - 24 January 2024
    Totally unrealistic ending to an otherwise great movie
    I'd describe this movie as more frustrating than anything else thanks to it's rather bad ending. I was thoroughly enjoying it up until the confrontation scene at the light store, due to the complete improbability and lack of logic displayed by all the characters. For Thelma and Ben to not call the police at any point --- or even her grandson --- before going in was ridiculous. For Ben to not call the police after he couldn't hear her anymore was even more ridiculous. For Thelma to pull out the rather large gun from seemingly nowhere (Where did it come from exactly? She had no purse, and had just rolled over a couch minutes prior with no signs of a gun) added to the lack of believability in the entire scene. To top it all off, ignoring the fact that Thelma could barely use a computer at the start of the movie, having Thelma return the money to her bank account online immediately isn't even something you can do without verifying accounts first --- and it's not even possible for an outside account without using a wire transfer (that's why banks have Zelle instead). It makes me wonder if the writer had ever done online banking in his life. (Why even bring the computer into it and add to the improbability of the entire scene? He could have just handed her her cash back.) Then at the end she doesn't even inform the police about tracking down this scammer targeting old people, after spending a large majority of the movie talking about all the issues seniors face!? Wtf. There were way too many plot holes at the end, which was unfortunate as much of the writing during the rest of the movie, especially about people aging, was almost perfectly done. Many of the lines were hilarious. It's like the writer ran out of steam (or maybe the budget) at the end, and wanted to wrap everything up quickly. Unfortunately, the ending made zero sense for multiple reasons and ruined the movie for me.