Thelma: Absolutely adorable

Thelma (2024) • View trailer

Four stars (out of five). Rated PG-13, for occasional profanity

Available via: Movie theaters

By Derrick Bang • Published in The Davis Enterprise, 6.30.24

Delightful surprises like this are why I’ve been a film critic for so long.

 

Writer/director/editor Josh Margolin’s impressive feature debut is a whimsical riff on action films, with their formulaic stunts “gentled down” to a human scale that cleverly blends laugh-out-loud humor with a sharply perceptive exploration of aging, fragility and anxiety. And if all that sounds like an unlikely mix, well, you’re not reckoning with Margolin’s savvy filmmaking and story chops.

 

Shortly after Thelma (June Squibb) and Ben (Richard Roundtree) begin their unlikely
mission, she insists on visiting an old friend, in order to "borrow" something from her.

It also doesn’t hurt that this enjoyable romp is turbo-charged by a scene-stealing performance from June Squibb — 94 years young, as these words are typed — who continues to take advantage of a late-career Renaissance kick-started by 2013’s Nebraska.

Margolin obviously took the old adage to heart: Write what you know. He was inspired by his spunky 103-year-old grandmother, who — in his words — “survived the Great Depression, World War II, the death of her husband, a double mastectomy, colon cancer, a valve replacement and an ongoing but allegedly benign brain tumor.”

 

Goodness, he even took bits of dialogue from his grandmother’s lips.

 

Squibb stars as Thelma Post, a feisty 93-year-old who still lives alone, much to the chagrin of her pestering daughter Gail (Parker Posey) and son-in-law Alan (Clark Gregg). But their son Daniel (Fred Hechinger) isn’t the slightest bit worried about his grandmother, on whom he dotes, and the feeling is mutual. They spend a lot of time together.

 

The story begins with a scene that’ll be familiar to every competent computer user who has attempted to instruct a clueless older relative on concepts such a folders, passwords, and drag-and-drop. But Margolin immediately telegraphs his charming touch, as Daniel sensitively guides Thelma through baby steps, without the slightest touch of impatience; indeed, he turns the process into a fun, shared experience. And Thelma gets it.

 

This interlude also introduces one of her tics: She often interrupts herself, or somebody else, to ask oblique questions such as “What is a computer?” or “What is electricity?” It’s not that she isn’t familiar with such concepts — she absolutely is — but she genuinely wants to know what things are, in the sense of what they’re made of, or how they came into being.

 

Squibb’s quiet sincerity, as Thelma unexpectedly drops such queries into a conversation, add gentle hilarity to this running gag. When in public, Thelma also frequently stops to chat with elderly individuals who look familiar, but turn out to be total strangers, after several rounds of “Do you know so-and-so?” and “No, but do you know whozit?”

 

(That latter bit also has a cute third-act payoff.)

Father Stu: A partial contender

Father Stu (2022) • View trailer

Three stars (out of five). Rated R, for profanity and coarse behavior

Available via: Movie theaters

By Derrick Bang • Published in The Davis Enterprise, 4.15.22

Faith-based films always run the risk of becoming too sentimental, maudlin and sappy.

 

To her credit, writer/director Rosalind Ross doesn’t fall into that trap here … at least, not until the final act. But even those heart-tugging details are justified by what befell the actual Stuart Long, who endured — and surmounted — a series of setbacks akin to the trials of Job.

 

While trying hard to turn his life around, Stuart Long (Mark Wahlberg, foreground) tries
to make amends with his long-estranged father (Mel Gibson), with less than ideal results.

Although deeply steeped in Catholicism, Ross’ adaptation of Long’s life is more redemption saga than crisis of faith … because, as portrayed here, Stu Long (Mark Wahlberg) hasn’t a shred of faith to begin with.

 

This is more the saga of two hard-charging, unrepentant ruffians — father and son — who, initially against their will, are forced to confront and re-evaluate their many shortcomings.

 

Initially, then, Stu and his father Bill (Mel Gibson) have a great time boozing and brawling, showing little regard for fellow man (or woman), while spouting a relentless stream of self-serving, profanity-laden social and theological “observations” that are — in fairness — quite funny at times.

 

Assuming, of course, that one can get past the coarse, egotistical misogyny.

 

The story begins in a working-class Montana community, where Stu is on the last legs of a minor boxing career, which brought in just enough money to keep him and his mother, Kathleen (Jacki Weaver), modestly fed, clothed and sheltered. But the battering has taken its toll, and wrought enough damage to become life-threatening, should he return to the ring.

 

On impulse, without a scintilla of performance experience — and to the dismay of his mother — Stu heads to Los Angeles, with dreams of Hollywood stardom dancing in his eyes. This also happens to be where the long-estranged Bill landed, although Stu has no intention of looking up his old man. At least, not initially.

 

Casting calls go nowhere; Stu winds up working in a supermarket meat department. One day he chances to spot Carmen (Teresa Ruiz), a Catholic Sunday school teacher who easily — even curtly — rebuffs his efforts at bad-boy charm. Not one to take a hint, and determined to win her over, the longtime agnostic begins attending her church.

 

But it won’t be anywhere near that easy. Aside from having to navigate her rigid Catholic chastity, Stu has to deal with her equally strict parents, along with the church’s priest, Father Garcia (Carlos Leal). The latter hasn’t the faintest idea how to cope with this interloper, and Stu’s first clumsy attempt at confession becomes a profanity-laden failure.

 

Despite Stu’s smug appeal — Wahlberg never has been short on charisma — it’s difficult to like the guy thus far. His churchgoing is superficial and self-serving, as befits Stu’s inherent nature; we can’t help feeling he just wants to score with Carmen … after which, what?