Thelma

A quarter century after “Thelma and Louise” added their unforgettable chapter to movie mythology, a new “Thelma” is picking up where they left off.

This time the badass heroine is a bit older. Both the character, Thelma Post, and the actress who so wondrously portrays her, Jean Squibb, are women in their nineties.

Seriously.

Co-starring with Richard Roundtree in what would be his last screen role, the pair are members of a demographic not known for remembering lines – or remembering anything, actually – much less hitting their marks. 

Factor in that “Thelma” is an action comedy, and it seems less a movie than a miracle.

Deftly written and directed by Josh Margolin, it's a tale of a 93-year-old widow still living independently who's taken in by one of those phone calls claiming that her grandson Daniel (Fred Hechinger) has been arrested after a traffic accident and needs $10,000 to be sent immediately to his defense attorney. 

The fact that it needs to be in cash, and sent to a post office box, might arouse suspicions … but then again, such scams are so unsettling, so common and so effective, you may know someone who's been taken in by one.

After complying with the demand, Daniel and his parents (Parker Posey and Clark Greg) accompany Thelma to the police station where they're told there's nothing that can be done about it now. Happens all the time, says the detective, if that makes you feel any better …

It doesn't.

Ineffectual response seem to be the name of the game here, and just feeling lucky to be alive. 

But Thelma's not that kind of gal.

Instead, she takes matters into her own hands, heading for a nearby convalescent home to see her friend Ben (Roundtree). Actually it's his scooter she's after, but he winds up coming along for the ride which covers a big swath of the San Fernando Valley before they're through. No mean feat for a pair who usually can't walk very far without a walker, in something that's not quite a vehicle.

Considering the modest scale of the project, the production values are surprisingly polished. The expected snail's pace of the plot turns out instead to be a funny, briskly paced script. Fall risks be damned, Thelma and Ben become more and more accomplished action heroes as the story moves along. Not to give anything else away, but it's worth noticing that the last name in the credits is Malcolm McDowell, whose appearance is well worth waiting for.

Like last year's “Jules,” which reimagined “ET” with a trio of senior citizens replacing the kids in the original, “Thelma” turns our culture's stereotypes about aging upside down. All the expected joke lines are here – joint replacements and endless pill bottles, Alzheimer's humor (“Say, do I know you…?”), the intimidating and perplexing mysteries of technology – but writer-director Margolin treats the themes with the same gentle patience he extends to his cast.

While this results in dignity, honor and respect not always shown to elderly Americans in real life, Thelma and Ben are considerably more than bromides and cliches. They turn out to be not only the smartest characters on the screen, but the most interesting.

“Thelma” comes from the “Ted Lasso” school of comedy – its considerable wit and wisdom are put in the service of kindness. Its central love story turns out not to be between Thelma and Ben, but between Thelma and her grandson. Seeing it in a theater with my own grandkids, ages 10 and 12, the message of their caring for each other wasn't lost on any of us.

“Thelma” is a quintessential Maui Film Festival sort of movie – brimming with what the festival branded “life-affirming storytelling.” And it's also a case of the tagline on the poster getting it exactly right:

Revenge Has Never Been Sweeter.