Review of Grandma (2015) by Bobby P — 03 Oct 2015
Had I swallowed the reviews whole, I wouldve been very disappointed, but I was pretty sure there was a lot of subtextual political hype on the bandwagon so I saw it with no expectations and I was only mildly disappointed.
the two principal characters are not played by great actors but some of the peripherals are, so a lot of the script is saved. the relationships with tomlin's character's daughter and ex are complicated and the exposition of the complications is skilled.
the interrelationship between womanhood, sexuality, and politics is organically present in the characters' lives so it doesnt feel like a lecture. but when there are no strong actors on screen, the script is not enough to save it, and there are some directorial decisions that hurt the movie.
the 'handheld camera means emotional rawness' indie trope has become as overused and stale as the blockbuster 'child in danger' or 'sarcastic sidekick' trope. and dressing tomlin like a grunge musician pits a thoughtful script against the shallow and overused 'spunky elder' stereotype found solely on film, never in life.
This review of Grandma (2015) was written by Bobby P on 03 Oct 2015.
Grandma has generally received positive reviews.
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