Grandma is the first film that features Lily Tomlin in the lead in 27 years, which is enough of a reason to see it, but I would warn off people who are on the right side of the political fence or are not open to listening to other people’s take on life if they don’t agree with your views. You’ll spew out your snacks and want your money back.
Grandma is about Ellie, a lesbian poet going through a rough transition and definitely does not have her crap together, but when her granddaughter, Sage, asks her for money to get an abortion, she is forced to take a walk down memory lane to find someone willing to lend her the money. There is a saying in Christian circles, “God has no (spiritual) grandchildren.” Just because a person is a Christian does not automatically mean that person’s children will share the same faith. I never thought that the same was true for other things as well.
Sage has never read the Feminine Mystique, has no clue who Simone de Beauvoir is and is concerned that she may be considered a slut or going to hell for getting an abortion. Ellie is equal parts appalled and reassuring and is a walking history of the American feminist movement since the late 50s–no intersectionality needed because she was the partner of a black woman for 38 years and helped a black trans woman. These associations are supposed to be short hand for her being progressive in other areas too without explicitly saying it, which is not as convincing as the filmmaker thinks it is.
The one thing that Ellie and Sage have in common besides their genetics is an inability to accomplish the simplest tasks or be honest in relationships. They are hot messes. Ellie copes with this dysfunction with a brash and blunt exterior, but is secretly in mourning and filled with regret over her lack of courage to express her real feelings. I loved Marcia Gay Hudson’s brief and dynamic appearance in Grandma. Talk about a character that I can relate to! I want a movie where we get to follow her around all day. It totally makes sense that this woman would be Ellie’s daughter and Sage’s mother. She is like an oasis of common sense and practicality and rages against incompetence. It was nice to briefly see the late Elizabeth Pena who does not get much to do.
Paul Weitz directed Grandma. He also made Being Flynn and About A Boy, two films that I loved, so I suppose no one should be surprised that Grandma is great. Grandma’s characters may be more ground breaking than the narrative format, but that is forgivable when it is done so well. Grandma shows rather than tells, “I’m transmogrifying my life into art.” Indeed.