Thelma
Year: 2024
Rating: PG-13
Length: 98 minutes / 1.63 hours
Thelma (2024) is one of those rare movies that I knew little about, but saw the trailer a few times and saw it on a whim. I was glad I did, because it’s definitely my favorite film of this year. With so many action movies, it’s nice to see one like this that makes fun of the tropes in the best way possible. And to top it all off, the message it gives is as heartwarming as it is important.
The premise of Thelma is that the titular character (played by June Squibb) got scammed out of $10,000. After taking the normal steps one would after realizing the mistake, she realizes she can take matters into her own hands and retrieve her stolen money with some help from her elderly friends. It’s part heist, part chase, and way funnier than it has any right to be. This is partly due to how the common action tropes like GPS trackers, earpiece communications, and high-octane explosions were subverted to match the elderly theming. Everything feels like it could happen that way in the real world without it devolving to action movie ridiculousness.
At the heart of Thelma, though, is a message about independence. So often, older individuals are brushed off as being unable to do a lot of things, even if they could do them in the prime of their youth. On the flip side, our youth (“He’s 24”) are often prevented from showing how capable they are without their lives being constantly directed by helicopter parents. Still, being humble enough to ask for help when we need it is an important aspect of our lives, even if we know we used to do it ourselves.
The most heartwarming action movie subversion ever made, I give Thelma 5.0 stars out of 5.
