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Grandma is a film that's so breezy and so light that it's easy to see why it fell under the radar, despite a winning performance from Lily Tomlin. She hasn't actually won anything for it – she lost the Golden Globe and wasn't even nominated for an Oscar – but she wins by the mere fact that she found the role and succeeds in it beautifully.
Written and directed by Chris Weitz (About A Boy, Admission), Grandma stars Tomlin as Elle Reid, a once-famous writer who is grieving the loss of her longtime love while also nearing the end of her relationship with the much-younger Olivia (Judy Greer). On the day she breaks up with Olivia, her granddaughter Sage (Julia Garner) shows up at her house. Sage wants an abortion and hopes Elle can give her the $630. Unfortunately, Elle doesn't have the money, so the two go on a journey through Elle's past to see if they can find it.
Since Grandma isn’t a studio movie, there’s no effort on Weitz’s part to flesh out the characters any more than they need to be. The film runs barely over 70 minutes, so there’s no time to really build a heart for Tomlin through sugary flashbacks. Told in six equal chapters, the film moves effortlessly from scene to scene without feeling episodic. We meet an array of interesting characters, from Laverne Cox’s tattoo artist to Sam Elliott’s jilted former husband. Each of these sequences serve to provide new ways of looking at Elle without being repetitive.
The film also easily balances humor with heart in a way that’s so quick that you don’t notice the transition. It’s not jarring to hear Tomlin swing from one-liners to heavily dramatic moments because she’s so good at playing both aspects of the character. And it’s not just a one-woman show, because Julia Garner is just as good. She’s not only a soundboard for Tomlin to play off of and does more than serve as a reason to get Elle out of the house.
The array of characters are also great, but the best are saved for later in the film. Elliott proves that he is more than just a famous voice with his sympathetic role as the man Elle married before she realized who she really was. Even though she only appears in the last part of the film, Marcia Gay Harden is particularly memorable as Sage’s mother.
Grandma hits Blu-ray from Sony Pictures Classics today with a nice slate of extras. The special features include a film festival Q&A with Tomlin, Elliott and Weitz; as well as a Blu-ray exclusive half-hour making-of documentary. Weitz, Tomlin, Garner and Elliott also recorded a commentary.
Grandma is really about realizing that it is never too late to make amends or connect with the people in your life. It’s also about coming to grips with your role in a family after a major change. As a film, it also proves that you can tell a good story in a compact, quick fashion. Comedies, especially, should be tight, quickly paced affairs and not bloated to reach past the 90-minute mark. Weitz didn’t even need 90 minutes to tell his story and he didn’t try to push it.