Book Club Review


Book Club (2018)Title: Book Club
Director: Bill Holderman
Starring: Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen, Mary Steenburgen, Wallace Shawn, Alicia Silverstone.
Rated: 12A
Length: 103 minutes


A fantastic cast of Hollywood leading ladies, all of which have had wonderful careers, appearing together in a rom-com. It's all good fun.


Four friends Diane (Diane Keaton), Vivian (Jane Fonda), Sharon (Candice Bergen) and Carol (Mary Steenburgen) read Fifty Shades of Grey as part of their monthly book club. They re-examine their lives in the midst of changes - each has had recent difficulties - meeting an old flame, a bereavement, a divorce, and a lack of marital intimacy.


Cue online dating, sneaking out for clandestine dates with handsome men, chasing people at airports and hotel rooms, spiking of drinks with Viagra and many scenes where older ladies heartily talk to each other about sex... and their vaginas. The overall message being that everyone deserves to be in love and happy.


Can they help each other through tough times? Will the ladies get their mojo back? But where these Hollywood stars act delightfully bringing fun and energy to the film, the script doesn't quite match up to them, feeling a little like a leftover Sex and the City script from the late 90s. It lacks the spark or acerbic wit for which we might have hoped.


It's a shame that they used the Fifty Shades of Grey books as a central plot point because it is such poor source material. Surely they could have found a different hook for the ladies to get together, or simply a better book.


But there's laughs and humour throughout and its enjoyable to see such fine elder states-ladies of Hollywood together. Another plus point is the appearance by Alicia Silverstone (where did she go for so long after being briefly the Hollywood IT-girl? And even more enjoyable an appearance by Wallace Shawn - always an enjoyable actor.
Stuffy types might find some of the material in some way offensive, most will find humour weaved into the candid sex discussions and find it all to be fairly lighthearted, harmless fun.

Author : Kevin Stanley