Remember Lily Tomlin from television’s “Laugh In,” saying “one ring-a-dingy, two ring-a-dingy?” Well Tomlin’s performance in “Grandma” is about as far removed from her stint at the switchboard as you can get.

Elle Reid is a free-spirited writer and professor.  She has just broken up with a much younger girlfriend and is still suffering from the loss of her much-loved partner.  We learn a great deal about Elle as the film unfolds.  As she tries to raise money to help her granddaughter, Julia Garner, terminate a pregnancy, we meet her very successful daughter, Marcia Gay Harden and an ex-husband, Sam Elliott.  Elle’s past has been rocky, but it is obvious from the start that she does things her own way.

Although described as acerbically funny by NY Times reviewer Stephen Holden, “Grandma” deals with some very serious themes.

Lily Tomlin is the center of the film and she gives it its heart.

This entry was posted on March 10, 2016 at 5:16 pm and is filed under Adult Readers Advisory. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.