‘Grandma’ Trailer: Lily Tomlin Busts Some Balls

Now here’s a role that’s pretty much tailor-made for Lily Tomlin: a brash, sassy-mouthed and straightforward woman whose hard outer surface hides an incredibly caring center. Tomlin plays the titular grandma in Grandma, a new indie dramedy that made quite an impression at Sundance earlier this year, and the first trailer definitely has us hooked.

Frequent indie star (and The Americans guest star) Julia Garner plays Sage, an 18-year-old who seeks the help of her grandma Ellie when she discovers she’s gotten pregnant by her loser stoner boyfriend played by Nat Wolff — whose stoner preferences are indicated by that awful hockey jersey, so it makes sense that Tomlin would want to smack him in the crotch with a hockey stick.

Ellie endeavors to help Sage get the money together for an abortion, and runs into plenty of friendly and not-so-friendly faces along the way, including Sam Elliott and Marcia Gay Harden — the latter of whom plays Sage’s mother and Ellie’s daughter. Orange Is the New Black star Laverne Cox also has a supporting role, as Ellie’s tattoo artist pal, who can’t help her with cash, but she can offer a tattoo.

Grandma looks like a touching and funny little movie, with subject matter that will undoubtedly draw comparisons to Jenny Slate’s Obvious Child, another film that tackled abortion with honesty, grace and laughter.

Also starring Judy Greer, John Cho and the late Elizabeth Pena, Grandma arrives in theaters on August 21.