Directed by Bill Holderman
Starring Jane Fonda, Diane Keaton, Mary Steenburgen, Candice Bergen

What do you do when you’re retired with all the time in the world during lockdown? Read books, get a parrot, get mauled by that parrot, and heck, maybe even get engaged. We all made some reckless decisions during the madness of lockdowns, but for the devoted members of our titular book club, they took the time to drink an indulgent amount of alcohol and forget about why they made the club in the first place. Comically, they’re seen just ONCE in the entire movie actually reading a book!

It’s cute how the ladies stick together in the hectic montage of covid-era shenanigans before the times a-change and present day snaps into the plot. Lucky, they don’t spend more too many minutes on the mundanity of the lockdowns, because to be honest, those times are thankfully well behind us in 2023. Instead, old tropes that are often used in sequels take the forefront of this flick in the form of a runaway bridal party and a slapdash trip to Europe.

So, after Vivian (Fonda) begins to doubt her decisions as an ardent single-4-lyfer during the isolation of covid, she tells her friends in their first face-to-face that she’s now engaged. The troupe then hits the ground running, embracing ‘fate’ and booking a trip to Italy, pronto.

Book Club: The Next Chapter felt like a continuous dizzy montage, beginning with covid, and then spiralling into a ‘best of Italy’ compilation under the guise of a multi-million-dollar production. But the benefit of having all those millions is just how gorgeous this film ended up looking. The production value truly shines with the chemistry between the four girls across a flurry of different scenery. Gorgeous sunsets, wonderful country vistas, and stupendous trips to restaurants where the girls continue drinking more and more alcohol add up to a relatively enjoyable outing, and one that may just be last – as is knowingly foretold by the girls during the trip ‘I’m not sure if we’ll get another chance’. 

Well, focusing on the present rather than the future, what has this movie got? It’s got road trips, sails down the canal in Venice, extravagant shots of planes taking off and landing, trains speeding along the rails, and more. It’s a plethora of cliches that are seen in a dozen other movies before, including Garfield 2. And another thing the Book Club sequel shares with Garfield is that it is a relative amount of fun. There’s nothing new to be discovered here and nothing overly exciting happens, but it looks stunning, and it knows what it is. There aren’t any buttons it pushes or many themes it cares to explore outside of the wonders of retirement, but I didn’t go in asking for much and I came out with a smile on my face and a nascent yearning to travel to Italy myself.

For an easy trip to the movies, especially on a lazy Sunday to somewhere that has a wine bar, I could think of worse ways to spend the day than relaxing and sipping away while watching the girls plan their spontaneous bachelorette party. 

Book Club: The Next Chapter is showing in cinemas across Australia from May 11th.

Moviedoc thanks Universal Pictures for the invite to the screening of this film.

Reviewed by Zak Wheeler for Moviedoc

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