Elle (Lily Tomlin) had just broken up with her newest girlfriend (Judy Greer) when her teenaged granddaughter, Sage (Julia Garner), shows up at her door asking for $650 for an abortion. Generally not a problem, but Elle had cut up all her credit cards in a fit of ecstasy after paying them all off and has no ready cash. So Elle and Sage set off on a road trip around town, hitting up all of Elle's friends and enemies for money.
There are several movies that center on a race against time. This is the first one I think I've seen centered on women's healthcare. Elle is a militant second-wave feminist with very strong beliefs while Sage is a millennial just trying to correct a mistake. Tomlin is borderline unlikeable here, with almost none of her trademark humor, but retains enough sympathy to be compelling, mostly in what she doesn't say. It's nuanced even when it seems in-your-face. Garner is new to me, but nails the slightly sheltered waif role. There are cameos from Laverne Cox, John Cho, and Elizabeth Peña, and supporting turns from Marcia Gay Harden and Sam Elliott so star power isn't a problem.
It's not a movie I'm likely to ever watch again. There wasn't enough of something, either humor or pathos, to make it compelling for me. I do think it's an interesting film and it's streaming on Hulu if you want to give it a shot but it's a one-and-done for me.
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