MRwOS reviews "Thelma" and performs "Walk on my Hands"

 MRwOS Episode 7: Thelma (Walk on my Hands)

Welcome to Movie Reviews with Original Songs, aka MRwOS! I am your host, David Coile, and I’ll be reviewing a movie I’ve watched recently, then playing one of my original songs that has similar themes.

If you enjoy the program, I encourage you to like, follow, and share it with your friends, or to support the program by subscribing to patreon.com/davidcoile or by making a contribution through Paypal or Venmo @DaveCoile. 

In this episode, I’ll be reviewing the film “Thelma” followed by a performance of my original song “Walk on my Hands”

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“Thelma” is a charming caper comedy about a nonagenarian who falls victim to an over the phone scam. When the police and her family won’t help, Thelma decides to track down the scammers on her own and demand her money back. 

Thelma is played by June Squibb, who I know from scene stealing supporting roles in the films of Alexander Payne, such as “Nebraska” and “About Schmidt”, and she does a bang up job in her first starring role. She’s joined by Richard Roundtree as her friend Ben, who reluctantly gets drawn into the whole affair. In many ways, this film could be a geriatric sendup of the type of films Roundtree used to star in, specifically the blaxploitation classic “Shaft” from the 1970s. The two sneak around, search for clues and confront the bad guys in familiar ways while trying to overcome elderly obstacles.

At first I was concerned that it was being too hard on the older generation, but other generations get skewered just as much, including Thelma’s ineffectual grandson (played by Fred Heckinger) and his  overconfident parents (played by Parker Posey and Clark Gregg). 

Though the filmmaking isn’t especially innovative, the plotting is tight– pay attention to the details, because they pay off in the end. Writer-director Josh Margolin based Thelma on his own grandmother, who nearly fell victim to a similar scam. The love and affection he has for her is pervasive, and it makes for a very entertaining film. 

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I wrote my song “Walk on my Hands” back in the early 2000s, and it was written from the perspective of a young adult crying out for independence from his parents. But I think it shares some common sentiments with the elderly, who often get treated like children, even when they’re still fairly capable. 

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That’s it for this episode of MRwOS! If you enjoyed the program, I encourage you to like, follow and share it with your friends, or support the program by subscribing to patreon.com/davidcoile, or maybe just throw a tip my way via Paypal or Venmo @DaveCoile. I’ll see you next time with another movie review and original song. Until then, Fade Out, Everybody!