First Hit: Most of the time it was creatively funny and interesting while being topical.
Lily Tomlin (Plays Elle Reid – the grandmother) is in one of her finest moments as an actress. It allows both her acerbic and humorous qualities to exist in the same person while making sense.
Her granddaughter Sage (Julia Garner) arrives at her home looking for help. She’s young, pregnant and without the money she needs to have an abortion scheduled for later that day. Elle doesn’t have the money either and although Elle’s daughter and Sage’s mother Judy (Marcia Gay Harden) has money, neither want to ask her.
The story aims to help bridge this gap between grandmother, mother and daughter. Elle is also a lesbian and her live-in lover Olivia (Judy Greer) who is getting the boot early on in the film, provides another side of the story and the complexity of Elle’s life is slowly revealed as the movie unfolds.
Although complex, the story is also simple and gives the audience enough to think about as the story unfolds. This is one of the strong points of the film. Additionally, many of the shots of Sage and Elle driving in the vintage car are precious as was the interaction between Elle and her former husband Karl (Sam Elliot).
Tomlin is fantastic and makes the emotional wise role work well. Garner is a star in this film. She’s both angelic and vulnerable. Harden is strong in her small role. Greer’s perfect in her small and pivotal role. Elliot is absolutely divine as the former husband. Paul Weitz wrote and directed this insightful, funny, poignant film.
Overall: This film has staying power after watching it.