Thelma, an indie hit that made waves at the Sundance Film Festival in 2024, is currently one of the top ten movies streaming on Hulu, and for good reason. The charming film about a 93-year-old woman out for revenge is as hilarious as it is due to how seriously the titular character takes her mission. Despite a limited theatrical release, the film made $12 million worldwide alongside positive reviews, with a 98% on Rotten Tomatoes. The team behind the film’s production is also special, in no small part thanks to the actor in the role of Thelma.
What’s most fascinating about Thelma is that it is the first leading role for the then 93-year-old actor June Squibb. She has had several more minor supporting roles in well-known films, such as Hubie Halloween, Toy Story 4, and Inside Out 2. However, Thelma is the first time Squibb has been given the title character role, making it all the more worth streaming on Hulu. The film’s main premise revolves around Thelma’s fear of irrelevancy, which reaches a boiling point when she falls for a scam call that costs her thousands of dollars in cash. Instead of involving her family, Thelma, with some inspiration from Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible, decides to be the star of her own action movie and track down the scammers who stole her money.
Thelma found a decent audience during its theatrical release and buzzy festival run, but it is finding new life in the streaming world. After playing in less than 1,300 theaters nationwide, Thelma continues to impress with an 83% Popcornmeter score on Rotten Tomatoes from general audiences.
‘Thelma’ Makes the Mundane Feel Exciting
In making our action hero a senior citizen, writer and director Josh Margolin crafts a thriller that makes something as ordinary as going up a flight of stairs feel like a tense and unnerving stealth mission. A great supporting cast also portrays Thelma’s family and friends—Fred Hechinger plays Thelma’s loving grandson, Daniel, with Parker Posey playing her daughter, Gail, and Clark Gregg as her son-in-law, Alan. However, the biggest standout is Richard Roundtree as Thelma’s close friend, Ben. Thelma would be Roundtree’s final role in a feature film, as the actor would pass away before the film’s release in 2024. If anything, watching Roundtree’s character reflect on his own mortality makes the movie much more impactful.
Related
Tom Cruise Gave His Blessing for Thelma to Use Mission: Impossible Footage
Tom Cruise himself approved the Mission: Impossible footage seen in Thelma, which features 94-year-old June Squibb performing most of her own stunts.
Whether you stream Thelma on Hulu to revisit it or experience the film for the first time, it’s a great reminder of the value of people of any age or demographic. Moreover, the film isn’t just feel-good family interactions and over-the-top elderly thrills; Thelma is a movie that addresses all the harsh realities of growing older just as much as it examines the beauty of living to old age. If an action-thriller starring a 93-year-old woman isn’t enough to entice you to stream, then maybe its honest conversation about life and death might interest you. There is also the fact that June Squibb did all of her own stunts in the movie (eat your heart out, Tom Cruise).
Thelma is a 2024 comedy film written and directed by Josh Margolin. Thelma Post finds herself duped out of money and more when a scam caller pretends to be her grandson. Unwilling to sit back and let herself be a victim, she sets off into the city to find the perpetrator and take back what is hers.
- Release Date
- January 18, 2024