Review: In 'Moving On,' Tomlin and Fonda work their old magic

Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda pick up right where they left off — does this pair ever really leave off? — in "Moving On," a comedy about friendship and aging and the power of questionable decision making, as long as that questionable decision making is done together.

Tomlin and Fonda — their on-screen partnerships stretch back more than 40 years, from "9 to 5" to "Grace and Frankie" to this year's "80 for Brady" — play a pair of old friends, reunited by the death of a friend, who vow to take care of some unfinished business that has been lingering for decades.

Fonda plays Claire, who at the funeral tells her friend's husband Howard (Malcolm McDowell) she's going to kill him. He's got it coming to him, and she intends to remind him of why. Tomlin is Evelyn, Claire's sassy friend who knows better, but is up for a little mischief at her old age.

At the wake, Claire is ready to plunge a knife into Howard's heart, but before she has the chance she runs into her ex-husband, Ralph (Richard Roundtree). Their reunion is a long time coming, and it allows Claire to reopen a door that has been closed for decades. Time has passed, wounds have healed, and they're ready to talk about the past in ways they couldn't before.

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Evelyn lives in an assisted living center, and has let go of most of the material possessions in her life. She's been lying to Claire about what she's been up to and how she's been living, and the truth coming out does them both good.

"Moving On" is written and directed by Paul Weitz — in addition to films like "American Pie" and "About a Boy," which he co-directed with his brother, Chris, he also directed Tomlin in 2015's "Grandma" — and he lets the natural chemistry between Tomlin and Fonda carry the film through its rougher patches.

It's not as antiseptic as one might expect, and it delivers some hard truths and prickly interactions alongside its well-earned hugs. For Tomlin and Fonda, it's another brick in their path together, and audiences are lucky to be able to walk on it.

agraham@detroitnews.com

@grahamorama

'Moving On'

GRADE: B

Rated R: for language

Running time: 84 minutes

In theaters