The duo of Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin have been making a splash in Hollywood for decades, and their TV and movie team-ups have resulted in comedy gold. First working together in the early 1980s, the pair have found each other again and again, and their collaborations have shown off the best of what each actor brought to the table. Tomlin's no-nonsense persona always worked perfectly with Fonda's cool and composed demeanor, and the two represented one of Hollywood's most dynamic acting duos. Even if the characters they played were always somewhat similar, their act never got tired.
With the release of 1980's 9 to 5, everyone was given a taste of a Tomlin/Fonda match-up, and they would have to wait decades before the two would meet again. The pair then reunited in 2015 for the Netflix series, Grace and Frankie, and the streaming service produced one of its most popular original English-language series to date. The show would be a spark for both of their careers and give them each a renaissance later in life. The two-woman comedy act has been in high demand ever since, and they have continued to collaborate even after the Netflix series concluded its seven-season run.
4 80 For Brady (2023)
The 2023 comedy, 80 for Brady, not only brought Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin back together again, but it also added an all-star cast of Hollywood legends. The film followed a group of older women, who take a trip across the country to watch their favorite football player, Tom Brady, play in the Super Bowl. With Rita Moreno and Sally Field along for the ride, 80 for Brady was a who's who of older women in Hollywood, and it was steeped enough in real-life sports history to grab the attention of the die-hard NFL fan.
80 for Brady succeeded at the box office largely because of the star power of its leads, and the script itself was a boilerplate series of generational jokes that didn't stray too far from tried and true formulas. Fonda and Tomlin were excellent as always, and the addition of Moreno and Field only served to elevate instead of detract. Ultimately, it fell somewhat flat though because of its lack of conflict and overall low stakes. It hasn't been unheard of for a comedy film to lack strong conflict, but 80 for Brady seemed to rest too much on the personalities of its leads to the detriment of its story.
3 Moving On (2022)
Echoing their previous collaboration in 1980's 9 to 5, the 2022 indie comedy, Moving On, saw the duo embark on a send-up to some of the best revenge movies. In the film, Tomlin and Fonda played a pair of older women, who seek revenge against the husband of a recently deceased friend for all the terrible things he put his late wife through. Malcolm McDowell was brilliantly cast as the evil widower, Howard, and the movie opted to utilize the Fonda/Tomlin connection for dark comedy instead of their usual light-hearted fare. Moving On had a lot going for it, but it was far from perfect.
Met with middling reviews from critics, the movie suffered largely from its own tone and fell somewhere between a sobering analysis of aging and a screwball comedy. The dark impetus for the story didn't match the movie's humor, and it never rebounded after it finally laid it all on the line for the audience when it came to Howard's vile acts. Jane Fonda's best movies often put her dramatic acting chops on display, and Moving On was no different. However, the film wasn't able to balance its disparate tones, and it lacked the camaraderie that Fonda and Tomlin usually had on screen.
2 Grace And Frankie (2015 - 2022)
Netflix must have realized that Tomlin and Fonda were the secret ingredients in 1980's 9 to 5 because their pairing of the two in Grace and Frankie was a massive hit for the streamer. In the series, Grace (Fonda) and Frankie (Tomlin) learned to put their long-standing rivalry aside when their husbands decide to leave them for each other. With a cast as talented as Grace and Frankie's, the show was guaranteed to be well-performed at the very least, but the show only got better as each season progressed. Martin Sheen and Sam Waterston held down the fort, but Tomlin and Fonda were the glue.
Grace and Frankie saw the characters grow and evolve with time, and it didn't suffer from the typical stagnation that has plagued most sitcoms. What really made the show special was not only Tomlin and Fonda, but the way that the humor was appropriate for the characters' ages while still being sensitive to modern times. Unlike the feature-length movies that the two made together, Grace and Frankie allowed the duo to truly build a rapport and the show was nominated for 11 total Emmy Awards across its run, snagging only one. Critically, the show's reputation improved after season 1, and it was given consistently high marks.
1 9 To 5 (1980)
The only way that 9 to 5 from 1980 could have made its cast any better was by adding another actor with as much presence as Fonda and Tomlin, and it did so by casting music icon Dolly Parton and using her music for the film. The uproarious comedy followed a trio of office workers (Parton, Fonda, and Tomlin) as they attempted to get revenge on their sexist boss. Mixing elements of workplace comedy with over-the-top farce, the movie found the edge between hilarious and ridiculous and never failed to entertain. The chemistry between Fonda and Tomlin was top-notch, and it would later be mirrored in their other projects.
Dolly Parton had no problem keeping up with the two seasoned veterans, and Dabney Coleman rounded out the cast as Franklin Hart, the evil boss. The movie was a smash hit that grossed $100 million (via the best comedies according to the AFI. It was popular enough to spawn a TV series that ran for five seasons and a stage musical version that was written by Parton. 9 to 5's greatest contribution to pop culture was that it united Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin for the first time in one of cinema's most serendipitous casting choices.
