Tag Archives: june-squibb

Eleanor the Great

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As we have the second film of the 2025 post-Thanksgiving, Snowpocalypse Weekend, there is actually snow on the ground. It has been snowing all morning though it does feel as if it is not as much as was forecast.

Still, nowhere to go this afternoon so I rented Eleanor the Great off Fandango At Home (aka Vudu) starring June Squibb.

After the death of her friend and longtime roommate, 94-year old Eleanor Morgenstein (June Squibb) was lonely and grieving. By fate, she wound up in a support group for Holocaust survivors. Not sure what to do, but craving the human attention, Eleanor, not a Holocaust survivor, began telling the stories of her recently passed roommate, who did survive, as her own. From these tales, she met a bright young journalism student, Nina (Erin Kellyman), who had suffered her own recent loss.

This was the feature directorial debut by Scarlett Johansson, and she did a fine job with a story that placed the delightful June Squibb front and center. I am not sure there is a more impressive actress working today than the nonagenarian. She brought an energy to the film that would not have been there without her.

The story was good, but Squibb elevated it into a much higher level. It was a typical “lies get revealed” type story, but Squibb made this more than just a typical tale. You could feel her passion for the film in every moment she was on screen.

The relationship between Eleanor and Nina was another positive of the movie. They had a bond that you could feel on screen. When Nina discovered that Eleanor was not what she had represented herself as, the pain and betrayal cut deep.

It may have wrapped up too neatly in the end, but it did give us an ending that provided hope for the future of the characters.

3.5 stars

Thelma

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I have enjoyed seeing June Squibb in just about every supporting role she has ever had, from the movie Nebraska to the role of Mee-Maw on The Big Bang Theory. She was just recently the voice of Nostalgia in Inside Out 2 as well as voice acting in Ralph Breaks the Internet, Soul and Toy Story 4. She has had a tremendous career so far.

That is extremely impressive for the 94-year old actress. You can add another accolade to June Squibb’s resume. A lead role in a funny and heart-warming movie called Thelma.

Thelma Post (June Squibb) is still living alone, two years after the death of her long time husband, and, as a 93-year old, she is worrying her family who wonder if she can continue to live unassisted. Her grandson Daniel (Fred Hechinger) tries to help her out, but truth be told, he has enough trouble keeping himself moving forward.

So when Thelma receives a scam phone call stating that Daniel had been in an accident and needed her to mail $10,000 to help, Thelma fell for the act and mailed the money.

Embarrassed by her naivety and with the police being no help, Thelma decides to take things into her own hands and starts out to find the scam artists and get her money back.

June Squibb is excellent here. She is so charming and she is clearly a force of nature that I believe every far fetched situation that she is place within. Some of her choices are remarkably dangerous, and you just know that something was going to go wrong with this, but you can’t help but root for her anyway.

It is also great to see Clark Gregg once again. Our beloved Agent Phil Coulson is playing Thelma’s son-in-law, a twitchy, over-protective father married to a neurotic woman, Thelma’s daughter Gail (played by the ever awesome Parker Posey). Gregg and Posey are excellent here as the overbearing parents of Daniel, whose love for their son may get in the way of his development.

Despite some of the credibility-stretching scenes, there is a lot of heart to this movie as well. There are plenty of comments directed toward the aging process and how some have more troubles than others. There are several scenes set at a retirement/old folks home that show the whole gamut of the aging process. It has several jokes directed at aging, but they are done with surprising kindness.

Richard Roundtree had a major supporting role in this film as an old friend of Thelma who owned a scooter that she needed for her own independence. Roundtree was fantastic as Ben and brought a new element to the story.

This was a lot of fun and, despite being far fetched in a lot of things, it was charming enough to overcome any issues it might have.

3.7 stars