Thelma (2024)
June 23, 2024 3:08 PM - Subscribe
When 93-year-old Thelma Post gets duped by a phone scammer pretending to be her grandson, she sets out on a treacherous quest across the city to reclaim what was taken from her. Trailer
I want to see this with my elderly parents but.... I want to make sure theres nothing in it that'll make them sad! Someone who's seen it, please me-mail me and let me know if Thelma ends up happy :)
posted by silverstatue at 5:26 PM on June 23 [1 favorite]
posted by silverstatue at 5:26 PM on June 23 [1 favorite]
We saw it over the weekend and it is delightful. Laugh out loud funny, sad and poignant at times, great performances all around. Highly recommended.
posted by Ben Trismegistus at 6:19 AM on June 24 [3 favorites]
posted by Ben Trismegistus at 6:19 AM on June 24 [3 favorites]
I saw it last night and really enjoyed it; the ads play up the "action movie" part but the core of the film really is about getting old. There were a lot of laugh out loud spots -- but the jokes are often tinged with sadness, and it balances those nicely, making the humor very poignant and driving the story rather than just "laugh at old people". There is a lot of suspense in the film, in many ways it does tick a lot of the "summer blockbuster" checkboxes.
I was surprised by the actor they got for the villain; I don't think they were in any of the trailers or articles I've seen, I suppose that's intentional. The whole cast is great.
posted by AzraelBrown at 8:18 AM on June 24 [3 favorites]
I was surprised by the actor they got for the villain; I don't think they were in any of the trailers or articles I've seen, I suppose that's intentional. The whole cast is great.
posted by AzraelBrown at 8:18 AM on June 24 [3 favorites]
Someone who's seen it, please me-mail me and let me know if Thelma ends up happy :)
Spoilers are okay here in FanFare threads and I'd be glad to know too.
(Maybe one day when the site rewrite is done and pony requests are a thing again we could have a "click here to find out if there's a happy ending" feature)
posted by trig at 8:43 AM on June 24 [3 favorites]
Spoilers are okay here in FanFare threads and I'd be glad to know too.
(Maybe one day when the site rewrite is done and pony requests are a thing again we could have a "click here to find out if there's a happy ending" feature)
posted by trig at 8:43 AM on June 24 [3 favorites]
Spoilers are okay here in FanFare threads and I'd be glad to know too.
Yes, the ending is satisfying and Thelma wins. In other "content warning" sort of things: There is gunfire, but nobody gets shot; there is one life-threatening-due-to-age injury that is a critical point in the story but everyone comes out OK. There is some swearing but not a whole lot (probably the weakest scene in the film uses the word "bitch" several times in attempted humor which doesn't quite land but it goes by quickly). There are sad points but they are part of the story; really the film is very good at using all sort of emotions throughout the film and bringing the audience along.
posted by AzraelBrown at 10:04 AM on June 24 [3 favorites]
Yes, the ending is satisfying and Thelma wins. In other "content warning" sort of things: There is gunfire, but nobody gets shot; there is one life-threatening-due-to-age injury that is a critical point in the story but everyone comes out OK. There is some swearing but not a whole lot (probably the weakest scene in the film uses the word "bitch" several times in attempted humor which doesn't quite land but it goes by quickly). There are sad points but they are part of the story; really the film is very good at using all sort of emotions throughout the film and bringing the audience along.
posted by AzraelBrown at 10:04 AM on June 24 [3 favorites]
Thelma ends up happy, I am happy to say. Damn, I loved this movie so much. Anybody who is afraid that this is going to be some gross "rappin' granny" thing, put your fears to rest. I thought this treated everyone with respect while making me laugh so hard that I was crying.
Actually, I cried a lot during this movie. The intergenerational complications were pretty well integrated without bogging down the pacing. I read some review where the critic didn't understand why there was anything about Daniel beating himself being a fuckup and I was like, "Dude, you're paid to do this and you didn't understand how this was an important part of the whole thing?" That critic seemed like he would have been happy with a rappin' granny movie, to be honest.
posted by queensissy at 10:09 AM on June 24 [4 favorites]
Actually, I cried a lot during this movie. The intergenerational complications were pretty well integrated without bogging down the pacing. I read some review where the critic didn't understand why there was anything about Daniel beating himself being a fuckup and I was like, "Dude, you're paid to do this and you didn't understand how this was an important part of the whole thing?" That critic seemed like he would have been happy with a rappin' granny movie, to be honest.
posted by queensissy at 10:09 AM on June 24 [4 favorites]
It is great, and does an impressive job maintaining its humane and respectful approach and avoiding cheap jokes.
(In terms of deciding whether you're in a good position to enjoy it -- Thelma and her friend make it to the end of the movie okay, but it isn't escapist in the sense of skating over or magicking away the real things we worry about with aging -- it prominently features genuine perils affecting old people. If you're in the midst of this stuff, there will be something that will land close to home. (E.g. there is talk about a friend who died by falling in her house; there's an elderly person living alone who clearly can't take care of themselves.) The movie's overall humane approach is uplifting and on balance I think it should be enjoyable but you know best whether if your parents will find that kind of thing too sad.)
posted by LobsterMitten at 6:18 AM on June 25 [3 favorites]
(In terms of deciding whether you're in a good position to enjoy it -- Thelma and her friend make it to the end of the movie okay, but it isn't escapist in the sense of skating over or magicking away the real things we worry about with aging -- it prominently features genuine perils affecting old people. If you're in the midst of this stuff, there will be something that will land close to home. (E.g. there is talk about a friend who died by falling in her house; there's an elderly person living alone who clearly can't take care of themselves.) The movie's overall humane approach is uplifting and on balance I think it should be enjoyable but you know best whether if your parents will find that kind of thing too sad.)
posted by LobsterMitten at 6:18 AM on June 25 [3 favorites]
I got to see Thelma tonight. A relative of mine was the target of a very similar scam. I felt a lot of anger at how both Danny and Thelma were infantilized. There were fewer than 10 of us in the theater and we all reacted with laughter at the shenanigans. And I loved the ending.
posted by bunderful at 8:28 PM on June 26 [2 favorites]
posted by bunderful at 8:28 PM on June 26 [2 favorites]
Yeah, I was aching for Danny when his mom was doing that, "Do you need me to call someone?" and the like. He was really good at so much - the computer help was so nice and thoughtful (helping Thelma to figure out how to do it herself, not just doing it for her), but he had been so diminished by his parents that he had no confidence.
Mom also immediately went to, "Mother can't think and can't take care of herself" when this scam happened.
I was actually really impressed with Parker Posey's acting here - she turned down the stereotypical "Parker Posey" and made this seem like a real overbearing human, I thought.
After the movie we were kind of wondering what the filmmaker's mother thought of it!
posted by queensissy at 10:27 AM on June 27 [4 favorites]
Mom also immediately went to, "Mother can't think and can't take care of herself" when this scam happened.
I was actually really impressed with Parker Posey's acting here - she turned down the stereotypical "Parker Posey" and made this seem like a real overbearing human, I thought.
After the movie we were kind of wondering what the filmmaker's mother thought of it!
posted by queensissy at 10:27 AM on June 27 [4 favorites]
I, too, was impressed with Posey for the same reasons. What a characterization!
The scene of the real Thelma in the car, marveling at the tree roots made me cry. I really loved this unique, authentic film.
posted by edithkeeler at 12:42 PM on June 28 [4 favorites]
The scene of the real Thelma in the car, marveling at the tree roots made me cry. I really loved this unique, authentic film.
posted by edithkeeler at 12:42 PM on June 28 [4 favorites]
"Shouldn't Zuckemborg be able to do something about this?"
posted by DirtyOldTown at 6:32 PM on August 6
posted by DirtyOldTown at 6:32 PM on August 6
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posted by bunderful at 4:24 PM on June 23 [1 favorite]