‘Thelma’ Review: Lifelong Character Actor June Squibb Lands a Leading Role … in an Unlikely Action Movie

variety.com:

Peter Debruge Chief Film Critic “Taking from an elderly person is as bad as stealing from a child,” growls Jason Statham in “The Beekeeper,” reinforcing the image of “helpless” old people in need of defending. (He spends the rest of the movie knocking heads after scammers steal money from his gullible landlady.) With “Thelma,” writer-director Josh Margolin tries out a different approach, casting nonagenarian character actor June Squibb as an unlikely yet satisfying action star.

It’s a cute idea, celebrating the willpower and determination of a 93-years-young woman. If audiences are willing to suspend their disbelief for “The Beekeeper,” why not do the same when it’s Squibb on a rampage? “Thelma” bloomed out of Margolin’s relationship with his own grandmother, and its more endearing dialogue exchanges were directly lifted from things the real-life Thelma says and does (as of the indie film’s Sundance premiere, Margolin’s inspiration was alive, well and 103).

Squibb’s character has a doting — and slightly dopey — grandson of her own, Daniel (Fred Hechinger, from “White Lotus” Season 1), who visits regularly, doing his best to explain such unfamiliar concepts as email and computers.

No wonder Thelma seems so concerned when she gets a call from a young man claiming to be her grandson. The voice on the other end sounds strange to Thelma as he describes a confusing car accident, but she adores Daniel enough to fall for it.