It stars Lily Tomlin as Elle, a lesbian poet and widow whose teenage granddaughter (played by Julia Garner) visits her to ask for money for an abortion.

Over the space of a day, they visit numerous people from Elle's past to call in favors in an effort to raise the money.

As Elle is broke and Sage has had her credit card confiscated by her overbearing mother, the two embark on a road trip across Los Angeles to try and come up with the money.

[6][7][8][9] Bustle writer Rachel Simon commented on the unusual fact that the film centers on two women – a septuagenarian lesbian and a pregnant teenager seeking an abortion – and features a supporting cast of characters including "another lesbian, a trans woman, and a single mom who got pregnant using a sperm donor".

[11] He said that Sage, who is largely ignorant of the feminist movement, represented the "erasure of women's history in the minds of young people now".

[10] Variety critic Scott Foundas described Grandma as "an unforced but unmistakably political survey of three generations of independent womanhood in America".

"[14] Several critics praised the film's balanced treatment of abortion: Ty Burr of The Boston Globe wrote that it was "neither minimized nor built up into a Major Statement",[15] while the Financial Times' Danny Leigh appreciated that "the sad gravity of the premise is not underplayed".

[13] The Independent critic Geoffrey McNab found it "heartening to see a film that tackles unintended pregnancy and abortion in a humorous and sensitive way".

He directed Marcia Gay Harden in American Dreamz and decided to cast her as Elle's daughter, since she was the only actress he suggested for the role whom Tomlin "seemed mildly intimidated by".

The site's consensus reads, "Boasting a stellar performance from Lily Tomlin and some powerfully empathetic work from writer-director Paul Weitz, Grandma is a dramedy that shouldn't have to ask you to visit.

[31] Scott Foundas of Variety called it "an initially breezy family comedy about mothers, daughters and abortions that slowly sneaks up on you and packs a major wallop", praising Weitz's dialogue and the "devastating" scene wherein Elle reunites with Karl.

[1] Writing for New York, David Edelstein declared that "Grandma marks a new era in gay cinema" and felt that the story was "schematic but heartfelt".

"[33] Slant Magazine's R. Kurt Osenlund, on the other hand, felt that the plot was contrived and unfulfilling, and described the film as having "about as many ambitions as it does delusions".

"[35] The San Francisco Chronicle's David Lewis cited Grandma as a career-high performance for Tomlin, describing her work as "funny, acerbic, touching – and ultimately, exhilarating".

[36] Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote of Tomlin, "nearly every moment in this movie is all hers", predicting award nominations for her performance.

[37] In a review of the film for The Boston Globe, Ty Burr offered the summary: "it stars Lily Tomlin, and that's all you really need to know".