June Squibb in Thelma

Two isn’t a trend but it is interesting that 2024 brings us two films about elder fraud and revenge. The Beekeeper is the insane action version, and Thelma is the more grounded, family-oriented version of the tale. 

Like The Beekeeper, Thelma starts with an elderly woman being targeted by phone scammers and losing a bunch of money. Also like The Beekeeper, Thelma is a revenge thriller. You will never convince me that Thelma, The Beekeeper, and The Accountant don’t take place in the same cinematic universe. 

June Squibb stars as Thelma, a nonagenarian grandmother living alone in the greater Los Angeles area. Her grandson is the lovable if hapless Danny (Fred Hechinger, best known as the outrigger canoeing son from season one of The White Lotus), and it’s through Danny that Thelma is scammed out of $10,000. A panicked phone call convinces her Danny is in jail, and she has to pay his lawyer immediately—a real scam that cost over $3 billion last year—so she mails off all the cash she has squirreled around her condo and thinks she’s done good until she realizes Danny is fine, and she’s been had.

Thelma is equal parts comedy and drama, truly walking the tonal tightrope in a way that feels wholly organic and nuanced. Written and directed by actor turned filmmaker Josh Margolin, making his feature directorial debut, Thelma is a high-wire act that everyone involved makes look incredibly easy. The humor comes from things like a scooter chase, running gags involving residents of a senior’s home—including one played by Ruben Rubasa, I Think You Should Leave’s “car idea guy”—and ninety-something Thelma being inspired on her revenge quest by media coverage of sixty-something actor Tom Cruise. A sequence of Thelma traversing a cluttered shop feels as fraught as Ethan Hunt dropping into a pressure-sensitive vault.

The drama comes from the natural human consequences of aging. Thelma is elderly but still capable of caring for herself, mostly, but she stresses her family out on a daily basis. Danny worries about her being alone and wants her to wear a smart watch she resents—which is made funny when his own overprotective parents push a similar watch on him—and we do learn that though Thelma is sharp and can still get around, albeit slowly, she does have significant physical ailments and even some cognitive decline. These things are as unavoidable as the sheer number of her friends who have died. But Thelma is also reveling in her independence after a lifetime of living with others. There’s really no answer to any of it, Thelma isn’t helpless but sometimes she needs help, and barring the scooter escape, the circumstances of her family are extremely recognizable if you have elders in your family. 

Thelma is the kind of film that makes you laugh out loud, but also makes you want to check on the elders in your life. It’s a reminder that life doesn’t end at retirement, and that worry is a sign of care, not that people think you’re weak. The film has a huge amount of love and empathy for the elderly, it’s a gentle reminder that “old” doesn’t equal “incapable”, but there is an equal amount of empathy for the family members worried about their aged parent or grandparent. It’s just hard all the way around as the people we love age, and we ourselves age, too, and the film doesn’t pretend it’s easy or that there are simple answers to an inevitable and complex life experience.

Thelma is genuinely funny and heartfelt, and June Squibb finally gets the leading role she deserves, playing Thelma as both the kindly grandmother and the steely woman seeking justice. She’s funny, she’s sad, she’s sweet, she’s a little mean, Thelma is hell on scooter wheels and Squibb is clearly having fun playing her. Margolin’s film is a rare dramedy that really does effectively blend comedy and drama in a story that deals with a difficult subject in a fairly lighthearted, sympathetic and humane way. Thelma is a treat, the kind of sincerely thoughtful yet entertaining film that doesn’t come around very often, but when it does, it’s well worth seeking out.

Thelma is now playing exclusively in theaters.