Book Club [2018]

Book Club is what happens when four 60-something women start reading “50 Shades of Grey”: A fun and thrilling ride with a great cast.

First, let’s agree on something: Book Club is not meant to compete for anything. Once you get over that, you’ll come to the realization that the impressive veteran cast is more than enough to bring the pedestrian material entertainingly to life.

Second, I watched this movie on a lazy Sunday evening. I Identified with those ladies. It’s refreshing to see an adult rom com with well-written characters, good acting, and one that focuses on an older demographic. It was exactly as advertised.

In fact, special shout out to the standouts from the cast: Diane Keaton and Jane Fonda!

Watching the movie, it was clear that Fonda is having a blast. She’s playing a boozy Samantha-like hotel owner who flees from intimacy. Her Vivian may start out cartoonish, but Fonda can’t help but show us the fear and desire hidden under her hard and abrasive veneer.

However, Keaton is the all-star here. She was hilarious just reading a passage from the book: her Diane is sweet, honest, quirky, and awkward. Furthermore, she puts up with her children until she can’t take it anymore and seems to have a knack for pushing beyond the limits of the character on paper.

Should you watch it?

Book Club plays like a sexy, saucy Golden Girls, and if you ignore the slightly embarrassing Fifty Shades tie-in, it is a pretty fun movie.

Where can I watch it?

You can stream Book Club on Amazon Prime Video, Paramount+, and Microsoft Film&TV.