Written and directed by Paul Weitz, Grandma is a modest, low-budget film about a hectic day in the life of a frazzled American grandmother.
It opens in Canadian theaters on September 25.
Elle Reid(Lily Tomlin), the grandma in question, is a poet and unemployed academic living on the margins in California. In the first scene of the movie, she breaks up with Olivia (Judy Greer), her attractive, much younger girlfriend, rudely dismissing her as a “footnote.” The putdown upsets Olivia, but Elle doesn’t care. Elle readily admits she’s a “horrible” person.
Elle, played by Tomlin, is a blunt and cantankerous individual who has an “asshole” problem: She exposes people whose behaviour doesn’t conform to her exacting standards.
Elle displays a more mellow side when her teenaged grandddaughter, Sage (Julia Garner), informs her she’s pregnant and needs $630 for an abortion. Can Elle help? Since she has only $43 to her name, she can’t be of assistance. Elle, however, is ready to raise funds for Sage.
The film revolves around her efforts to acquire the money as quickly as possible. Primed for the task at hand, Elle jumps into her old sputtering sedan, with Sage in tow, and off they go.
The pair demand cash from Sage’s boorish boyfriend, but he doesn’t cooperate. Having failed to sell four first editions of books by famous feminists, she calls on Karl (Sam Elliott), her grizzled ex-husband. There is bad blood between them, but Elle and Karl call a truce as they reminisce and smoke a joint.
In desperation, Elle pays a call on her estranged daughter, Judy (Marcia Gay Harden), a high-powered executive whose obsequious assistant lives in fear of being sacked. Judy, whose childhood seems to have been the antithesis of an idyllic upbringing, is none too pleased to see Elle, Sage’s mom. “You were an awful mother,” Judy blurts out in a harsh appraisal of Elle.
Nonetheless, Judy displays a spirit of generosity when told that Sage requires an abortion.
Tomlin, looking hard and haggard, is convincing as a world weary ex-flower child who’s been disappointed by life’s struggles. Garner and Harden are strong in their supporting roles. Elliott resembles a gnarled cowboy out of his element.
Grandma, though limited in scope, is by turns dramatic and comedic. It’s a small film with a big heart.