June Squibb channels Tom Cruise in rollicking action-comedy Thelma

“June Squibb has her first lead film role at 94 years old” is one of those facts that seems too absurd to be true, like how sharks are older than trees or how sliced bread wasn’t invented until 1928. An Oscar nominee for her role in 2013’s Nebraska, Squibb has amassed an impressive career that stretches decades, from lead roles on the stage to scene-stealing turns in films including About Schmidt and Palm Springs. Now the beloved actress is finally No. 1 on the call sheet, headlining the action-comedy Thelma, which premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. The result is a charming and hilarious ode to action-movie excess, and it’s proof that Squibb’s star role was well worth the wait.

First-time writer-director Josh Margolin based the script on his own relationship with his grandmother, and Squibb stars as the adorable Thelma, an aging widow who lives alone. The nonagenarian spends most of her time with her doting 20-something grandson Daniel (The White Lotus star Fred Hechinger), who patiently teaches her how to use Gmail and binges Mission: Impossible movies with her on the couch. So, Thelma is understandably panicked when she receives a call from a scammer pretending to be Daniel, claiming to be in jail after a car accident. The scammer instructs her to send $10,000 in cash to a nearby P.O. box, and by the time she realizes she’s been duped, her money is already lost in the mail.

What ensues is part character study, part ridiculous action-movie spoof, as Thelma sets out on a perilous trek to recover her missing moolah. Determined to prove her own independence, she keeps her reclamation mission a secret from her own family, including her grandson, her adult daughter (Parker Posey), and her son-in-law (Clark Gregg), only accepting help from an old family friend named Ben (Shaft’s Richard Roundtree, in his final on-screen role before his death in October 2023). Together, Thelma and Ben crisscross suburban Los Angeles in an adventure that would make Ethan Hunt proud.

Margolin approaches his film like a true action fan, and Thelma playfully subverts some of the genre’s most well-trodden tropes — like how Bluetooth-enabled hearing aids become furtive communication devices. Instead of zipping around Europe in a flashy sports car, Thelma and Ben navigate the Valley on a two-seater mobility scooter. Even the score feels appropriately Mission: Impossible-esque, especially when Thelma braves dangerous feats like climbing on top of a wobbly bed to reach — gasp! — a box on a high shelf. After all, every journey seems far more perilous when you’re making it with a hip replacement. Margolin even pokes fun at the classic “rounding up the crew” montage, only for Thelma to realize that every friend she might call is already dead.  

But although the film’s action tropes are played for laughs, there’s a real sweetness under all the gags. A lesser actress could’ve turned Thelma into a retirement home caricature, but Squibb, of course, brings a thoughtful and sweet nuance to her heroine. Thelma retains her fiery spark, but she’s still coming to terms with her limited mobility and the recent loss of her husband. Squibb’s chemistry with Roundtree is also particularly charming, and together, Thelma and Ben have a few moving heart-to-hearts about the ups and downs of aging.

But ultimately, the heart of the film is the bond between grandmother and grandson: Margolin’s script has fun with the inherent silliness of a senior citizen action-star, but it never makes Thelma the butt of the joke, and the director’s clear love for his own grandma shines through. Not every gag lands, but Thelma is the rare spoof that’s both laugh-out-loud funny and disarmingly sweet. Squibb may be new to the genre, but Thelma earns her a place among all the Ethan Hunts, John Wicks, and John McClanes. B+

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