"Moving On" improves on wonky tone with reliable Fonda-Tomlin pairing

Moving On (2023)

Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin always make a reliable pairing, on-screen and off. Old friends since working on 1980’s “9 to 5” and still going strong on seven seasons of Netflix’s “Grace and Frankie,” these two are a treasure to watch with a shared chemistry that always feels effortless. “Moving On” is their latest collaboration and gives each of them interesting characters to play, even if the material is given tonally wonky treatment by writer-director Paul Weitz (2021's "Fatherhood"). For a movie that’s actually interested in women of a certain age without making them punchlines, that is a modest celebration in and of itself.

When Claire (Fonda) leaves Ohio and flies into Los Angeles, it’s for the funeral of her dear college friend Joyce. Instead of giving her condolences to Joyce’s widower Howard (Malcolm McDowell) at the wake, she threatens to kill him this weekend. Claire has wanted to get justice for 46 years and now it’s a good time as any. Joyce’s former lover and Claire’s mutual friend, retired cellist Evelyn/Evvie (Tomlin), arrives at the funeral, too, and initially goes along with the idea to kill Howard. Does Claire just have to cool off and learn forgiveness, or does Howard actually deserve what's coming to him? 

Coming off this year’s “80 for Brady,” Jane Fonda underplays the role of wound-tight Claire, never trying to be funny but instead finding the humanity and outrage that has stemmed from the trauma she remembers as if it happened yesterday. As Evvie, Lily Tomlin is more prickly than kooky, and she always has an unexpected way with a line that’s even sharper because of her deadpan comic timing. There are nice moments between Tomlin’s Evvie and James (Marcel Nahapetian), the grandson of a neighbor in her assisted living facility who likes playing dress-up. Alas, this subplot is needed for our ladies to acquire a gun (or a flare gun), leading to a wacky incident to move the plot along and get to the ironic punchline. Malcolm McDowell gets to play Howard as a convincing Grieving Widower and as a reprehensible bastard, while Sarah Burns brings empathy and nuance as Howard’s daughter Allie. Finally, Richard Roundtree is nothing short of lovely as Claire’s first husband, who happens to be at the funeral and reconnects with Claire. 

Writer-director Paul Weitz (who wrote his excellent 2015 indie “Grandma” specifically for Lily Tomlin and does the same here) takes a while to fall into a comfortable tonal groove when the film wants to tackle an uncomfortable subject. The reason Claire wants to kill Howard is talked around for the vast majority of the film. When it is finally revealed in a monologue of palpable pain delivered by Jane Fonda, the whole crux of the plot actually feels earned and makes more of an impact. Up until then, however, “Moving On” is offbeat without that key emotionality. Weitz knows what he has, of course, in two veteran screen partners and lets them bounce off each other in ways that are delightfully amusing and surprisingly moving. Shooting somewhere between a twisted dark comedy about revenge and a poignant drama about trauma, “Moving On” ultimately finishes strong.

Grade: B -

Roadside Attractions released “Moving On” (85 min.) in theaters March 17, 2023.