Movie Review - Book Club directed by Bill Holderman

Giving a serious review of this movie is rather difficult. Especially when there were some that really panned it as fluff, as a nod to the older woman, as a shameless vehicle for the book Fifty Shades of Grey - which is all true. Seriously though I and my friends laughed out loud, shed a tear or two and really rather enjoyed it. Four rather mature in age girlfriends had shared a book club for forty years, meeting once a month according to the script. Jane Fonda, as Vivian, played the role of a successful hotelier who had shied away quite dramatically from real love for her entire life - that is until Don Johnson, as Arthur came back into her life. Diane Keaton, as Diane, a widow of just a year with daughters that saw her as frail and helpless, fell reluctantly in love with Mitchell, a wealthy air line pilot played by Andy Garcia. Mary Steenburgen, as Carol, was a renowned chef and still married to the love of her life, Bruce, played by Craig T. Nelson, who had recently retired, losing interest in anything intimate, let alone sexual. Candice Bergen, as Sharon, a federal court judge, had been divorced without any relationship for eighteen years and saw no need for such nonsense. She was dared by these friends to get back in the dating game and signed herself up to a dating service. There she met George, played by Richard Dreyfuss and Derek, played by Wallace Shawn, before cancelling that account as a bad idea. 

The script was full of sexual innuendo and if I had only paid attention to that I would indeed have put my nose up in the air and agreed with Sharon (Candice Bergen) - a bad idea. To discover depth to this story made the movie something more. The four women, Vivian, Diane, Sharon and Carol, shared the worries of women growing older that still do want romance but are afraid that game is and should be over and done with. Women often do feel a shudder of invisibility that can come with the passing of time. At the same time, these girls that had become strong, but vulnerable women, still loved to share details of clothes and boyfriends. The book they chose appeared to be merely a vehicle for the story, because it was not an extensive part of their dialogue.

So, if you don’t like chick flicks - whether adolescent or very mature adolescent - please don’t go. If you like any or all of the cast, and it is a great cast, go to watch them take this story and have fun with it. I know that I certainly had fun with it. (For my tastes, there was a bit too much wine involved, however that did play well with the story. And there is a scene starring Viagra.)

“Ladies, we should not go gentle into the good night.”

~ Vivian (Jane Fonda), Book Club

Director - Bill Holderman

Cast

Jane Fonda - Vivian

Diane Keaton - Diane

Candice Bergen - Sharon

Mary Steenburgen - Carol

Andy Garcia - Mitchell

Don Johnson - Arthur

Craig T. Nelson - Bruce

Richard Dreyfuss - George

Wallace Shawn - Derek