Everyone knows that summer is the domain of the action blockbuster. It’s a time for gunfights, car chases, death-defying stunts and nefarious crimes to thwart. And while all of these things are largely left to stars like Tom Cruise, this is the hilarious action-comedy of the year Thelma passes the mantle to 94-year-old Oscar-nominated actress June Squibb.
Thelma is the first feature film from director Josh Margolin. It’s about a 92-year-old woman named Thelma who loses $10,000 to a con artist posing as her grandson. But instead of taking the scam, she hops on her scooter, recruits a friend and sets out to get her money back.
In an interview with Polygon, Margolin explained that the story is based on a real incident that happened to his own grandmother – although thankfully in real life she didn’t send the money to her would-be scammers. But if that premise sounds familiar, Margolin is well aware of the happy coincidence that his film is so close to Jason Statham’s recently released film. The beekeeperthat was also about a telephone scammer who got a completely different kind of income.
“It was so funny to see that trailer,” Margolin says, laughing. “I was like, Oh my God, we’re a bit like The beekeeper. I definitely watched it because I thought: I have to see this. And it was wild and crazy and fun. (…) I am happy that we can continue the great tradition of this The beekeeper started.”
Image: Magnolia Photos
But while Thelma could be significantly less violent than The beekeeper, it’s even funnier and no less exciting. For Margolin, one of the most important parts of the film was translating the language of action filmmaking to this less-than-traditional cast, which also includes the late Richard Roundtree (Shaft) in a fantastic and fun performance. That means high-speed chases on scooters, fistfights at more controllable speeds, and high-voltage robberies with hearing aids.
“I’m a big fan of action movies. I always have been,” says Margolin. “The idea (was) to try to tell my grandmother’s story, and celebrate this ode to her, and her perseverance and tenacity, (use) those tropes and ideas and bring them down to an everyday scope and scale, but treating them with real commitment.”
Margolin says he wanted to find a way to dramatize what he calls the everyday heroism of “moving through the world as you get older and things get harder, and smaller things pose more danger.”
Of course, slow-motion action scenes featuring older people in chases and fights can easily come off as a parody – or worse, making fun of the stellar cast of older actors. But Margolin brilliantly walks the line of laughing with our characters rather than laughing at them. They’re the stars of a real action movie here, not the butt of a joke.
“It’s so easy for anything that evokes or references these tropes to feel like a parody, especially when it comes to older characters,” says Margolin. “Something that me and my producers were very conscious of protecting was the tone, and trying to make sure that all the action, all the tension and all the fun always came from a genuine and serious concern for what was happening. .
Image: Magnolia Photos
“We never wanted it to feel like it was punchy or a joke. We wanted it to be funny, in a way that felt like we were there.”
Part of that seriousness also comes from Margolin’s own favorite action films. He says he prefers an activist who is ‘sincere with his efforts, not just winking and referential, but action that is fun, surprising and tense and deals with things with a certain sincerity. Obviously the Mission: Impossible films are a big influence on (the film). Watching Tom Cruise hurl himself at various moving objects for our entertainment is a source of inspiration for (our) ethos.”
Thelma watches a Mission: Impossible movie during the film, and her Tom Cruise inspiration is not only in the spirit, but also in the text itself. After being scammed, seeing Cruise’s face in a magazine inspires Thelma to take the law into her own hands. But without that kind of sincerity, it wouldn’t work Thelma‘s great and committed performances, especially from Squibb and Roundtree. Both actors are incredibly funny, and Roundtree’s charm gives the film a lot of heart. For her part, Margolin says Squibb was adamant about owning the Tom Cruise mantle and doing as many stunts as she could herself.
“She did!” Margolin laughs. “And as we went along, it became more and more, because we were quite nervous and cautious and conservative about all that stuff. With the help of our really amazing stunt team, as the shoot progressed and she became more comfortable with the scooter and things like getting on the bed and rolling over, we developed a sort of shorthand for what she was and wasn’t suited for. It was very cool. She was a dancer; she did Pilates quite rigorously leading up to the film. She has a lot of physical prowess as a performer, and it was really cool to see her take advantage of that, even at this point in her life, and use that in the film.
It’s rare that a summer action movie is also one of the funniest and sweetest movies of the year, but Thelma knows how to put it aside. So if you’re feeling the lack of Tom Cruise in theaters this year, remember that Thelma and June Squibb are there carrying the torch in his honor.
Thelma will be released in theaters on June 21.