Lily Tomlin plot
Lily Tomlin is the dark-haired, Aunt Sidonia-esque actress with the wide grin, who has appeared here in Robert Altman films (in “Short Cuts” she plays Tom Waits' wife) and in often-repeated Hollywood comedies from the early eighties such as “Nine to Five” and “All of Me”. In America, however, Tomlin was also successful as a comedienne in the eighties. In 1985, Broomfield filmed the preparations for her eventual hit show The Search For Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe. The documentary begins with footage from a public workshop presentation in Austin, Texas and ends with the show's September 1985 Broadway premiere. It chronicles a creative process, as well as features clips from Tomlin's previous one-woman shows.