[I review the movies "Thelma," "Our (Almost Completely True) Love Story" and "The Trip."]
One is about an old lady who is scammed; one is about older folks finding romance; and one is about a married couple trying to kill each other, literally, but an unlikely hero saves the day. It's a seemingly disparate group of films, but they have one thing in common - Older adults feature prominently and they are not treated as objects of ridicule. I am so sick of movies that ridicule older people for laughs. Oh, let's have a foul-mouthed old lady smoke some dope or chase a young man around for sex. Wouldn't that be a hoot? NO!
So I present to you, three films that treat us older folks with the respect we deserve. And you whippersnappers might learn a thing or two!
Thelma (2024)
When 93-year-old Thelma realizes she has been phone scammed out of $10,000, she gases up her scooter and sets out on a quest to get her money back.
After a 70+-year career, 94-year-old actress June Squibb finally gets to carry a movie in a starring role. And what a role it is.
Squibb plays Thelma Post who lives alone in Los Angeles. She has a close relationship with her grandson, Danny (Fred Hechinger), which is heartwarming, but Danny spends more time looking after Thelma than looking after his own life. Thelma's daughter, Gail (Parker Posey), and her husband, Alan (Clark Gregg), live nearby but most of Thelma's friends have died and Thelma is lonely.
Danny enjoys time with Thelma and he is teaching her how to use her computer. Good thing because there will come a time when she will need it.
One day, Thelma gets a phone call from "Danny." "Danny" tells Thelma he is in jail and needs her to mail $10,000 to a post office box to get him out. So Thelma is rattled and mails the money. Well, people, it's actually not Danny but a fairly prevalent scam aimed at old people. Believe it or not, I actually had one of those calls. I heard this hoarse older voice say "Grandmaaaa." I hung up because, one, I already knew about this scam and my oldest grandson was about three at the time!
Anyway, when Thelma discovers she was scammed, she is embarrassed. And it doesn't help when she hears her daughter talking about putting her in an old folks home, so then Thelma gets mad and decides to take the matter into her own hands. She enlists the help of her old friend, Ben (Richard Roundtree), who has a two-seater scooter. Off the two go on Ben's scooter to get Thelma's money back, but first Thelma thinks they need a gun - just in case - so they head to Thelma's friend's house to get a gun. When Ben asks Thelma if she knows how to use a gun she replies, "How hard is it? Idiots use them all the time." Hijinks ensue.
Speaking of old folks homes, I have to add that my son has an odd sense of humor. He likes to point out those places to me and say, "That looks like a nice place." Ha-ha. Over my cold dead body.
Written and directed by Josh Margolin, this happened to his grandmother in real life, but this film is not just about getting Thelma's money back. It's also about how we Americans don't give our old people much credit, rather warehousing them so we don't have to worry about them anymore, where in other cultures, the older people get, the more revered they are. Not here. And it's also about helicopter parents hindering the adulthood of their children. We have both ends of life's spectrum here. But most importantly, though, the film is fun, but this is not a film that makes fun of Thelma. She is not a wise-cracking, sex-starved, dope-smoking object of ridicule that we see so often in films featuring old people. This is a film that celebrates life and celebrates a fully formed woman of a certain age as Thelma takes her life into her own hands.
And this film celebrates June Squibb. She is absolutely marvelous in this film and puts to rest any idea that old people can't still live life to the fullest. It's difficult to believe she is 94. This was Richard Roundtree's last role before his death but at 80 he still looked wonderful. "Shaft" on a scooter! It was also fun to see Malcolm McDowell as a bad guy and one wonders where Parker Posey has been.
As actress Bette Davis famously said, "Old age is no place for sissies." She is right. It's not easy but the message is not to give up. Thelma doesn't give up no matter how hard it is until she gets her money back. And we older folks need to do the same. Keep living until the end.
I thoroughly enjoyed spending this time with Thelma and you will too. She is an inspiration. I may not make it to 94 but it's a goal.
So congratulations, June, on finally having your own movie. You were wonderful.
This was based on a real story so wait for the credits and you will see the real life Thelma. By the way, while I was watching this film, a scammer called me! I must be on the old lady list.
Rosy the Reviewer says...we may be old but, like Thelma, we are not sissies! Us older folks still have a lot of life to live and wisdom to share. Now call your Mom! (For rent on Apple+)
Our (Almost Completely True) Love Story (2021)
Opposites attract...literally.
This is an odd little movie but I have to say it struck a chord. Jennifer Lopez's film "This is Me...Now" is a Gen X true life love story that celebrated the rekindling of her romance with Ben Affleck (though we know how that turned out). This film is actress Mariette Hartley's version, but a film about finding love for Post War Babies, though Baby Boomers will also be able to relate.
For those of you who remember actress Mariette Hartley, this is her true life story of meeting her husband, Jerry Sroka, late in life. Now 84, she and Jerry have written and produced this little film highlighting their love story along with commenting on what it's like for aging actors and actresses in Hollywood (Morgan Fairchild, Tess Harper and Bernie Koppel have cameos - remember them)?
And for those of you who don't know who she is, Hartley starred in the films "Ride the High Country" and "Marnie" as well as tons of TV shows and TV movies but is probably most famous these days for her Polaroid camera ads that she did with James Garner. Sroka is less famous, though he starred in "Godspell" and is known for doing "voices ("The Wild Thornberrys").
Hartley and Sroka have been married in real life for almost 40 years and this film written by them and directed by Don Scardino is their (almost completely true) love story about two unlikely people meeting later in life: she a tall, famous, aging actress, he a short, out-of-work, Jewish voice actor. The film touches on the perils of finding love in your 60's, the difficulty being vulnerable. We get insight into Hartley's life, her issues with her father who killed himself and though Sroka can be annoying with his constant jokes and fake voices, he finally realizes how he has been hiding his insecurities behind those voices. When the two take the risk to be vulnerable they find love.
The film also touches on the difficulties of finding work in Hollywood when you are of a certain age. So what do you do in Hollywood when you are past your prime and the offers stop coming? Why, you write and star in your own movie! And that's what Hartley and Sroka have done.
Rosy the Reviewer says...this couple and this sweet little love story will grow on you and remind you that love can come at any age and comes in all shapes and sizes. (Amazon Prime)
The Trip (2021)
A married couple head off on a trip to a remote cabin, neither realizing that each is planning on murdering the other.
Lars (Aksel Hennie) is an unhappy soap opera director and his wife, Lisa (Noomie Rapace), is an unsuccessful actress. They are not happy together and bicker constantly. They can't even play a game of Scrabble without getting into a big fight. However, they decide to get away to a rural cabin owned by Lars' dad (Nils Ole Oftebro), but what they don't know is that they are both planning to murder the other. And what else they don't know is that there are also some bad guys out there who are not only going to mess up their plans but try to mess up their lives.
As Lars goes up behind Lisa to attack her with a hammer, she tasers him, leaving him temporarily immobilized. But then Lars' friend, Viktor (Stig Frode Henriksen), arrives and knocks Lisa out. Viktor has been promised half of Lisa's life insurance policy for helping Lars kill her. But when Lisa wakes up, she offers Viktor more money to kill Lars and a fight ensues. A gun goes off and the bullet goes up into the ceiling, the ceiling collapses and down fall three men!
They are Petter (Atle Antonsen), Dave (Christian Rubeck) and Roy (Andre Eriksen), three escaped convicts, who had taken refuge in the deserted cabin not realizing that Lars and Lisa were going to show up. Lots of shocking brutality ensues, some of it reminiscent of "Deliverance," if you know what I mean. Who knew these Scandinavians could be so violent? It's almost one of the most violent movies I have ever seen, but it's the kind of violence that is so over the top that it becomes funny. I mean, how many times can you get bashed over the head but keep coming back for more? I felt like I was in an adult version of "Home Alone."
Though this is a Norwegian film, Rapace is actually Swedish. She was Lisbeth Salander in the original "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo," the Swedish version, which was a great movie.
And now I am going to rant a bit.
The Swedish version of "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" was a perfect example of how unnecessary it is for us Americans to remake a perfectly good film just because it's not in English and viewers have to read subtitles. Ironically, Rapace went on to have a big international acting career anyway and the American version of "Girl" was also a big hit and made Rooney Mara, who played Lisbeth, a big star. But that doesn't always happen. Often, the original film that inspired the American version is forgotten and replaced by an inferior film and that makes me mad. Rant over.
Not to be confused with the 1967 movie of the same name, this is a different kind of trip entirely. This is a dark comedy written by Tommy Wirkola, Nick Ball and John Niven and directed by Wirkola, but though you can see a mile away how banding together to fight off the bad guys will make Lisa and Lars rethink their relationship, (because nothing bonds a marriage together more than bad guys trying to kill you both), but there is a big twist at the end that you won't see coming that makes this film fit into my old people theme. Never discount us old folks!
Rosy the Reviewer says..."The Trip" is a trip! (Netflix - in Norwegian with English subtitles)
Thanks for reading!
