Grandma Movie Review

『A Sincere Story of Women Connecting Across Generations』

🎥 Movie Overview

🎬 Title: Grandma (2015)
🌍 Country: 🇺🇸 USA
🎞️ Genre: Drama / Women’s Film / Family
⏳ Runtime: 79 minutes
📢 Director: Paul Weitz
🖋️ Screenwriter: Paul Weitz
📺 Platform: Netflix, various VOD platforms

👩‍💼 Cast: Lily Tomlin – Elle Reid
Julia Garner – Sage

🧩 In-Depth Story Analysis (Spoilers)

🚗 An Unexpected Road Trip

• Elle Reid: Once a renowned radical poet and scholar, Elle is still reeling from the death of her longtime partner, Violet. The film opens with Elle coldly breaking up with her young girlfriend Olivia, then cutting up her credit cards to clear her debts — symbolizing both financial and emotional bankruptcy.
• Sage: An 18-year-old girl who becomes pregnant by her boyfriend. Without telling her mother, Judy, she plans to have an abortion and needs $600 for the procedure.
• The Journey Begins: Since Elle is completely broke, the two set out in her old car and travel across Los Angeles, visiting Elle’s old friends, colleagues, and former lovers to gather enough money for the procedure. The story unfolds over a single day.

👵 A Portrait of Feminism Across Three Generations

The film uses three independent women — Elle (grandmother), Judy (daughter), and Sage (granddaughter) — to portray snapshots of American feminist history.

• Elle (Radical, Second-Wave Feminism): A representative of the “activist generation” that rebelled against societal norms. Even in old age, she remains sharp-tongued, political, and unapologetically open about her sexuality as a lesbian. Her journey embodies both the triumphs and scars of the women’s liberation movement.
• Judy (Workaholic, Third-Wave Feminism): Elle’s daughter and Sage’s mother, a successful businesswoman who conceived Sage through sperm donation due to her demanding career. She represents a generation that has achieved personal success and autonomy, yet her relationship with her mother remains strained and emotionally distant.
• Sage (Detached, Fourth Generation): Largely unaware of feminist history and intimidated by her mother, Sage faces her pregnancy and abortion decision without recognizing that her “right to choose” was hard-won by earlier generations.

Their single-day struggle to raise money for the abortion becomes an educational journey for Sage, revealing that the right to control one’s body and choices was born of decades of women’s struggle.

🤰 A Candid and Neutral Perspective on Abortion

While tackling the sensitive issue of abortion, the film avoids turning into a political polemic, instead focusing on the characters’ emotions and choices with honesty and empathy.

• Respect for Choice: Elle neither lectures nor judges Sage. She simply respects Sage’s decision not to have the baby and dedicates herself to helping her make that choice possible.
• The Weight of Reality: The film treats abortion seriously without melodrama or moral panic. The $600 cost and limited time window give the situation a sense of urgency, subtly exposing the social and economic barriers surrounding reproductive rights.

🪶 Three Women’s Narrative: Elle – Judy – Sage

Through the dynamic between the grandmother (Elle), mother (Judy), and granddaughter (Sage), the film explores the inheritance and fracture of feminism across generations.

• Judy’s Disconnection: Exhausted by her mother’s rebellious life and feminist ideals, Judy represents the generation that prioritizes control and order over radical freedom. Her rigidity becomes the final obstacle between Elle and Sage, symbolizing the pragmatic fatigue born from idealism.
• Economic Liberation: Ironically, the last person Elle and Sage approach for money is Judy herself. In that moment, Judy’s financial success becomes the real-world manifestation of Elle’s ideological liberation — turning her into an unexpected “savior.” Their clash highlights the delicate question of whether economic independence or ideological freedom matters more for women’s empowerment.

🤝 A Brief Embrace of Loss and Healing

《Grandma》 concludes with Sage successfully undergoing the abortion and a brief moment of reconciliation among the three women. Elle’s refusal to control Sage’s life — instead choosing to support her right to choose — shows that she has finally fulfilled the role of a true grandmother.

The film is both cynical and tender, and Lily Tomlin’s sharp wit, anger, and vulnerability blend into a deeply human performance. Without preaching, it delivers a powerful message about women’s rights and autonomy. Though brief, Elle’s journey becomes for Sage the most profound lesson on what it means to live as a woman.

🎯 Personal Rating (Based on Taste)

💕 Love Scene Intensity: ♥
⭐ Rating: ★★★★☆