Magnolia Pictures debuted the official trailer for Thelma, the hilarious comedy thriller film starring June Squibb as 93-year-old Thelma Post, who, with the assistance of her friend played by actor Richard Roundtree, sets out to get revenge on a phone scammer.

Also starring in the movie are Fred Hechinger, Parker Posey, Clark Gregg, and Malcolm McDowell.

Release Date

Directed by Josh Margolin, making his feature directorial debut, Thelma world premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival and opens in theaters on June 21st, 2024.

Synopsis

Thelma is a poignant action-comedy that gives veteran Oscar® nominee June Squibb (Nebraska and star of Scarlett Johansson’s upcoming directorial debut Eleanor the Great) her first leading role and features the final performance of trailblazing actor Richard Roundtree (Shaft).

Squibb, who did most of her own stunts in the film, plays Thelma Post, a feisty 93-year-old grandmother who gets conned by a phone scammer pretending to be her grandson (The White Lotus’ Fred Hechinger) and sets out on a treacherous quest across Los Angeles, accompanied by an aging friend (Roundtree) and his motorized scooter, to reclaim what was taken from her.

Inspired by a real-life experience of Margolin’s own grandmother, Thelma puts a clever spin on movies like Mission: Impossible, shining the spotlight on an elderly grandmother as an unlikely action hero. With infectious humor, Margolin employs the familiar tropes of the action genre in hilarious, age-appropriate ways to tackle aging with agency. In the first leading film role of her 70-year career, Squibb portrays the strong-willed Thelma with grit and determination, demonstrating that she is more than capable of taking care of business – despite what

My grandma refuses to die. She just turned 103 and has survived the Great Depression, WWII, the death of her husband, a double mastectomy, colon cancer, a valve replacement and an ongoing but allegedly-benign brain tumor. So, when she got duped by phone scammers a few years ago (and nearly sent them thousands of dollars for my “bail”), it pierced my long-standing belief that she was somehow infallible. A belief that brought me some kind of undue comfort throughout my own anxious existence. The inevitability of losing her has become increasingly real to me, and so has her dogged persistence to hold on to her sense of self, as her body and mind stubbornly slow.

I wrote Thelma from this place of reckoning. I wanted to explore her fight for what’s left of her autonomy just as I was beginning to consider mine. She has always been larger-than-life to me, and I felt compelled to dramatize her story with the trappings of a genre that captures her powerful spirit and celebrates her grit and tenacity – action. A twist on the classic “one last job” flick. Because as far as I’m concerned, watching my grandma get onto a high mattress is as thrilling and terrifying as Tom Cruise driving a motorcycle off a cliff. Just in a very different way. – Writer, director Josh Margolin.

Reviews

Hollywood Reporter review called Thelma ‘sweet and poignant, sentimental without getting sappy’, wrote “That scenario generates a pleasurable low-key comedy with action and thriller elements, which plays out like a caper even if the senior defying expectations by chasing down criminals is on the side of justice. She just wants people to be nice and do what’s right. The film reflects on issues of aging and autonomy with a mostly light touch, its protagonist making a strong case for the enduring spirit of elderly folks too often infantilized by both society and their loved ones.”

Official Trailer

Watch the official trailer for Thelma