Book Club: The Next Chapter Review

After a five-year break and a pandemic, the Book Club returns for a second film. This time they travel to Italy.

The Book Club has seen many changes due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdown. Carol (Mary Steenburgen) was forced to close her restaurant, Sharon (Candice Bergen) only gets to officiate weddings after turning 65, and Vivian (Jane Fonda) has become engaged to Arthur (Don Johnson). When the group finally meet up again they decide to go on a trip to Italy as a bachelorette party for Vivian.

The first Book Club movie was a light, floaty, and forgettable film that made a healthy profit from a modest budget. It was an American version of a ‘grey pound’ film because it starred older actors and targeted an older audience. The American variant tends to be even lighter than its British compatriots.

The film’s production seem to be made in conjunction with the Italian tourism board and the cast and crew were offered a working holiday to the country. It was a highly romanticised version of Italy where the ladies get to visit all the sites with no crowds around, enjoyed good food and wine, and the cinematography was brightly lit. It was a film with little conflict as the characters went around having a nice time and making sexual innuendos.

To show how little peril was in the film was when the characters were robbed, it was treated as a minor inconvenience. There were few worries or concerns, and due to the characters having friends in Venice, they were able to get back on their feet in no time. The robbery was an excuse for the characters to spend several thousand Euros on a shopping spree. One of the outfits Diane Keaton got to wear made her look like she was cosplaying as Cruella de Vil.

The spending, luxury, and horniness made Book Club: The Next Chapter feel like one of the Sex in the City movies. This was especially true of Vivian who felt like the Samantha of the group. The spending also led to the question, how much disposable cash do these ladies have?

The cast were great together, it was filled with top actors. They looked like they were having fun together and having a good time. They should do considering they’re getting a paid trip around Italy. This group did manage to have some witty lines and exchanges and they did manage to make me chuckle. Steenburgen had some funny lines and moments like being hungover after spending a night with an old friend. She had a little arc where she needed to loosen up and stop being so overprotective of her husband. Diane Keaton’s role was the weakest since her character was such a wet blanket. She was a killjoy about everything and she wasn’t fun to be around.

Book Club: The Next Chapter was a harmless if inconsequential film. The target audience of older middle-class women will probably enjoy it as a piece of escapism.