‘Book Club: The Next Chapter’ – Review
Get ready for sun, wine, and La Dolce Vita as Diane, Vivian, Sharon and Carol return for the fun and lively sequel Book Club: The Next Chapter. And it’s time for a long overdue getaway as the Book Club ladies make their way to Italy for a riotously funny trip of love, life and fun.
Four best friends (Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen, Mary Steenburgen) take their book club to Italy for the fun girls’ trip they never had. When things go off the rails and secrets are revealed, their relaxing vacation turns into a once-in-a-lifetime cross-country adventure.
Back in 2018, four best friends Diane (Diane Keaton), Vivian (Jane Fonda), Sharon (Candice Bergen) and Carol (Mary Steenburgen) discovered how much fun sin could really be with the scandalous adventure of Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey in Book Club. It inspired in each of them a new drive for life, romance and a hint of sizzling fun. And they haven’t stopped having fun since. But times have changed, life events have happened and when a global pandemic stopped their fun it was a drag. Now with a new adventure on the horizon with Vivian’s surprise engagement to the dashing Arthur (Don Johnson), the words of Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist drive them out into the world and into a fantastic Italian getaway that all of them have been dreaming of all their lives.
Once again filmmaker Bill Holderman returns to bring the new chapter of the Book Club to life, and it’s a whirlwind moment of unexpected humour, surprise romance and glorious sites for audiences. Best enjoyed with a glass of Prosecco in hand, or maybe two, Book Club: The Next Chapter is an easy and fun-loving picture that soaks up the sights, sounds and tranquil beauty of Italy as the gals travel from Rome to Venice to Tuscany and along the way get up to plenty of fun and light-hearted trouble.
Again the chemistry of Keaton, Fonda, Bergen and Steenburgen just makes this picture work, and all of their unique personalities are again on full display for the audience. Once again Holderman uses the passing of time and the events that we’ve all lived through to show a change in perspective and life from the main characters and Book Club: The Next Chapter is equal parts fun-loving and wholesome, but also with some wicked and naughty fun thrown in for good measure. While the focus is firmly on the ladies this time around, the plethora of male co-stars who include the likes of Craig T. Nelson, Giancarlo Giannini, Hugh Quarshie, Vincent Riotta, Andy Garcia and Don Johnson all get their moment in the spotlight in this picture, and there’s a great sense of communal fun being shared by all the performers in this piece.
Book Club: The Next Chapter is a simple, light-hearted and fun cinema experience that will again capture your heart and make you smile and audiences looking for a bit of fun and escapism will appreciate this picture.
Image: Universal Pictures
