A cantankerous, funny, intelligent and eloquently foul mouthed Lily Tomlin plays a wonderful Grandma, Ellie Read. Her granddaughter, Sage (Julia Garner), approaches her for money to fund an abortion. Unfortunately, Grandma has recently settled all her debts and cut up her credit card. This leads to a series of encounters with various enigmatic acquaintances who may be able to lend or repay money. Fittingly, Ellie owns a grumpy old car, that she and Sage drive around the streets of the city to look for potential benefactors. They visit a trendy café built on the site of an old women’s clinic, a tattoo parlour, a hipster café and bookshop and the home of wealthy Karl (Sam Elliot), one of Ellie’s early boyfriends. The encounters on these visits range from the comic to profound but in Ellie’s presence they are invariably engrossing.
GRANDMA has a wonderful script with many sharp, acerbic and very funny lines. This film tackles big issues such as mother and daughter relationships, same sex relationships, abortion, feminism, education and the quality of coffee.
It is the various relationships that are examined in this film that give it substance and depth. Ellie’s long term partner died the previous year and the film starts with a break up between Ellie and her younger girlfriend Olivia (Judy Greer).
As the film progresses we are given insights into these significant love affairs, and then encounter Ellie’s fractious relationship with Judy (Marcia Gay Hayden) her daughter, and Judy’s difficult relationship with her daughter, Sage.
This excellent film is written and directed by Paul Weitz, whose previous credits include Antz, American Pie and About A Boy. Also of note, Laverne Cox and John Cho have excellent small roles.
GRANDMA screened at the current Sydney Film Festival. With its engaging storyline and its strong female characters the film really deserves a wider release. There is plenty of laugh out loud humour, mostly from Ellie’s cutting one-liners, as well as the occasional bit of slapstick. I thoroughly recommend GRANDMA.