I loathe scammers. Absolutely loathe them. You want to know why we can,t have nice things? You really want to know? (Well, other than capitalism, of course) It’s because you can’t go a day in the United States without somebody trying to scam you. I want to say: “get a job,” but it is a job. The scammer actually is doing a job … a high-risk, low-reward job for most at that. Are the people who cold-call, email, or text strangers in order to pry them from their savings making money? I’m sure some of them are … and I’m sure most are low-level cold-calling telemarketers, with similar rewards and illegal exposure.
Not that anyone gets caught. Screw prosecuting drug dealers; at least they provide a service. I want to see the people who scam for a living go to jail. I want there to be a real deterrent for strangers contacting you with deliberate and money-seeking misinformation. That’s what I want.
Hence, it’s hard not to root for Thelma (June Squibb). She got scammed and she wants her money back. Does she need it? Probably not. Will she get hurt in the process? She is over ninety and dealing with criminals by herself, so probably. But damn if I don’t want her to succeed as much as any character on film in 2024. It’s her money. Conning her out of it is so, so wrong. It’s “President Trump”-level wrong. Go, Thelma, go!
TBH, Thelma fell for a con that many persons of reasonable intelligence could fall for: grandson in trouble, send money now to this address! I’m honestly a bit surprised the address was traceable; I see our conmen aren’t pros, either. Thelma’s twentysomething grandson Daniel (Fred Hechinger) is a bit of a zero. Do we believe he could get into trouble or have an accident requiring cash fast? Sure. Do we blame his parents (Parker Posey and Clark Gregg)? A little.
When Thelma realizes she’s been conned, she ain’t pleased. And the cops offer little in the way of help, which is hardly surprising. This isn’t even a slight on cops; you want a society that attacks fraud? Create a society in which fraud is the worst offense. And who isn’t going to treat Thelma as a 90+-year old woman, because, well, she is? Better question: who takes the concerns of a 90-year-old woman
seriously?
There’s a wonderful throw-away scene early in the adventure when we realize that Thelma has run out of Louises: almost everyone she’d ask for help in this quest has died. Ah, such are the perils of growing old. However, Shaft is still around. Ben (Richard Roundtree) is not only still alive in his old folks home; he’s got all his facilities and a cool old-people motorized two-seater. Sure, he can help get the money back.
Every time I see one of those “Book Club” films, I kinda feel sorry for the people. I feel like they have to compensate for age consistently by “proving” they’re still capable. This, in my mind, only highlights exactly how old they are. This film offers no such thing. It knows Thelma is old; it knows Ben is old. It isn’t trying to hide their age or prove they still have the energy or movement-freedom of somebody sixty years younger. That’s nonsense, of course, and it doesn’t make them less valuable members of society. Thelma works with what it has – old people solving old people problems with old people bodies and old people skill sets. It’s a much more honest, humbler, and -IMHO- more humorous attack. If you can sympathize with oldsters, Thelma is a fun film.
There once was an oldster named Thelma
Victimhood made life not-so-swellma
But she followed the clues
To regain her dues
Just imagine a ninety-year-old Velma
Rated PG-13, 98 Minutes
Director: Josh Margolin
Writer: Josh Margolin
Genre: Geezer empowerment
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: AARP
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: I imagine Gen Z isn’t going to be wild about this representative portrayal
