Dynamic duo: Richard Roundtree and June Squibb hit the road in ‘Thelma’.

THELMA Delightful revenge comedy in which freshly scammed grandmother Thelma (June Squibb) heads off across suburbia on a mobility scooter with her pal Ben (Richard Roundtree) to secure a refund from those who ripped her off. In the face of the mean-spirited crime that ignites the story, writer/director Josh Margolin maintains a warm vibe in a fun road-com that incorporates themes of aged care, elder stereotypes and the adventure of latter-life. As Thelma’s grandson, Fred Hechinger chips in a well-sketched portraiture as a self-aware slacker. At 94 and after a life in showbiz, Thelma is Squibb’s first movie lead. It is also Richard Roundtree’s final film appearance. Malcolm McDowell (A Clockwork Orange) has a snappy supporting role.
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SECRET MALL APARTMENT Deep within the vast Providence Place Mall in Rhode Island, a gang of cheeky artists discover a hidden crevasse that they decide to secretly convert into a livable space, tastefully decked out with couch, cabinet and computer console. Often funny, the participants recount the adventure, which they dutifully documented with primitive video-capable photo cameras. Attempts to sell the exploit as some sort of artistic statement are noble if dubious, with director Jeremy Workman staying on their side and putting the escapade in the context of local urban planning. A very amusing comedy-doc.
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DORY PREVIN: ON MY WAY TO WHERE This fascinating bio-doc both brings to centre frame the achievements of long-neglected singer/songwriter Dory Previn – married for a time to the famous composer Andre Previn – and illuminates the realities of living with a schizophrenic mind. Fashioned mostly from archival reels and garnished with animation, directors Dianna Dilworth & Julia Greenberg offer a warm and insightful profile of an overlooked talent who burgeoned during the 1970s, a decade of cultural change in which Previn’s poetic self-reflection could flourish. A beautifully sculpted bio-doc.
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KID SNOW Set in the tent boxing scene of the 1970s this overlong romantic drama follows the fortunes of Kid (Billy Howle), a fallen fighter looking for redemption, who strikes up a rickety relationship with Sunny (Phoebe Tonkin), a desperate car-borne single mum with son in tow and bills to pay. Filmed with a love of period detail in dust-blown West Australia, performances are strong, but veteran director Paul Goldman struggles to move matters along, making the characters hard to engage with. Anyone expecting a period sports film should know there’s not all that much boxing involved, and what there is lacks the punch we’ve become accustomed to.
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AUDREY In this dire, off-key, self-consciously disgusting attempt at an edgy, amoral black sex comedy a former TV star (Jackie van Beek) tries getting back on track by assuming the identity of her comatose daughter (Josephine Blazier). Her husband (Jeremy Lindsay Taylor) also finds the tragedy liberating, setting free his true sexuality. Repulsive, unfunny and wildly unfocused, this mess spends half its time establishing a raft of detestable characters, then expects us to care about them. No sale. Vulgarity can be funny (John Waters, Mike Myers, Sacha Baron Cohen, Mel Brooks, etc) but director Natalie Bailey, working from a screenplay by Lou Sanz, strains to generate the comic energy required to render marital aids, anal sex, Christian porn and ugly nudity automatically hilarious. The film features a teen girl with cerebral palsy (Hannah Diviney) being finger banged before being accused of committing “reverse rape”. Comedy gold. It’s 2024. How is the Australian film industry still making such dreck?
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