Indie film ‘Grandma’ features character depth, shallow plot

Film Streams is currently featuring the film Grandma, which is about a hardcore, unapologetic grandmother, who happens to be a lesbian and a former poet, who undergoes a heartfelt, genuine journey of self-discovery along with her newly pregnant granddaughter.

Grandma Elle Reid (Lily Tomlin) recently suffered the loss of her wife, to whom she’d been committed to for 34 years. The film begins with Reid breaking up with her girlfriend of four months, Olivia (Judy Greer). Reid seems unremorseful calling Olivia “a footnote” in the story of her life.

Later, a slender, platinum blonde teenage girl named Sage (Julia Garner), who also happens to be Reid’s granddaughter, shows up on her doorstep asking for money for an abortion. Reid had previously cut up her credit cards to “prove a point” so she was left with around $43.

The two women go on a day-long adventure into Elle’s past, in a worthy attempt to salvage the money required to deal with Sage’s pregnancy.

First, they visit Sage’s boyfriend (Nat Wolff), who is quite rude to both Elle and her granddaughter. The grandmother ends up hilariously beating the boyfriend with his hockey stick, finding money in his sock drawer and fleeing from the scene.

Next Elle and Sage wander into a tattoo shop where Elle’s old friend Deathy (Laverne Cox) has worked for years. Deathy owes Elle for a favor from over a decade ago. She ends up being broke resulting in a tattoo for Elle. The design is an O-shape, which Sage deduces is for Olivia, but Elle says is “just a circle.”

Lastly, they visit Elle’s ex-husband, Karl (Sam Elliot), who promises Elle money but then backs out several times. Laughs, tears and unresolved conflicts all surface in the duration of the reunion. In the end, no money is received from him.

Elle and Sage eventually run out of options and have to visit Sage’s mother at her work. Mom (Missy Doty) reacts just as the pair expects, but gives Sage the money so she can follow through with the procedure. After a hectic and dramatic trip to the abortion clinic, Elle and Sage make it through the process without any further problems.

In the end, both sets of mothers and daughters are reunited and an unbreakable bond between grandmother and granddaughter has been created. All in all, the film was well acted and extremely humorous. Rotten Tomatoes gave the film an overall rating of 91% and IMDb gave it a 6.9/10 and rogerebert.com gave it a 3.5/4.

Tomlin did a superior job in portraying the witty yet deep character that was Elle Reid. Nat Wolff, who played Sage’s “baby daddy,” displays his multi-dimensional acting skills with yet another amazing performance (also starred in The Fault in our Stars and Paper Towns). Star of the popular Netflix original Orange Is the New Black, Laverne Cox also exhibits her stellar acting abilities by playing a difficult role.

Julia Garner, who played a character who evolved throughout the film, had an average performance overall. She had some holes in her acting, which can be expected from a young actor, but some of her lines just weren’t very convincing. On the other hand, it can be extremely difficult to play a pregnant teenager planning to have an abortion.

Film Streams featured Grandma to the public until Wednesday Sept. 30. Additionally, Grandma and a French film by the name of Breathe will be featured at Film Streams’ Student Night on October 5. The website reads, “The first Monday of every month is FREE for all full-time students! Present your valid school ID upon entry and receive a complimentary movie ticket for that day.”