Greetings again from the darkness. Perhaps your mental picture of a grandma is the familiar form of a Norman Rockwell painting
a sweet, bespectacled little lady baking pies or knitting booties or kicking back in a rocking chair as the grandkids romp around her. If so, Lily Tomlin will jolt you into reality with her performance in this latest from writer/director Paul Weitz (About a Boy, American Pie).
The film kicks off with Elle (Ms. Tomlin) breaking up with her much younger girlfriend (Judy Greer). As with many relationship break-ups, the tone shifts quickly with an increase in 'let's talk about it'. Elle tosses out "You're a footnote" as a zinger that quickly ends any hope of reconciliation. It's an uncomfortable opening scene that aptly sets the stage for what we are going to witness over the rest of the movie
Elle has lived quite a life, but has been unable to move on since the death of her long time companion – a recurring subject throughout.
The six segments of the film are titled: Endings, Ink, Apes, The Ogre, Kids, Dragonflies. Don't expect those descriptions to help you guess the direction of the film. Instead, it plays out like a road trip through Elle's past
albeit with a very contemporary feel. See, her granddaughter Sage (Julia Garner) shows up at the house asking to borrow $600 for an abortion. Despite her career as a poet of some notoriety, Elle is tapped out at the moment. So the two of them set out in Elle's 1955 Dodge Royal (Ms. Tomlin's real life car), and proceed to visit people (and hit them up for cash) who have played a role in Elle's most interesting life.
During this journey – which all happens during a single day – the ladies cross paths with Sage's clueless boyfriend (a miscast Nat Woolf), a transgender tattoo artist (Laverne Cox) who owes Elle the money she lent for enhancement, a small business owner (the final appearance of the late Elizabeth Pena) who is a bit more tough-minded than Elle gives her credit for, a long ago ex-husband of Elle's (the best performance from Sam Elliott in years) who still carries heartbreak , and most bombastic of all, Elle's daughter and Sage's mom – a workaholic, no non-sense, Type A professional (played with vigor by Marcia Gay Harden).
Much will be made of the film treating Sage's decision so matter-of-factly, but it makes for nice contrast to Juno, where the decision to abort an unwanted pregnancy is abruptly reversed when she's told the baby has fingernails. This movie even offers a tip of the cap to that scene (bravo Sarah Burns), but is never preachy or heavy-handed in its dealing with Sage. It's a young girl in a real life situation, and she is depending on her dysfunctional family to provide financial and moral support.
One might describe this as an art-house movie with wider appeal. Lily Tomlin makes this a must-see, as do Julia Garner and Sam Elliott. Some will avoid it due to the abortion topic, but this is much more a story of three strong women who are related to each other – even if they don't always relate to each other.
