Lily Tomlin is Fabulous as an Ass-Kicking, Weed-Smoking Lesbian Matriarch in ‘Grandma’

Sandra Miska

In her first lead role in 27 years, the amazingly talented Lily Tomlin plays the title role in the comedy “Grandma.”  As you can probably surmise, Tomlin plays a grandmother, but her character Elle Reid isn’t exactly the type of granny who bakes cookies and watches “Castle.”  In fact, when her 18-year-old granddaughter Sage (Julia Garner) comes knocking at her door, she has just finished breaking up with her much-younger girlfriend, Olivia (Judy Greer).  Sage comes to Elle with the sort of dilemma one doesn’t normally seek out one’s grandmother for help with:  She needs $600 for an abortion.

Unfortunately for Sage, Elle, a feminist writer who has struggled since the death of her life partner Violet over a year ago, has recently paid off her credit cards and celebrated the occasion by cutting up the plastic and turning the pieces into a wind chime.  As for Sage, her mother Judy (Marcia Gay Harden), Elle’s estranged daughter, confiscated her credit card and she’s too afraid to tell her about the pregnancy.  Elle is overwhelmed by the situation, especially when she learns that Sage has scheduled an appointment for later that afternoon, giving them a hard time lock.  Because there are no more appointments at that particular clinic for days and the pregnancy is making Sage sick, the two hit the road in Elle’s car determined to find a way.

“Grandma” makes a point about the sad state of women’s health care in our great country when Elle takes Sage to free women’s health clinic that she knows of, only to discover that it has been turned into a coffee shop.   Despite this depressing social commentary, “Grandma” is a comedy and the barista is none other than the hilarious John Cho, who doesn’t take to kindly to Elle’s loud abortion talk in his establishment, and, unfortunately for him, Elle’s the kind of woman who would rather spill her five -dollar coffee on the floor than leave quietly with it.

Although she is far from traditional, Elle is a loving grandmother and it is touching to see how far she is willing to go to help Sage, going door to door with her to collect money.  After Sage’s deadbeat boyfriend Cam (Nat Wolff) proves to be useless and Grandma takes him down and steals his weed, Elle makes the decision to hit up people from her own past.  Tattoo artist Deathy (the phenomenal Laverne Cox), who owes Elle several hundred dollars, feels bad she can only offer $60 and a free tattoo.  Hippie café owner Carla (the late Elizabeth Peña) is less sympathetic, and after she offers Elle a meager sum for her collection of first-addition feminist books, a fight ensues, and to complicate matters Elle’s ex Olivia, a waitress, shows up.  The most emotional encounter occurs when Elle shows up at the house of her ex-husband Karl (played by chameleon Sam Elliot) who proves to still be nursing a broken heart.

Finally, we meet Judy, Elle’s daughter who has rebelled against her free-spirited writer mother by becoming a powerful executive.  Apparently, Elle’s partner Violet was the more nurturing of Judy’s two mothers, and she has been on the outs with Elle since Violet’s death, and Sage’s unfortunate situation may be the thing that brings them back together.

Overall, “Grandma” is great film that tells the story of three generations of women coming together without becoming too sappy.  The film tackles the touchy subject abortion without being melodramatic.  Sage is just a normal teenage girl who wants the opportunity to finish her education and start a career before she becomes a mother.  Her condition allows her to become closer to her grandmother and learn things about her from Elle herself and her friends that she may never have discovered otherwise.

The cast is stellar, especially Tomlin, who owns the role with her acerbic wit.  This may be because writer/director Paul Weitz wrote the role especially for her.

“Looking at it from the outside I wouldn’t have said that I was like Elle, but I think I must be a great deal like Elle, because it was so easy, it was so fluid, it was so natural,” Tomlin told Entertainment Voice.  “I mean, there’s things you have to transpose yourself from something, or some experience, or some memory, or some other person you know, but it was terribly natural to me, and that was a blessing.”

“Grandma” opens Aug. 21 in Los Angeles and New York.