Thelma – Review

Thelma (Squibb) is an independent-living, thoughtful and sweet 93-year-old grandmother who loves spending time with her grandson Daniel (Hechinger) just as much as getting revenge on evildoers after she is scammed. Despite her grandson’s best efforts of training her on the e-mails and the wonders of computers, poor Thelma is taken for some cash when a fraudulent scammer calls her phone, pretending to be Daniel in trouble. As she is a loving grandmother, she wants to help, and the stress of the situation is high and happens all the time in real life unfortunately.

Not being able to reach Daniel, or his busy working parents Gail (Posey) and Alan (Gregg), her panic hits full and she mails a requested sum of money to who she thinks is an attorney for Daniel’s bail. As miscommunication flies, the family races to figure out what happened. As the family worries about Thelma’s age and independence after this event and loss of money, Thelma herself focuses on what to do to resolve the wrongdoing. Off she sets, looking for allies in the retirement home, or anywhere she can find them, blazing a trail straight towards the scammers.

Mostly Thelma is fully played with comedic intent. It is very funny, both in life observations and wacky hijinks. All of the humor played well of each other for me, and I had fun laughing at all the absurdities. Daniel’s parents are expertly played and insanely neurotic. They feel so very real, and hyper fixate on Daniel in every single way possible. While it brings about actual anxiety watching this pair, they are just so funny.

The writer/director based the movie on his time and life with his own grandmother, named Thelma. He gave the script and the camera work excellent touches of heart and reality, clearly based on her. While it is a sweet movie, it does a great job balancing out a wacky and fun comedy with a horrible and realistic type scam which finds victims of all age too often.

This movie treats age with care, both being humorous about it, but also recognizing solemn realities at times. It’s definitely not a downer, and can be enjoyed by viewers of any age. Really, it should teach people not to fuck with grandmas. Head to watch it, and if you lose your wallet don’t forget to order a replacement license.

Most of the below comparisons are a stretch, other than an element or two, so just watch this movie because it’s good