Thelma – A Funny Love Letter to Grandmas (Early Review)

Premiering at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, Thelma stars 94-year-old June Squibb in the first leading role of her lengthy career. The feature writing and directorial debut of Josh Margolin, the film is inspired by his real life grandmother (also named Thelma), and tells a story exploring aging, family, and autonomy. When 93-year-old Thelma Post (Squibb) gets duped by a phone scammer pretending to be her loving grandson Danny (Hechinger), she sets out on a treacherous quest across the city with Ben (Richard Roundtree) to reclaim what was taken for her all while avoiding her daughter Gail (Posey) and her husband Alan (Clark Gregg) as they desperately search for her. All in all, the film is an absolute crowd pleaser and a sweet, not to mention funny, love letter to grandmas everywhere.

Thelma wouldn’t be as effective or anywhere near as enjoyable as it was if not for Squibb in the titular role. It’s honestly baffling and almost hard to believe that the film marks the first time she gets to headline a film, but she proves at age 94 that she’s got what it takes and that even after all of this, is still more than up for the task. Squibb is a very talented and quite underrated comedic actress, utilizing her excellent comedic timing and wit to bring out a lot of laughs, but she also quietly nails the film’s more emotional moments and the more action driven ones (she apparently did most of her own stunts). She is the central focus and the reason this works as well as it does, however, she’s also backed up by a terrific supporting cast.

Meanwhile, Roundtree (RIP) is very charming in one of his final screen roles and has strong chemistry as Thelma’s partner in crime. While Posey and Gregg are playing more reserved and worrying characters, they’re as entertaining as ever, each injecting plenty of humour into their performances that fit nicely with the tone of the film. Aside from Squibb, the biggest standout of the cast is Hechinger as Danny. Hechinger has a unique screen presence where one can’t help but like him almost regardless of the role he’s playing and his relationship with Thelma is sweet and genuinely touching. The scenes between them are when the film is at its most heartwarming, as the film is sure to resonate deeply with audiences’ that have close relationships with their own grandparents.

Margolin does a good job in his feature film debut, especially in making it appealing to both younger and older audiences. Geared primarily towards older audiences, it is told in a fast paced, entertaining, and energetic way that will appeal to the younger viewers that will likely relate to Danny’s struggles throughout the film. It has a lot to say about getting older and aging, and it surprisingly touches upon these themes in deeply personal, mature, and thought provoking ways, while never losing focus of the comedy and its ability to poke fun at itself over those same themes. It’s amusing how it is technically staged as an action film and Margolin frames and handles the action in really fun ways that are both exciting and effective.

Thelma runs at a breezy 98-minutes, but even with its short length, the film still feels a little stretched out and goes on a bit longer than it should. The story is pretty lightweight and easy to predict every direction it will take, which makes its drawn out third act feel even longer as it attempts to ramp up the tension. Its tone is mostly consistent throughout but there are times where it struggles balancing silly humour with more serious real world drama and themes. But aside from those small complaints, Thelma is the best possible version of the kind of movie that it could be. It is fun and enjoyable for audiences of all ages and is worth seeing for June Squibb’s leading performance alone. It might not be the most memorable experience in the long run, but it’s certainly an enjoyable one and one worth recommending to anyone, regardless of their age.

still courtesy of VVS Films

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Connor Carey

www.connorsmoviereviews.com/