“You’re a footnote.” That’s how Elle (Lily Tomlin) breaks up with four-month lover Olivia (Judy Greer) in the opening of Grandma, by comparing her rebound relationship to a decades-long previous lover and assessing succinctly. And man, that’s harsh. I’m not sure I’ve ever heard a harsher break-up line … and I lived through the 1970s.
Within minutes, Elle’s granddaughter Sage (Julia Garner) shows up lookin’ for an abortion. I don’t know who you call when you need an abortion, but I’m guessing grannie is not usually in the top 10. Actually, Sage has the details worked out, she just needs money and, in hilarious fashion, both Elle and Sage fear her respective daughter/mother Judy (Marcia Gay Harden). Grandma is ornery, but not heartless, so Sage probably made the right call, or would have if Elle had any money.
Ooooooo. Being old and without money is a sad state; don’t be that guy – or gal in this case. But hey, Elle’s got no money, no job, no lover, and suddenly has a cause – road trip! So Grandma becomes the standard buddy pic, where one of the buddies is an irascible coot and the other needs an abortion. That’s certainly a new spin on the theme; they’re usually just outrunning the law. First up, where was that free clinic again? Oh, now it’s a coffee shop. Hmmm, this will give me some time to have a terrible cup of coffee, brush up on my insults and create a scene.
This is kinda how Grandma goes; Elle isn’t pleased with her life and, thus, isn’t especially pleased with anybody else’s life, either, and yet, the portrait is full. This is a refreshing twist on characters over the age of 60; even getting full character development out of Robert Redford or Nick Nolte proved exceptionally
challenging of late, despite ample screen time. Lily Tomlin may not be your stale cup of Earl Grey, but she’s pretty darn good here. Geez, when is the last time I said, “Lily Tomlin?”
Hollywood doesn’t cover abortion much. Every time I hear a claim about how leftist Hollywood is I want to point out that abortion, a real abortion — not just the word, appears in a major studio production about once a decade, if that. In fact, show me any film in which the word is even mentioned and well over 90% result in a live birth. There are myriad reasons for this, many of which aren’t political at all; when push comes to shove, audiences are far more easily sold on the sexier mythology that a baby will solve a crisis rather than adding to one. Abortion, however, like taxes and euthanasia, does indeed have a place in civilized society and I like that Grandma went there even if such an unsexy plot point guarantees hatred and picketing.
So … abortion, angry Marcia Gay Harden, and a whole lotta hurricane Lily Tomlin; where do you sign up, right?
♪I see jalopy by the curb
Thankful this is no suburb
Now if only that car would go
Raising for abortion fees
Doesn’t seem to be a breeze
Everybody sees you as a foe
Just the two of us, we can hoof it if we try
Just the two of us
Take a city bus,
Arrivin’ at the clinic nigh
Without much of a fuss
You and I♫
Rated R, 79 Minutes
D: Paul Weitz
W: Paul Weitz
Genre: The depths of ornery
Type of person most likely to enjoy this film: Ex-hippies
Type of person least likely to enjoy this film: Westboro Baptists
♪ Parody inspired by “Just the Two of Us”
