Posterized: Lily Tomlin
Saturday, August 22, 2015 at 7:00PM 
with Paul Weitz. Photo via Getty Images
The great Lily Tomlin hits the road literally and figuratively this weekend in Paul Weitz's terrific Grandma, previously reviewed right here by both myself at Sundance and Joe Reid at Tribeca. The movie just opened in the major markets and more cities will follow soon. For my column at Towleroad published earlier today I ranked the ten movie roles that I think of as her best from her now 40 year old movie career. I hope you'll read it.
Consider this weekend the ignition of her Oscar campaign engine, too. It's Lily's first leading role in a feature since (gulp) 1988's Big Business so this doesn't happen very often at all and we must take notice! Go see it I'm so proud that The Film Experience is on the poster for this one.
Lily was Emmy-nominated last month for Grace & Frankie and if Grandma can continue building on this moment of newfound appreciation of a 75 year-old living legend, an Oscar nomination for Best Actress could well follow. You know how that goes sometimes when the culture rallies around an actor in a particular moment like "Oh, right. We've always loved you -- here you go, diva!" (see Diane Keaton's easy nomination rode for Somethings Gotta Give or Julianne Moore's win last seaon)
Let's take a trip through Lily Tomlin's spotty film career via movie posters (with a couple of excerpts from my Towleroad piece)! How many of her 24 features have you seen?
She's never been prolific as a movie star but these first 10 years of her film career (1975-1984) were special: an Oscar nominated debut (Nashville), a Golden Globe & BAFTA nominated follow up (The Late Show), a storied flop (Moment to Moment), a mega-hit (Nine to Five) and two more star turns in comedies (The Incredible Shrinking Woman and All of Me). I haven't seen All of Me in far too long.
(1988-1991) Lily Tomlin stopped making movies for some reason in the mid 80s but returned with Big Business, her last leading role in a feature until now. Can you believe it? I'll admit I don't love it as much as many other Fans of the 1980s do. But it's silly fun. It only came in at number 8 in my list...
Will I be shunned for placing this so low? This identical twins switched at birth comedy duet with Bette Midler is beloved but Bette gets all the best stuff — don’t deny it! Still, Lily has fun with her dual roles as a fussy clumsy businesswoman and her aggressive confrontational country sister.
She also released a filmed version of her beloved one woman stage show The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe, and followed that with a bit part in Woody Allen's Shadows and Fog as a prostitute in a brothel that also included Kathy Bates and Jodie Foster.
And from that moment forward it was only supporting roles...
The next decade (1993-2001) was all over the place with two very obvious highlights in Short Cuts (1993) and Flirting With Disaster (1996), which is still one of David O. Russell's best.
The first of her two collaborations with Oscar favorite David O. Russell (of The Fighter, Silver Linings Playbook, and American Hustle fame) is a very funny comedy about an uptight man (Ben Stiller) in search of his birth parents (Alan Alda & Lily Tomlin). When he finds them, he discovers that they’re drug-selling paranoid hippies. Chaos ensues. Lily & Alan are a lot of fun but Josh Brolin and Richard Jenkins steal the show as gay lovers and FBI agents.
Which brings us to the last decade of her work (2004-2015) which is culminating in quite a career capper by way of Grandma which was written for her by Paul Weitz because of the time they spent together on Admission. So something good did come out of the poorly reviewed Admission after all!
Go see Grandma this weekend... and tell us how many of her films you've seen in the comments. Which are your favorites?
Reader Comments (19)
12--and I didn't realize she had been in "so many."
Favorites: Nashville, The Late Show, All of Me, Short Cuts, Flirting With Disaater, I Heart Huckabees.
She's actually great in Beverly Hillbillies. I love Lily and I hope she gets the Oscar nod for Grandma. Haven't seen it yet, but when did that stop people from deciding who to nominate.
My favorite is The Incredible Shrinking Woman. a great comedy from the early 80s.
The Walker sounds intriguing. Nice cast.
I've seen 11, and I really do one day want to see "Moment by Moment". They looked identical back then!
"All of Me" should have won Steve Martin a Oscar nod for Best Actor. Brilliant physical comedy.
"Posterized: Lily Tomlin" -- Music to my ears!
I've seen 18. Nashville is an absolute masterpiece and I particularly love her in Big Business and The Beverly Hillbillies.
I've seen 13 including unfortunately the woebegone Moment by Moment, geez is that a piece of crap!
Favorites would be 9 to 5, Big Business, Tea with Mussolini and All of Me. Although I wasn't that crazy about A Prairie Home Companion overall she and Meryl had a wonderful chemistry. I'm looking forward to seeing Grandma.
I have seen 12. Beverly Hillbillies was my introduction to Lily and Cloris. They were hilarious together, the movie not so much. She should have been nominated for 9 to 5.
Flirting with Disaster is wall-to-wall funny. It is my favorite David O. Russell movie.
I just saw 'Grandma,' and while I love that it has a unique point of view and am happy to see Lily Tomlin in a leading role again, I think it's been very overpraised. The "feisty senior citizen does and says shocking things" idea has been done to death, and isn't played with a great deal of subtlety. Supporting cast is pretty amateurish, with the notable exceptions of Marcia Gay Harden and Sam Elliott.
I think that, often times, people are willing to overlook many flaws if a film is well-intentioned
Lily Tomlin is one of the better actresses to accomplish film, tv and stage. Love her to death in Nashville and believe she should have won the Oscar over Lee Grant this year. She's also wonderful and nomination worthy in The Late Show, 9 to 5 and All of Me. Obviously she's the more prolific tv actor and I have no problem with because Tomlin has always been a favourite because of all her strong work. I haven't seen Grandma but I look forward to it very much however because of the strong list of best actress contenders I feel the older lady vote will be between Rampling and Tomlin and maybe neither of them happen because it's such a strong year for leading actress. I wouldn't be unhappy if she were to happen but I just don't see it.
One of my prized possessions is a Nashville poster signed by Lily.
I'm very pissed that Lily didn't win for Nashville - I know most people side with Ronee Blakely, but for me that movie has always been about the subtle pain beautifully articulated by Lily. That being said, Nine-to-Five is the highlight of her career for me. She gets the best role of the three ladies for sure and boy does she deliver a complex, powerful and hilarious performance. Basically, I still have to find a role where Lily disappointed me. :)
And I think she acts circles around Bette in Big Business. Sure, Bette has the funnier role, but Lily adds much more depth to her character.
I'm hoping that an Emmy will begin an awards sweep for my dear Lily culminating in a long-delayed Oscar win (with my other darling, Jane, also nominated).
I am certain she will be one of the 5 and maybe the globe winner too,we always have 1 classic legend welcomed back.
Only ten. Besides the obvious best in NASHVILLE, my next favourite is I HEART HUCKABEES. Inspired work despite the on set pressures.
5. *gulp*
I'm shocked by that number, honestly....
But I love all the films:
The Incredibly Shrinking Woman-Hilarious
All of Me-Ditto but also wonderful
Big Business-Her and Bette Middler.... what can you say? Thank you love, thank you life.
I Heart Huckabees-I really Heart this movie
A Prarie Home Companion-Again thank you love, thank you life, thank you Altman!
(the honory Oscar presentation in 2006 to Robert Altman by her and Meryl is just amazing. One of my favorite moments in Oscar history)
plus her guest role in Desperate Housewives
Gosh, so much more to see.... Let's get it on! 8)
I wish my fellow lesbian all the best and good luck for an Oscar nom for Grandma. Maybe a Globe Comedy win if Lawrence's moved to Drama!
My lovely wife introduced me to 'Big Business' two years ago. We've watched it a half-dozen times since. Love love love.
My favorite flicks that feature the great Lily Tomlin are "Nashville", "All of Me", "Flirting with Disaster", "Big Business" and of course, "9 to 5". If you blinked, you would have missed her in Woody Allen's "Shadows and Fog" and as for "Moment by Moment", I will say this: my mother took us to see this when I was a kid and she never said any thing bad about ANY Movie. EVER. I remember her saying that "Moment by Moment" "wasn't very good".
Although she sparkles in Nashville - I still would've given the Supporting Actress Oscar to Ronnie Blakely (certainly not Lee Grant). 1975 needs to be a future Award Smackdown...
Her performance in Nashville is one of the best ever - and to think it was a debut! It makes me really angry that the Academy typically went for one big, loud scene over her lovely subtle work.
I've seen 5 and yet Nashville isn't one of them. Hopefully I will remedy that soon.
Yes to the comment that Steve Martin should've been nominated for All of Me (not that I'm going to bother looking up who he should replace). I remember really liking that movie but I haven't seen it in forever.
And can we talk about that Moment by Moment poster? How interesting that Tomlin is on top and looking like more of the "aggressor" while Travolta is on the bottom and "passive," especially considering what we know/what is rumored about them, respectively.