Grandma 2015

Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times: This is Tomlin's first leading role in a film in 27 years, and even though she is sharing the screen with multiple generations of fine actors, nearly every moment in this movie is all hers. Read more

Wesley Morris, Grantland: The best thing here is Harden, who gets the most strongly written part, with the highest degree of difficulty. Read more

Lou Lumenick, New York Post: With not a wasted frame in its taut 80 minutes, this is deserving of your attention as one of the year's best movies even if it's being released in the middle of August. Read more

Mary F. Pols, TIME Magazine: Grandma is slender, plot-wise, and Weitz allows a few scenes to get too broad. But many charm with deadpan humor ... or vibrate with a vivid awkwardness. Read more

Scott Foundas, Variety: An initially breezy family comedy about mothers, daughters and abortions that slowly sneaks up on you and packs a major wallop. Read more

Tasha Robinson, AV Club: It's an artful, funny, endlessly surprising little acting and writing showcase that shows just how far it's possible for writers to take tired, cliched characters, by treating them as human beings and caring what goes on underneath the surface ... Read more

Randy Cordova, Arizona Republic: The acting is uniformly fine -- Greer is terrific and the wonderful Elizabeth Pena gives one of her last performances as a cafe owner. But the film lacks the consistency to be truly memorable. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: It's predictable in many places and acerbic in others, sentimental when you expect it and poignant when you don't. But it stars Lily Tomlin, and that's all you really need to know. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: The pistol-packin' granny has been a comedy archetype for years, but it turns out to be the role of a lifetime for Lily Tomlin, whose tour de force performance lights up this well-written escapade by Paul Weitz. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: Weitz strips everything down for efficiency in "Grandma." The writing is relentlessly on point, and often lacks breathing room, but some films settle for being workable showcases for their interpreters. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: The cast is uniformly good, although Tomlin overdoes the crusty-crone routine. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: Lily Tomlin delivers an Oscar-worthy performance in "Grandma" - funny, rattled, cranky, worried, aggressive, vulnerable and loving. Read more

Leah Greenblatt, Entertainment Weekly: This is Tomlin's movie, and she obliges with a spiky, refreshingly unvarnished performance. Read more

David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter: A sublime match of performer and role. Read more

Michael Sragow, Los Angeles Times: Weitz's film moves from clunky domestic dramedy to genuine feminist odyssey. Read more

Jocelyn Noveck, Associated Press: "Grandma" is a brisk, moving, bittersweet film that displays the singular talents of Lily Tomlin -- especially her ability to fuse acerbic and cranky with empathic and sincere ... Read more

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: The movie is slight and, at 75 minutes without end credits, barely qualifies as a feature-length film. But Tomlin is a wonder, the embodiment of a woman who isn't at all melancholy or remorseful as she slides into her golden years. Read more

Richard Brody, New Yorker: Weitz leaches the tough situations of emotional difficulty; the sentimental drama is a superhero movie for liberals. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: "Grandma" isn't a movie for audiences looking for group hugs or pat endings. But if you want a real picture of an intimidating, uncompromising and sometimes unbearable woman ... it's a good place to start. Read more

Katherine Pushkar, New York Daily News: The light-handed pacing belies all that writer-director Paul Weitz packs in: abortion, politics, aging, health care, sexuality, economics and the radical notion that a woman can be the subject of her own life. Read more

A.O. Scott, New York Times: Honestly, the wonder that is "Grandma" can be summed up in two words: Lily Tomlin. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: There are some terrifically strong scenes and terrific actors contributing to them. Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: The film is a scrappy delight that opens up feelings you can't laugh off. Tomlin, the sorceress, leaves you dazzled and devastated. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: Short, tart, yet unexpectedly sweet, Paul Weitz's "Grandma" is a small-scale character study - and, because that character is played by the great Lily Tomlin, it's mesmerizing, right up until its final frame. Read more

David Lewis, San Francisco Chronicle: Weitz, in a script clearly written for Tomlin, has given her the best role of her career - and she runs with it. Read more

June Thomas, Slate: It's about grief and the importance of moving on. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: Don't let that comforting title fool you. "Grandma" is no sugary-sweet smoothie for viewers of a certain AARP age. Read more

Calvin Wilson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "Grandma" is a small film, but one with huge things to say about the meaning of family and the value of living on one's own terms. Read more

Simon Houpt, Globe and Mail: Writer-director Paul Weitz turns in a generous, handcrafted piece in which everyone shines. Read more

Bruce Demara, Toronto Star: Both funny and unexpectedly moving. Read more

Alonso Duralde, TheWrap: Smart and sweet, mature and bawdy, knowing its characters' flaws yet open to the possibilities of people acting upon their best instincts. It is without a doubt one of the year's best films, even as it lands in theaters amidst the late-summer doldrums. Read more

Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out: Director Paul Weitz's original story wobbles between satisfying moments of Elle's lefty defiance (she's shocked that Sage knows X-Men's Mystique but not The Feminine Mystique), and gestures that are depressingly obvious. Read more

Liz Braun, Toronto Sun: The movie is both hysterically funny and heartbreaking, but Weitz somehow makes you laugh without making light of serious issues. Read more

Stephanie Zacharek, Village Voice: It gradually settles and deepens into something nuanced and moving, a character study that's not so much about aging, specifically, as it is about the great and awful process of getting to know yourself. Read more

David Edelstein, New York Magazine/Vulture: Though it's loaded with laugh lines, Grandma is saturated in melancholy and an irreversible sense of loss. Read more

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: Lily Tomlin - comedian, activist, national treasure and natural wonder - deftly balances a dazzling star turn and deeply felt character study in "Grandma." Read more