Institute History
Description
Elle, a onetime successful poet, abruptly breaks up with Olive, her girlfriend of four months. But before she gets a chance to get overly sentimental, her granddaughter, Sage, unexpectedly shows up with an emergency that requires money. With the clock ticking, the two set out in a vintage Dodge and drop in on Elle’s old friends and flames, asking for help but instead ending up rattling skeletons and digging up secrets. As they kick up a storm all over town, Elle’s tough front reveals she is still reeling over the loss of her longtime partner, Vi, who recently passed away.
Lily Tomlin’s famously impeccable timing and whiplash wit are in delightfully top form here, and complementing the geared-up narrative is super-sharp dialogue. Rising young star Julia Garner keeps up with Tomlin, while Marcia Gay Harden deliciously plays the mother, the only person who can temper Tomlin’s loud mouth. Versatile storyteller writer/director Paul Weitz’s exuberant new comedy is a passionate, edgy, intergenerational story featuring an all-star female trifecta. —C.D.