Grandma

Grandma stars Lily Tomlin as Elle, a lesbian poet. Elle’s granddaughter Sage (Julia Garner) visits her requesting money for an abortion as she does not want to ask her uptight mother for it. Elle does not have the money herself so she takes Sage with her to scrounge up the money from acquaintances. Such acquaintances include a tattoo artist played by Laverne Cox, Elle’s ex-lover played by Judy Greer and Elle’s ex-husband played by Sam Elliott. Unable to find money from these acquaintances, Elle and Sage then reluctantly visit Sage’s mother (Marcia Gay Harden) who both women have unresolved issues with.

Grandma has an incredible cast of characters played by brilliantly cast actors. Grandma features such an impressive variety of female experiences for a movie that’s under 90 minutes. There’s a lesbian who’s a senior citizen, a trans woman, women who’ve had abortions, women who’ve had children from sperm donors and also Sam Elliott. The characters are so vibrant whether they’re a lead or a character who appears in one scene.

Special props should go to Lily Tomlin who plays a character who I want to be when I grow up. I love this character. I would watch multiple movies about Elle. She’s cool, has cool friends and a generally cool life. It’s great to see a depiction of a lesbian over the age of 45 and especially one who is so comfortable in her life and whose life is so admirable.

I don’t have much to say about Grandma because I just liked it all. The writing and directing is good but the MVP is the actors and the casting thereof. Grandma is a funny and heartfelt film about family non-traditional or otherwise. It’s a movie that gives us a three-dimensional, senior lesbian protagonist played by lesbian icon Lily Tomlin. I heartily recommend this film.

Overall rating: 8.8/10

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