There are a lot of bad comedies about, and supposedly for, senior citizens. It’s especially depressing because the worst offenders, the ones that don’t just feel cheap and lazy but exploitative too, often feature our finest actors. They can take on the air of an unintentional horror film — and not the fun kind.
Thelma, starring June Squibb, is not one of those.
In her first lead film role, she plays a 90-something who gets scammed out of $10,000 and goes on a mission to get it back. Revenge stories aren’t often (or ever, really) described as sweet, but that’s the magic of Thelma, the feature debut of writer-director Josh Margolin that opens in theaters this week. It is charming, genuinely funny and a breeze to watch.