by Frank Calvillo
When I found out that Grandma was written and directed by Paul Weitz, the man who introduced American Pie into the culture, I found myself just this side of flabbergasted. As a filmmaker, Weitz has always carefully straddled the line between commercialism and art with films such as About a Boy, In Good Company, and American Dreamz, all of which told stories that strayed from typical Hollywood fare, though were full of studio DNA. As far as I’m concerned, these are all quality films, rich with thought provoking stories and interesting characters. Yet, it’s hard to shake the studio wrapping Weitz’ films usually come in and the wonder of what has been lost as a result of the executive supervision and test screenings.
Any curiosity over how Weitz would approach telling a small-scaled story free from studio interference with an older female protagonist at its center quickly faded from the start of Grandma, one of the most poetic and hilarious films of the year.
In Grandma, Lily Tomlin plays Elle, a former writer/lecturer whose inability to deal with the loss of her longtime partner Violet has just caused the end of her relationship with Olivia (Judy Greer). In the midst of contemplating her current state, Elle receives a visit from her granddaughter Sage (Julia Garner), who asks her for $500 to have an abortion performed, insisting that she’s her only hope since she doesn’t dare ask her mother/Elle’s daughter Judy (Marcia Gay Harden). Broke, but determined to help Sage out, Elle sets off on a quest to obtain the cash, encountering many old faces along the way and finally coming to grips with the state of her own life.
As with most films which deal with people facing real life situations, there are a number of stories at work in Grandma.
The first, and most prevalent, one is the story of a woman who has lived a long and varied past, who unexpectedly comes face to face with it along the course of one day. Weitz has written Elle as a spitfire of a woman, an aging hippie clinging to her liberal outlook and lack of filter. It would have been easy to paint the character as the wise old funny person we usually see in movies, but Elle is much more than that. She is a woman of complexity and deep flaws. Issues regarding her own past decisions about love and career, and her inability to give herself fully to another person, shine through in the purest of narrative forms without any grandstanding, but hit home enough to make us feel that we know Elle, her wit, and her fears.
The second story of course focuses on Sage and the path she’s about to embark on, which greatly mirrors that of her grandmother’s. While she certainly isn’t the more dynamic of the two characters, there’s an undeniable strength and beauty to Sage. If Elle is faced with her past in the course of a single day, Sage is faced with her future. Its interesting to watch this lost teenaged girl grow up before the audience’s eyes as she observes her grandmother and soaks up the lessons of her past. It would have been easy to focus all of the attention on Elle, as there’s so much room for rich storytelling with that character. Yet, Weitz has avoided turning Sage into just another sidekick and has instead given her true dimension and a personality all her own.
The final story concerns the three generations of women from this small family. Though Elle, Sage, and Judy only share a handful of scenes together, its interesting to watch the dynamics between these three women. Each of them possess distinct points of view garnered from vastly different paths of life. Yet the common faults and foibles among them are interesting to observe as is the unshakable bond that exists in spite of their distance as a family.
It’s been said that sometimes, the difference between good and bad acting is the writing. That theory has never been more true than it is here. Gay Harden, Greer, and Sam Elliott (as Elle’s former flame) are so enlivened by the material that they turn in some of the best work they’ve done in years. Elliott in particular is a standout in a role that very nearly draws tears.
Its no easy feat to star opposite a legend like Tomlin, but Garner manages to hold her own and never be overshadowed by her famous co-star, while her take on her character stops Sage from ever coming off like a cliched teen in trouble, but rather a determined, yet frightened young woman.
As Elle, Tomlin has simply never had a role like this in her career. The actress has managed to avoid the casting doldrums that have plagued many actresses her age and has turned in a number of solid performances in a variety of worthwhile projects. Yet Grandma is her crowning achievement. Its fascinating to observe Tomlin and how in synch she is with Elle as well as with the script’s various up and down moments. This is a real real tour-de-force piece of work that will forever remain associated with the actress for the humor and pathos she so masterfully brings to it.
I remember an old film professor telling me once that if you could get old people to say dirty words in a movie, it was guaranteed a laugh no matter what. While he’s more or less right, Weitz miraculously takes that notion even further than that with Grandma by injecting genuine heart and soul amongst those laughs.
