Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Grandma Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman February 9, 2016

Grandma is a movie about reflection. The story centers on an elderly lesbian who reconnects with her life as she travels around town with her pregnant granddaughter in search of cash to fund an abortion. It's sort of like a microscopic Road Trip movie that lacks the typically sprawling cross-country journey, or journey across some otherwise large distance, but that does retain the same sort of personal growth and reconnection with oneself and family along the way.

Elle (Lily Tomlin) is an aging lesbian, once a storied feminist poet and college professor, and has just broken up with her significantly younger girlfriend, Olivia (Judy Greer). Elle remains in mourning over the death of her longtime partner and calls Olivia nothing more than a "footnote" in her life story. While she's reminiscing, her granddaughter Sage (Julia Garner) arrives with news that she's pregnant. Her mother (Marcia Gay Harden) doesn't know, and if Sage has her way, she will never know, because she plans to abort the baby. Sage needs $600 to cover the cost, and she has an appointment at the clinic later that afternoon. Elle isn't much help. She's just used all her money to pay down debt. She doesn't have a job, and she's ripped up her credit cards. However, Elle is determined to help Sage. They travel from place to place in search of the money, attempting to get it from Sage's boyfriend Cam (Nat Wolff), by approaching some of Elle's old friends, trying to sell off some of her "valuable" first edition books, and even approaching Elle's ex-husband (Sam Elliott) whom she hasn't seen in 30 years.

Grandma doesn't tiptoe around its story or the themes and ideas that play central to it, not so much with forceful pronouncements of its progressive characters but rather by way of a certainty of its story and in its characters. The abortion, though it propels the story, plays second fiddle to Elle's personal journey. Throughout the film, she doesn't so much rediscover who she is, but rather who she was: what life once meant to her, reflecting on the choices she made, and learning from her mistakes, both those made before audiences meet her and those made after audiences meet her. Writer/Director Paul Weitz (American Pie) blends easy-come humor with easy-come heart that both give way to a solid dramatic core that evolves through the film and solidifies across the final act. It's also quick and breezy. A short runtime allows for ample opportunity to explore Elle's story lines and the themes that grow from them without interference from filler. It's well done all around.

But the movie shines brightest thanks to Lily Tomlin. The acclaimed actress captures a spirit of character and understanding of depth and arc remarkably well. Her ability to inhabit the character, to understand the character's history not just as it is written in the script but emote the longstanding emotional resonances, carry the scars, and juxtapose a complicated past with the whirlwind day she experiences in her present demonstrates her full acting range and ability as well as any other work in her career. It's a remarkable performance that singlehandedly makes the movie. Julia Garner's performance is fine but suffers because, rightly or wrongly, she's not the movie's focus. There's not an overwhelming amount of real, tangible emotional struggle with an issue that's literally life and death. Neither the abortion nor Sage's emotional responses to it ever feel lost, but they feel downplayed as the movie focuses on Elle's story. That's Grandma's only real dramatic and structural downfall. It does enjoy several strong supporting performances from both Marcia Gay Harden and Sam Elliott as long distance parts of Elle's past.

Grandma Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

This isn't your grandma's picture quality. Sony's Blu-ray release of Grandma delivers an oftentimes striking 1080p transfer that never shows any glaring weaknesses. Detailing is strong across the board. Clothing textures are particularly impressive, showcasing fine material and stitch details with ease. Faces are revealing, whether Elle's more aged and wrinkled skin or Sage's cleaner, makeup-heavy look. Support elements are impressive, too, whether wood and heavy paint textures in a coffee shop seen near film's start, natural grasses seen at Sam Elliott's character's home, or the cleaner lines inside the medical facility. Colors are attractively nuanced and natural. The image boasts robust clothing hues, attractive natural greens, and well defined finer makeup or accent shades. Skin tones always appear full and healthy and black levels are deeply impressive, particularly considering a nighttime dialogue scene at film's end. This is another top-tier transfer from the Sony Pictures Classics line.

Grandma Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Grandma features a straightforward DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. Dialogue is the primary element, and it enjoys effortless center placement, excellent vocal clarity, and consistent prioritization, though there's really not much else in the track to challenge it. Music is rich and detailed, with a Hip-Hop song enjoying the most robust intensity, depth, and spacing in the movie. Minor ambient effects, such as chirping birds and mild traffic din, help define the movie's key locations with light immersion.

Grandma Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Grandma contains a commentary, a featurette, a Q&A, and a trailer.

• Audio Commentary: Actors Lily Tomlin, Sam Elliot, Julia Garner and Director Paul Weitz discuss the lack of major cuts, cast and camaraderie, character details, cast thoughts on the movie's style and approach, performances, the movie's emotional arc, several fun little insights, and more.
• A Family Portrait: Making Grandma (1080p, 25:15): An in-depth look at the production and its history, including the original script, Tomlin's casting and writing the part for her, casting and performances, cast camaraderie, story details and themes, making key scenes, working around a small budget, and more.
• Q&A with Lily Tomlin, Sam Elliot and Director Paul Weitz (1080p, 20:58): Moderator Pete Hammond discusses the project with the stars and writer/director, who also field a few questions about the movie's abortion storyline, the director's ideas on feminism and working with strong female characters as a male director, making a key scene between Elliot and Tomlin, and a few anecdotal tidbits.
• Grandma Theatrical Trailer (1080p, 2:06).
• Previews (1080p): Additional Sony titles.

Grandma Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Grandma soars thanks to Lilly Tomlin's remarkable performance but suffers from a lack of a more thorough and thoughtful emotional journey on the other side of the coin, in Sage's quest to raise the funds for an abortion. But focusing almost singularly on Elle's side of the story, the movie impresses with a sharp script and tangible emotional pull. It's clearly not a movie for all tastes; more traditionally valued viewers probably won't enjoy it, at least not its superficial story arcs. There is a lot to like in Tomlin's performance and the movie's apolitical core story of reflection and coming to terms with life. Sony's Blu-ray release of Grandma features excellent video, quality audio, and an average allotment of extra content. Recommended.