Search - Thelma on DVD

B.J. W. (analogkid01) from CHICAGO, IL
Reviewed on 7/5/2025...

"What happens now?"

"We wait."

How many times have you heard those exact lines in an action movie? The protagonists have laid a trap for the antagonist, and all that remains is to sit back and wait for the foolish evildoer to walk into it. Maybe they do, maybe they don't.

But those lines are delivered - in a logical setting and with complete earnestness - by elderly revenge-seekers Thelma (June Squibb) and Ben (the late Richard Roundtree) in first-time director Josh Margolin's "Thelma."

95-year-old Thelma, who understandably doesn't know much about modern technology, gets duped by a scammer (a well-cast Malcolm McDowell) who claims her loving grandson Daniel (Fred Hechinger) has been arrested and needs $10,000 - in cash, delivered via USPS - to bail him out. Thelma dutifully complies, but soon learns she's been had. Thelma gets embarrassed.

Then Thelma gets pissed.

How many times have you seen the following tropes in action films?

- commandeering another's vehicle
- a vehicle chase resulting in damage to said vehicles
- a brazen heist
- using technology to divert someone's attention and make an escape
- a torture/interrogation scene
- stealthily sneaking into a bad guy's evil lair
- someone holding someone else at gunpoint
- computer hacking

...but with elderly people? That's basically Thelma in a nutshell - old folks in an action film, with the action modified slightly to accommodate artificial hips. One of the central action sequences involves Thelma climbing a flight of stairs.

And, it's hysterical. It might not be all that funny if you haven't seen a lot of action films (think Lethal Weapon, etc.), and you could consider Thelma to be a "gimmick movie," but the filmmakers have an obvious love for all manner of action film cliches and they're wonderfully honored in this film. Other "gimmick movies" include Steve Martin's "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid" at the high end, and "Hawk Jones" at the low end. (The gimmick alone isn't what makes the movie good or bad, it's just...the gimmick.)

Clark Gregg and Parker Posey round out the cast as Daniel's parents, and their scenes are where the movie drags a bit. Too much is made of Daniel's lack of ambition and talent, and the film's 97-minute running time was made possible from the padding of those scenes.

Of course, it has to be noted that this is Richard Roundtree's last film, and he made his name appearing in films just like this one back in the 70s (the Shaft series and countless other low-budget action films). He truly came full-circle...and even got to walk away from an explosion one last time.

Grade: A-minus