Review: 'Thelma' is a gently funny spoof of action movies, with 94-year-old June Squibb making the most of her star turn

What a drag it is getting old, as a famous now-octogenarian once said — but sometimes there are benefits, like being an unlikely but charming movie star, the way June Squibb, all 94 years of her, is in the gently funny comedy “Thelma.”

Squibb — an Oscar nominee for “Nebraska” back in 2013 — plays the title role, Thelma Post, a woman living alone in Southern California, two years after her husband’s death. Her grandson, Daniel (Fred Hechinger), who’s 24, checks in on her regularly, and nags her into wearing her medical-alert bracelet, which she hates. 

One day, Thelma gets a frantic call from Daniel — or someone she thinks is Daniel — saying he’s been in an accident and is now in jail, and that someone will call needing her to send him $10,000 in cash immediately. She mails the cash before realizing it’s a scam, causing Daniel and his parents, Gail (Parker Posey) and Alan (Clark Gregg), to start talking about putting Thelma in assisted living.

Thelma, inspired by watching Tom Cruise in a “Mission: Impossible” movie, has a plan to track down the scammers and get her money back. She goes to visit her last surviving old friend, Ben (Richard Roundtree, in his final feature film), who’s living in a nursing home — and, important to Thelma’s plan, has a scooter.

What follows in writer-director Josh Margolin’s feature debut (inspired by the story of his own grandmother, also named Thelma) is a warm-hearted spoof of the action-movie genre, with the 93-year-old Thelma as Tom Cruise with a replaced hip. Margolin cleverly sets up moments to approximate a car chase, technological trickery, a little gunplay, a cat-and-mouse thriller and other tropes of action movies — and getting the original John Shaft in on the fun is a delightful bonus.

Squibb gives a solid performance here, leaning into the comic possibilities of being a woman of action while also tapping into some heartfelt emotional moments where Thelma reflects on the small annoyances and occasional joys of living as long as she has. Squibb proves it’s never too late to get your star-making role, and to make the most of it.

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‘Thelma’

★★★

Opens Friday, June 21, in theaters. Rated PG-13 for strong language. Running time: 98 minutes.