By Mark Fields
Scam Dramedy Finds Heroes in the Elderly
Anyone alive today is aware of the hideous scams perpetrated on the elderly, often where the scammer pretends to be a grandchild in trouble and needing a lot of money in gift cards or cash. Many know someone who experienced it; my father fell victim to such a ruse but luckily called me before handing over his hard-earned savings. So, the story behind Thelma will find resonance in its tale of a feisty nonagenarian grandmother whose love of her slacker grandson costs her dearly. But, in writer-director Josh Margolin’s telling, Thelma (played by June Squibb) gets to be a silver-haired action hero in search of a happy ending.
Thelma is matriarch to a familiarly dysfunctional American family. Grandson Daniel (Fred Hechinger) is her devoted companion but otherwise woefully adrift in life. His mother and father, portrayed by Parker Posey and Clark Gregg, is distracted parents while also being simultaneously smothering. They all worry about Thelma, now 93, as she faces challenges of living independently. All that is thrown into a frenzy when Thelma is scammed for $10,000 in a claim that Daniel has been arrested and his “lawyer” needs cash immediately.
When Thelma realizes she’s been had, she decides not to just accept but to seek out her scammers and get her money back. The rest of the film plays out as Thelma’s humorously unlikely quest across Los Angeles seeking retribution. She recruits her friend Ben (played by the late Richard Roundtree in his final film role) as her sidekick in this adventure.
The aforementioned performances, as well as a third-act cameo by Malcolm McDowell as the also-elderly scammer, are all strong, but the movie is carried by the considerable charm and grit of June Squibb. Margolin’s direction is subtly clever, as it draws on familiar action genre tropes with a senior citizen twist.
Thelma, at its heart, is a gentle comedy actioner with heart, but also with a niche audience demographic. Tom Cruise, Thelma’s matinee idol, has nothing to worry about.
