(C) 2013 by Rych McCain, All Rights Reserved. No part of this column may
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Lily Tomlin -Movie
By Rych McCain International/Nationally Syndicated Entertainment Columnist
Lily Tomlin
The Iconic Actress Is
Still In The Driver’s Seat!
Photo Courtesy Focus Features
Films
Icon is a word that is sometimes loosely
thrown around. However, in the case of veteran actress Lily Tomlin, the title
is as deserving as it is apropos. Tomlin has not just been there, done that;
but the awards she has garnered over the years attest to a true and marvelous
set of talents. Her trophy mantel houses, a Grammy, six Emmys, a Tony and many
more major awards in and out of the biz. In her latest film “Admission,” Tomlin
plays the eccentric mom Susannah to Princeton University admissions officer
Portia played by Tina Fey. Playing a mom is nothing new to Tomlin and she is
pretty darn good at it. Susannah in this film is a little over the top in
attitude and her values on life.
 |
| Lily Tomlin as Susannah |
In describing her character Susannah,
Tomlin says, “Susannah was intellectual and wrote a book and being very brainy
while thinking a lot of stuff through, she was wed to that mythology that she
created for herself when she has sex with some guy on a train out of sheer
attraction or lust, whatever. But she doesn’t want to admit that’s how she got
pregnant. She wants to think that she commanded her own destiny and so she’s
built this idea or as I said mythology around her and she has imposed it on her
life and on her daughter’s life and I understood that.”
 |
| Tomlin as Susannah working on her bike |
The question here is
does Susannah not give a damn or is she just super radical? Tomlin laughs,
“First of all she’s not 30 anymore she’s 70 and a lot of life has gone under
the bridge. Plus she has a grown daughter that she really doesn’t have a
relationship with. So we all make these choices in life and many of them we
regret.”
 |
| Tina Fey as daughter Portia |
In real life Tomlin has no children so
where does she draw her mother instinct from? Flashing that famous broad smile,
Tomlin explains, “You just have to be a human being. I probably feel as much a
mother to my cat as I do to Tina. I mean it’s just human relationships. We’re
not all so different. You don’t have to know very much to understand it. You
just have to be open to what you’re living and what part of life is.”
 |
| Paul Rudd (John) & Tina Fey (Portia) |
What was Tomlin’s relationship like with
her real life late mom? She reflects, “Somewhat more parental. I was that kind
of open assertive kind of kid, free in the neighborhood, lived in an old
apartment house. My mother and dad were blue collar. My daddy worked in a
factory, my mom was a nurse’s aid they’re from Kentucky so every summer I’d go
to rural Kentucky and then the rest of my life I’m living in inner city
Detroit. It was an explosion of cultures in an old apartment house where all of
these different people lived. I was just fortunate because you learn. I saw so
many human beings and saw how they acted and they were pretty much all the same
no matter if they were real political, radical, conservative, if they were
White, Black or Jews; if they were anything, they were so much alike. They did
despicable things, beautiful things, they were funny, tragic and I know that is
what made me be so accepting of the species. I mean I’m not bragging or
slapping myself on the back for it. As my Hungarian dress maker used to say, I
lived it in the skin.”
© 2013
Rych McCain Media/Syndication tm
(You
DID Hear It From Me!)
Twitter@rychmccain and Facebook
