Dante’s Peak
Movie: Dante’s Peak
Grandma Role: Ruth
Played By: Elizabeth Hoffman
Salient Grandma Trait: Sacrifice
Dante’s Peak is a 90’s disaster movie in both plot and execution. Though arguably better than 1997’s other offering of “Volcano,” it is incalculably worse than the allegory to which the title alludes. That all being said, it does have an awesome Grandma named Ruth.
Do I need to put a “Spoiler” tag on a movie that came out nearly 20 years ago? The following paragraphs contain spoilers.
Ruth is Grandmother to Lauren and Graham Wando, and the former mother-in-law of Sarah Conner Rachel Wando. There is a backstory with tension between Ruth and Rachel following the abandonment of Rachel’s husband (Ruth’s son) but with Hamilton’s wooden performance and the director’s apparent desire to “cut through the crap” and get to the disaster we are left unconvinced and unmoved by their relationship. Good thing none of that matters as this article is about Ruth as a Grandma.
Ruth is seen as a tough, no-nonsense lady with a soft-spot for her grandkids. Lauren and Graham enjoy spending time with Grandma and one has an easy time imagining Ruth taking them hiking, fishing, and swimming around the Peak. While that alone would qualify Ruth as a good Grandma she does one thing in particular that that elevates her to a great Grandma.
When forced to flee from Ruth’s home by an approaching lava flow, the main characters take to a boat to escape via the lake. Unfortunately, the volcanic activity has turned the lake to acid. When the acid has eaten through the outboard and is filling up the bottom of the boat, Ruth channels her inner Terminator. She jumps from the boat and proceeds to trudge through the lake of acid, pulling everyone to safety.
You can argue about the necessity of the act (it wasn’t necessary) but you can’t argue about the meaning. Ruth is sacrificing herself to save her family. It doesn’t matter if the viewer sees it as necessary. She did. The result of her altruism is seeing her grandchildren out of harm’s way. That and painful chemical burns that slow down the party and ultimately lead to her death.
Sacrifice is a real thing and great Grandmas are doing it every day. Just because Grandma is retired doesn’t mean that she is just sitting next to the phone waiting to be of use to someone. She has a life. She has needs and wants that are probably more valid (and more deserved) than anyone else in her circle. And yet Grandmas are quick sacrifice their needs for that of a loved one.
Big work meeting and the kids are home sick? Call Grandma. Hair dresser can fit you in but only in the next hour? Call Grandma. If Grandma is fortunate enough to live nearby then she is the first person called whenever there is an “emergency.” And Grandma always answers the call. Time and experience has told her that nothing you are dealing with is really an emergency but she also knows that you’ll figure that out for yourself someday. Until that day comes she is always willing to help.
Whether offering up a weekend to give parents a break, adding a few dollars a month to the grandkids’ 529 plans, or pulling everyone to safety through a lake of acid, all great Grandmas make sacrifices. Take a moment to thank them.
