Thelma is Insulting and Unfunny

 

 

 THELMA (2024)

Directed by Josh Margolin.

Magnolia pictures, 98 minutes, PG-13.

★★

June Squibb has been acting since 1947, yet, few movie goers knew of her before she vowed audiences in the wonderful Alexander Payne movie Nebraska (2013) for which she won a best supporting actress Oscar. Squibb later landed a leading role in Thelma. Alas, it’s a total mess. An example of its lack of forethought is that it’s hard to find because, of course, searches direct you to Thelma and Louise, a much better and more popular film. (Why not give Squibb a different old-fashioned name like Cora?)

Thelma is burdened with a clumsy and insulting script. It was billed as rom-com, but it’s actually a sappy comedy of the lowest common denominator. Were it not for the performances of Ms. Squibb–back when she was a mere 93–and (the late) Richard Roundtree, Squibb’s sympathetic co-star, you could erase every copy of Thelma and Western society would never notice. It made a few bucks the box office, but that’s only because its budget was just $3 million, which is less than most movies spend on makeup.

Thelma Markowicz is an elderly American suffering from memory lapses and physical ailments that trouble many senior citizens. She continues to live alone in Los Angeles, though her grandson Danny (Fred Hechinger) loves her dearly and comes over from time to time to talk and show her how to send emails. The ongoing joke is that Danny is a sweet smiling dweeb who is socially challenged. He lacks self-confidence and is pretty much the ward of his parents, Alan (Clark Gregg), who stares at his phone most of the time, and Gail (Parker Posey). She’s a neurotic and over-the-top controlling helicopter wife and mother. The big family discussion is whether Thelma has truly lost it and should be living in a care facility. Thelma doesn’t want to hear of it. She does have memory issues, but she’s also keenly aware of those with fewer marbles than she and has witnessed the grinding sadness of nursing homes via visits to friends.

A crisis point comes when Thelma is scammed into sending $10,000 in cash to a post office box in Van Nuys. She falls for a phone call from a “bail bondsman” telling her that Danny is in jail for hitting a pregnant woman. This ups the now-lighter-ante and a new push to find an eldercare home for Thelma. They take her to a “nice” facility, but instead of looking around, she finds her old friend Ben (Roundtree) who shows off his new scooter that gets 43 miles per charge. Instead of returning to the lobby, Thelma appropriates Ben’s scooter and we are (mis)treated to an inane chase around the rest home. Thelma escapes through a set of double doors, but Ben catches up to Thelma, who convinces Ben to ride with her to Van Nuys to recover her money. In the meantime, Alan and Gail go frantic and act as if there’s not an adult bone in their bodies. Danny practices feeling sorry for his ineptitude and blaming Thelma’s absence on himself. (Later, we find out that Danny has a sort of girlfriend, though who would date such a man-boy is an open question.)

If you thought the chase through the nursing care facility was stupid, the slow ride to Van Nuys is dumber still. Along the way, Thelma stops to steal a gun from an old friend living in squalor to intimidate the thieves if they discover them. Is any of this plausible? Does Thelma get her money back? Do she and Ben make it back to the facility safely? Does Dudley Do-Right Danny redeem himself? Do we care? Has Margolin stolen the essence of The Straight Story (1999)?

I suppose Margolin, who also wrote the script, thinks he redeemed himself by making Thelma a person who can learn to use a computer over the telephone. Or perhaps, he thinks a black white friendship shows compassion. Nope!  The entire movie rests upon stereotypes of older Americans, will a drive-by meek effort of showing old dogs learning new tricks. Most of the “funny” stuff seldom rises above obvious slapstick or a Grade-B TV laugh track. I wish Margolin had given Roundtree a worthy goodbye and Squibb a real leading role.

Rob Weir