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Four brilliant, accomplished, gorgeous female actors play four friends who take a bachelorette trip to Italy in this dumb, dull, dud of a waste of their time and ours. I’ll bet the actors had a lot more fun when they were just hanging out between scenes than anyone will in watching the movie. In one brief scene, the characters visit some of Italy's magnificent ancient Roman statues, and all the script gives them to say are middle school-level dick jokes. What those characters do to those classic works of art is what the script does to the women who play them. Both deserve much, much better. And boy, so do we. 

Like Smurfs, each character gets just one attribute. The male characters all get the same one: unconditional adoration of the fabulous creature to whom they are lucky enough to be able to devote their full time and attention because they have no other interests, wishes, obligations, or, indeed, reasons to exist except to be Perfect Boyfriend (PB). It’s a dumbed-down, glammed-up “Golden Girls.”

Once again, Jane Fonda plays the free-spirited, sex-positive hotel executive, Blanche, I mean Samantha, I mean Vivian. Her PB is Arthur ( Don Johnson ). Candice Bergen is the now-retired judge. Diane Keaton is the, oh, I don't know, they just had Diane Keaton play her dithery fallback persona, the one who loves wide belts, crinolines, and polka dots. Her PB is Mitchell ( Andy Garcia ), the man she met in the last movie. Mary Steenburgen is Carol. She is happily married to Bruce ( Craig T. Nelson ), but he is recovering from a heart attack, and she is worried and perhaps over-protective. 

Oh, boy, pandemic humor! If you think that means shots of Zoom calls with people trying to understand the mute button and turn off the filter, you are right. If you think that's fresh or funny, you might enjoy this movie. Maybe. There are also useless pandemic-era activities like a new pet and a new musical instrument intended to be charming or funny. They are neither. The last movie’s cute elevator pitch was, “A bunch of old but sexy ladies read  50 Shades of Gray .” They jettison the concept of an actual book club this time, but apparently, they all read Paulo Coelho’s  The Alchemist . Instead of snickering jokes about bondage, there are woo-woo references to destiny.

Viv's PB impulsively proposes to her, and the woman who never wanted to get married suddenly finds herself engaged. The friends decide to celebrate with a trip to Italy before the wedding. If you think this means a shot of them walking toward us in slow-motion like a cutesy version of " The Right Stuff " and the dozens, possibly hundreds, of movies that have imitated that shot ever since, you are right. If you think that's adorable, you might enjoy this film. Maybe.

In one of the world's most beautiful countries with some of the world's most legendary historic art and architecture, the women get up to all kinds of silly hijinks that could just as easily happen at home. A mis-sent photo might be misinterpreted! Oh, no! They get thrown in jail. They get thrown in jail again! Same sheriff ( Giancarlo Giannini , slumming)! How funny is that? Not!

Co-written by director Bill Holderman and Erin Simms , the film even fails the Bechdel test. These characters have almost nothing to say to each other except for how much they love (1) each other and (2) men. Plus, a few "jokes" about getting older. 

And there's a finding a bridal gown scene. If you think that means a montage where, " Friends "-style, everyone gets to try on dresses, you're right. If you think it's funny, maybe you'll enjoy this movie. If you think there are "life is what you make it" comments, a farewell to a late husband, and a last-minute switch that makes no sense whatsoever, you're right. But you’ll be better off with “ 80 for Brady .”

In theaters on Friday, May 12. 

Nell Minow is the Contributing Editor at RogerEbert.com.

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Film Credits

Book Club: The Next Chapter (2023)

Rated PG-13 for some strong language and suggestive material.

108 minutes

Diane Keaton as Diane

Jane Fonda as Vivian

Candice Bergen as Sharon

Mary Steenburgen as Carol

Andy García as Mitchell

Craig T. Nelson as Bruce

Don Johnson as Arthur

• Bill Holderman

Cinematographer

• Andrew Dunn
• Doc Crotzer

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‘Book Club: The Next Chapter’ Review: Cinema Pinot Grigio

Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen and Mary Steenburgen take a trip to Italy and don’t read as much in this comedy sequel.

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By Amy Nicholson

The 2018 comedy “Book Club” had a simple, sturdy spine of a plot: Four longtime friends (Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen and Mary Steenburgen) power up their sexual prowess while panting over — and mocking — the best seller “Fifty Shades of Grey.” At some point during the brainstorming of “Book Club‌: The Next Chapter,” the returning director Bill Holderman and his co-screenwriter Erin Simms must have decided they could ditch the book gimmick. With a cast this beloved, who cares what they’re reading? This sequel opens with a formal quote from “The Alchemist” and, when pressed, mutters about how its author Paulo Coelho embraces fate. But that’s just a spaghetti-thin excuse to send the pals on a frenetic adventure through Italy with no time to crack open a paperback.

Since every woman found her bliss in the first film — Keaton with Andy Garcia, Fonda with Don Johnson, Steenburgen with Craig T. Nelson, and Bergen, the franchise’s merry M.V.P., inviting more gentlemen into her car’s back seat than an Uber driver — the running time is crowded with wacky, meaningless mishaps (stolen luggage, flat tires, pesky cops and other trivialities). Our close familiarity with the cast is the sole thing giving this fluff a sheen of emotional weight. When Keaton gazes at a Roman bust and cracks, “I had that perm in 1982,” we want to pipe up and say it’s actually more like her hairdo at the 1978 Oscars when she won for “Annie Hall.” Later, during a tipsy shopping montage, we spot her dream dress before she does — wide belt, black sequined turtleneck, flouncy polka dot skirt — and then wait eagerly to see her try it on.

The operative literary device is the double entendre. The ladies cavort through Rome, Venice and Tuscany cracking each other up eroticizing innocent words: meatballs, fanny packs, hip replacements, knee replacements and even the phrase, “I made pasta on a boat.” They’re salty, not sweet. As Fonda, playing a newly engaged hotelier, tours a potential wedding church with Bergen’s foulmouthed character on speakerphone, you half expect the priest to throw her out. (He seems to consider it.)

The film is at its best when absolutely nothing important is happening onscreen. The women guzzle Prosecco. They banter. They are adored by all, including young hunks on speeding mo-peds who force them to page through the only book that matters: an English-Italian dictionary. At one point, Steenburgen hoists an accordion to karaoke Laura Branigan’s “Gloria.” The leads share four Oscars, six Emmys, and 13 Golden Globes between them and have nothing left to prove beyond the value of charisma.

How interesting to compare this sequel and its spiritual sister, “80 for Brady” (released earlier this year, also co-starring Fonda), to the generic tough guy B-pictures that preoccupy so many male actors of their generation. While the men huff around with revolvers, the women have embraced the model of the old “Road to … ” series with Bob Hope and Bing Crosby. It’s not dynamic cinema (and it’s not even legitimately good); it’s simply faces we enjoy enjoying themselves. The hangover sets in only when the film stirs in false suspense about its half-baked climax. The drag of herding these high jinks toward a resolution makes us want to cut and run. If there must be a third movie, just let the cast chug wine in real time.

Book Club: The Next Chapter Rated PG-13 for salacious meatball references. Running time: 1 hour 47 minutes. In theaters.

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‘Book Club: The Next Chapter’: This club deserves better material

Candice bergen, jane fonda, diane keaton and mary steenburgen star in this sequel to 2018′s giggly, featherweight mom-com.

A movie like “Book Club: The Next Chapter” might as well be reverse-engineered to plunge a self-respecting critic into an existential crisis. As art, this sequel to the surprise 2018 hit — a giggly, feather-light mom-com starring Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen, Diane Keaton and Mary Steenburgen — is borderline indefensible. Directed by Bill Holderman from a script he co-wrote with Erin Simms, this choppily paced, tonally uneven series of corny gags and heartfelt girl talks has the brightly lit, banal aesthetic that signals Hollywood at its most lazily mediocre.

And yet. As such recent films as “ Ticket to Paradise ,” “ A Man Called Otto ” and “ 80 for Brady ” indicate, there is a place in the cinematic firmament for just this kind of shallow but essentially harmless escapism. More to the point, “The Next Chapter” performs at least one act of distinguished public service in providing one of the screen’s most talented comediennes a too-rare chance to share her sublimely dry wit and flawless timing yet again.

That gifted artist is Bergen, of course, who began her career as a thinking man’s sex symbol only to reveal later in life that she had the wiseacre instincts of a borscht belt pro. In the “Book Club” movies, she plays a judge named Sharon, who as “The Next Chapter” opens is having a Scotch and struggling with the titular group’s Zoom meetings. As a look back at the beginnings of the pandemic, the opening sequence has a wistful, nostalgic air — everyone thinks the lockdown will last a couple of weeks — and it explains the longish gap between installments: Finally, with the travel bans finally lifted, Sharon and her friends Diane (Keaton), Viv (Fonda) and Carol (Steenburgen) are going to Italy, with the stated purpose of celebrating Viv’s upcoming marriage to her lost-then-found love, Arthur.

It’s something of an inside joke that Arthur is played by Don Johnson — whose daughter Dakota starred in the adaptation of “50 Shades of Grey,” the novel that the “Book Club” ladies were reading last time. (This year’s inspo is Paulo Coelho’s “The Alchemist,” references to which are forced into the dialogue like so much soppressata.) It’s also telling that, to find a believable love interest for Fonda, the filmmakers had to find a man several years her junior: At 85, she still looks smashing, deploying her lithe physique with dancerly grace and precision, and proudly showing it off during a fizz-fueled wedding-dress montage. Viv, a lifelong singleton, harbors gnawing doubts about matrimony, as does Diane, who is still with Mitch (Andy Garcia), the yummy guy she met five years ago. Carol, her Los Angeles restaurant a covid-era casualty, now pours all her energy into controlling her health-challenged husband, Bruce (Craig T. Nelson). The conflicts of these prosperous, privileged women of a bangin’ age are decidedly low-stakes, even when “The Next Chapter” piles one trivial crisis on top of the last.

Plotty, preposterous and — let’s be honest — more than a tad patronizing, “The Next Chapter” doesn’t deviate from a familiar playbook of similarly frisky wish-fulfillment fantasies: It’s “80 for Brady” without the bedazzled jerseys and Patriots patois. Instead of promiscuous NFL product placement, we get touristy scenes in Rome, Venice and Tuscany, accompanied by barely believable oohs and aahs suggesting these well-heeled dames have never tasted prosecco before (or met a risque meatball joke they didn’t like).

You don’t have to suspend disbelief to enjoy the cheerfully ersatz world “The Next Chapter” inhabits as much as jettison it entirely: “White Lotus” fans might find themselves longing for Jennifer Coolidge to crash the proceedings on a Vespa, her Monica Vitti scarf flowing. Then, it’s simply a matter of accepting the scant but undemanding pleasures of watching these accomplished, preternaturally appealing actresses claiming their rightful space on the big screen, albeit with material that doesn’t nearly do them justice.

That goes double for Bergen, who as in the first “Book Club” gets most of the laughs by way of wry, sarcastically muttered asides. Alongside her more fashion-forward co-stars, she’s styled to make Sharon look as frumpy as possible, right down to the nerdy fanny pack she displays over her sensible stretch-knit khakis. It’s only during one of the film’s more amusing sequences, when Sharon has a mid-canal fling with a handsome man she meets in Venice — played with silky charisma by Hugh Quarshie — that “The Next Chapter” reveals the truth, which is that, when she’s allowed to be, Bergen is just as hot as ever. So, by the way, is Giancarlo Giannini as an Italian police officer who becomes Sharon’s teasingly grouchy nemesis. Even amid the corny jokes, awkward segues, forced conflicts and predictable resolutions, Bergen and Giannini manage to develop a low-simmer chemistry between the insults. Perhaps in future editions, that frisson can blossom into something more than a footnote.

PG-13. At area theaters. Contains some strong language and suggestive material. 107 minutes.

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Review: If you could take a movie to the beach, ‘Book Club: The Next Chapter’ might be it

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It seems like everyone’s going to Italy these days. Thanks to a strong dollar and pandemic-induced wanderlust, it’s not just influencers, old friends and exes filling up their Instagram feeds with gelato and pasta. Season 3 of “Succession” went to Tuscany for a wedding, “The White Lotus’” second season checked in for a stay in Sicily, while Toni Collette landed in Rome to become the “Mafia Mamma.” And now the “Book Club” gals — Jane Fonda, Mary Steenburgen, Diane Keaton and Candice Bergen — take off for a wine-soaked adventure off the page in the fluffy and fantastical “Book Club: The Next Chapter.”

Directed by Bill Holderman, written by Holderman and Erin Simms, this sequel is even more of a heightened fantasy than its 2018 predecessor. It will require tossing aside every scrap of disbelief and grabbing onto a glass of prosecco instead, but that doesn’t mean that it can’t also be a touching story about the importance of lifelong friendships. When Vivian (Fonda) grasps her girls in a group hug and declares them her “soul mates,” it’s hard not to be at least a little bit moved by their bond, a lively balance of pleasure-seeking, hapless adventure and a healthy dose of tough love.

In the first film , the gals got their groove back thanks to “Fifty Shades of Grey.” “The Next Chapter” finds the quartet forging a new path forward with Paulo Coelho’s “The Alchemist,” looking for signs that ultimately lead them to Italy under the auspices of a bachelorette party for Vivian, who is now engaged to Arthur (Don Johnson).

The sequel stumbles a bit at the outset with a 2020-set preamble featuring tired pandemic material about Zoom happy hours as the book club goes virtual; the machinations to get them to Italy are so tortured that as an audience, we often feel ahead of the characters. It’s not until they arrive in Venice from Rome, rattled by the theft of their suitcases, that we fall into step with them. The ladies shake loose their uptight Brentwood sensibilities for the Italian way of life, follow the signs like Coelho’s protagonist, and a spontaneous drink with a handsome stranger, Ousmane (Hugh Quarshie), leads to a serendipitous dinner party and a visitor from the past.

No slowing down — or retirement — for ‘Book Club’ stars Fonda, Bergen and Steenburgen

‘Book Club: The Next Chapter’ stars Jane Fonda, Mary Steenburgen and Candice Bergen. And none of them plan to retire from acting anytime soon.

May 8, 2023

Shot on location in Italy, the film offers some travelogue appeal, though it retains the aesthetic of a carefully lit studio backlot. The characters are also essentially riffs on these legendary performers’ personas — it’s not exactly transformative acting here.

But once again, Bergen proves to be the MVP as salty, sarcastic retired judge Sharon. She’s the very necessary hit of acid needed to make this confection palatable, the spritz of lemon on a plate of fritto misto, cutting through the fat. Going with the Italian wine theme — these ladies like to drink a lot of it — Sharon is a dry, full-bodied Montepulciano (she may be sardonic, but she is still sexy). Fonda’s Vivian is a crisp, bubbly prosecco, chef Carol (Steenburgen) a velvety Chianti, perfect for pairing with food, while Diane (Keaton) is a cool, sweet Pinot Grigio. To continue the food metaphors, the story itself is so easily digestible that it calls to mind polenta: warm, comforting, not too challenging, a little cheesy.

This is a film that wants to have it all, to celebrate the women who take the nontraditional path but still end in a white wedding, to offer a portrait of feminine sexuality of a certain age but remain couched in heterosexual monogamy. There are some inherent contradictions in what it wants to hold as true, but it’s also honest in that it offers a space for those truths to coexist. Holderman and Simms’ script navigates those moments capably enough.

Ultimately, “Book Club: The Next Chapter” is about finding balance: between reading the signs and controlling your own narrative, between taking a leap of faith and putting in the hard work. Most importantly, it’s about putting your own desires first and having the bravery to take the reins, whether that means marriage or a rendezvous in a canal with a handsome professor of philosophy. Either or both can be the right choice. It may be treacly and unrealistic, but “Book Club: The Next Chapter” has heart and soul, and it’s as sweet and quaffable as an Aperol spritz on a hot day.

Walsh is a Tribune News Service film critic.

'Book Club: The Next Chapter'

Rated: PG-13, for some strong language and suggestive material Running time: 1 hour, 47 minutes Playing: Starts May 12 in general release

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‘Book Club: The Next Chapter’ Review: Jane Fonda, Diane Keaton and Friends Voyage to Italy for a Cookie-Cutter Sequel That Gets Sweetly Romantic

The stakes seem a bit lower as our heroines take a bachelorette vacation. But the actors put it over.

By Owen Gleiberman

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And yet…the movie, in its story-parts-falling-into-place-far-too-neatly “Look how bawdy we’re being!” way, allowed its quartet of iconic stars to inject an overly cute and telegraphed scenario with just enough personality and soul to get by. The four women, played by Jane Fonda (hedonistic but emotionally distant hotel owner), Diane Keaton (newly widowed and relationship-shy, with grown daughters who want to move her across the country), Mary Steenburgen (happily married restauranteur, but her husband is a stuffed shirt who’s only getting stuffier), and Candice Bergen (federal judge who hasn’t had a date in 18 years), were like characters in search of a better life, and maybe a better movie. “Book Club” wasn’t a good romantic comedy, exactly; it was almost designed to be a guilty pleasure. Yet like all guilty pleasures that deliver, it exuded a glow of comfortable amusement, and by the end you were glad it existed. It gave voice to thoughts and feelings we need to see more of.

Steenburgen’s Carol, always the most settled and content of the four, has lost her restaurant in the pandemic’s economic downturn, but she’s fine with that change of life. The real conflict that besets her has to do with her husband, Craig T. Nelson’s crusty old bear Bruce, who has had a heart attack. He came through it fine, but she’s so frightened of losing him that she’s got him on a joyless diet and a general vibe of overprotected severity that’s messing with their mostly idyllic marriage. And Bergen’s Sharon? Having reconnected with her amorous side, she has now retired from the bench, which has left her at loose ends.

These are not exactly situations and conflicts destined to erupt into explosive comic drama. The premise of “The Next Chapter” is that our heroines, after too much hemming and hawing, decide to follow their bliss, live a little dangerously and take a senior bachelorette voyage to Italy, all to celebrate Vivian’s impending wedding. Given the lush Continental setting, you could easily envision a film that was “Eat, Pray, Love” x 4 + 16 added decades of life experience. A kind of seniors-go-wild romantic travelogue meets Katharine Hepburn in “Summertime.”

But once the friends arrive in Italy, “The Next Chapter” turns into a series of staid and unremarkable adventures. The original film reveled in its real-estate porn. This one has location porn (the architectural splendors of Rome, the mystic majesty of Venice, the Edenic tranquility of Tuscany), alcohol porn (late-night rounds of Prosecco and grappa), and, in one shopping sequence, wedding-dress porn. All fine, though none of it quite adds up to a movie.

At a hotel bar, Sharon meets an expatriate retired philosophy professor (Hugh Quarshie), and just as she tapped her inner freak in “Book Club” by having sex in the back of her car, here the two go at it in the back of a water taxi. But it’s just a momentary fling (which feels a bit off; Hugh Quarshie is an appealing enough actor to seem worthy of more permanent placement). At a dinner party thrown as a lush garden restaurant in Venice, Carol learns that the chef (Vincent Riotta) is none other than her old teacher at culinary school. Is there a spark between them? For a moment the movie leads us to believe she might stray, but it’s all squashed by an elaborate version of one of those double-entendre jokes (this one is about “pulling dough”) that the “Book Club” movies can’t get enough of.  

Reviewed at Universal Screening Room, May 1, 2023. MPA Rating: PG-13. Running time: 107 MIN.

• Production: A Focus Features release of an Apartment Story production, in association with Fifth Season. Producers: Erin Simms, Bill Holderman. Executive producers: Brad Weston, Trish Hoffman, Enzo Sisti, Andrew Duncan.
• Crew: Director: Bill Holderman. Screenplay: Bill Holderman, Erin Simms. Camera: Andrew Dunn. Editor: Doc Crotzer. Music: Tom Howe.
• With: Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen, Mary Steenburgen, Don Johnson, Andy Garcia, Craig T. Nelson, Giancarlo Giannini, Hugh Quarshie, Vincent Riotta.

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Book Club: The Next Chapter Reviews

Book Club: The Next Chapter seems more focused on cashing in on the success of the first film than really investigating the lives of the women they had the audience invest in the first time around.

Full Review | Sep 24, 2023

Feel-good exercise in mush.

Full Review | Original Score: C+ | Aug 13, 2023

Because the story is so weak and the production so uninspired, this attempt at a whimsical wedding adventure has only the four stars to keep it from being a total waste.

Full Review | Original Score: D+ | Aug 9, 2023

The film can be enjoyed as an utterly delightful travelogue. The story is as thin as a shaved white truffle. The message is to take advantage of a joyous opportunity when it presents itself. Romantic Italy lends an aura of enchantment to the proceedings.

Full Review | Jul 18, 2023

Perhaps the best thing that can be said about Book Club: The Next Chapter is that there’s nary a Tom Brady in sight.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Jul 15, 2023

While the sequel isn't as good as the first film, it still has some funny moments and some sweet, sentimental scenes that will bring a smile to almost anyone's face.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jul 11, 2023

There's plenty of eating and loving and praying happening here, although it's the audience that's doing the praying – praying for this movie to dredge up a decent joke for its effervescent stars to deliver, or in lieu of that, for it to end.

Full Review | Jul 3, 2023

Book Club: The Next Chapter is the textbook definition of a ‘feel good’ film, and sometimes that’s just enough.

Full Review | Jun 28, 2023

Amusing and somewhat entertaining but it seems like something you have already seen - in a different version.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/10 | Jun 27, 2023

A light comedy with a lighthearted spirit elevated by stellar performances. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jun 6, 2023

The story is kind of shaggy... it's not well-plotted, there's not enough meat on the story to hold it all together and make it memorable.

Full Review | Original Score: C | May 31, 2023

One does not go to a film like Book Club: The Next Chapter for Shakespearean drama that tests the morals of humanity itself, one goes to Book Club: The Next Chapter for innocent and heartfelt fun which the film delivers on excellently.

Full Review | May 26, 2023

Book Club: The Next Chapter is a bit better than 80 For Brady.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | May 25, 2023

Book Club’s next chapter is a pleasant Hollywood fairy tale where likeable people in nice outfits go somewhere pretty. The audience that made the first movie a hit won’t mind that one bit.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | May 23, 2023

A second serving of broad, frequently sexually charged humor and low-stakes drama. Most important the aforementioned formula is the deep female friendship that keeps the group together and on the move — it’s tons of hugs and a bit of tough love.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | May 22, 2023

This quartet of talented travelers deserve better than this flighty, frenetic, briefly anecdotal fluff, filled with cliched PF-13 double entendres.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/10 | May 22, 2023

...the picture eventually (and perhaps inevitably) segues into a hit-and-miss, entirely episodic midsection that slowly-but-surely wears out its welcome...

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | May 20, 2023

In other words, Book Club: The Next Chapter doesn't offer any new discoveries -- rather, it delivers the idea of Italy that many non-Italians likely already have in their head.

Full Review | May 20, 2023

It’s the kind of film that exists for the sole purpose of entertainment, which it provides consistently.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | May 19, 2023

The movie is fun-loving, feel-good, and nostalgic, although the script sadly lacked creativity and substance--all is forgiven as seeing these Hollywood stars in the beautiful sun-soaked setting of Italy is fantastic.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | May 19, 2023

‘Book Club: The Next Chapter’ Review: Friendship, Food, and Fun Unite a Fierce Foursome

The film stars icons Jane Fonda, Mary Steenburgen, Candice Bergen, and Diane Keaton.

Five years and one pandemic after Book Club introduced audiences to the heartfelt and hilarious story of four women reconnecting and reinventing their lives while drinking wine and reading Fifty Shades of Grey together, Book Club: The Next Chapter sends that fiercely funny foursome on a new adventure to Italy. The Next Chapter could’ve easily side-stepped the last four years, but instead, it embraces the unique challenges the pandemic posed. It’s not the first “post-pandemic” film to pull from the friend groups rallying behind Zoom to keep sane— Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery most recently tapped into this phenomenon —but it is the first to play up the hilarity of watching an older demographic try to figure it all out together.

When we reunite with Vivian ( Jane Fonda ), Carol ( Mary Steenburgen ), Sharon ( Candice Bergen ), and Diane ( Diane Keaton ) very little has changed with who they are as people and friends, but each one of them has faced a life-changing situation, ranging from retirement to engagement, to pet loss and heart attacks. Of course, it’s the engagement that really steers the direction of the sequel, as commitment-phobe Vivian and Arthur ( Don Johnson ) decide to finally tie the knot, prompting the four women to jet off to Italy for the girl’s trip slash bachelorette party of their dreams.

While Vivan and Arthur step into a new phase in their relationship, The Next Chapter does ultimately retread familiar story beats from the first film, particularly with Vivan’s reluctance to give up her freedom. They may be in a committed relationship, but there are clear sticking points for her which Arthur ultimately does accept, just as he did in Book Club . It’s not exactly to the detriment of the script, but it is familiar in the sense that Vivan has passed a point where she’s open or willing to change her relationship boundaries. Despite the fact that Vivan’s story is very much the driving force of the film, it’s actually Carol’s story that proves to be a stand-out, anchored by a very honest performance by Steenburgen.

RELATED: The Ladies of 'Book Club: The Next Chapter' Flaunt Their Style in New Character Posters

In the time between the two films, Carol and her husband Bruce ( Craig T. Nelson ) have faced a number of setbacks. First, her beloved restaurant, like so many in real-life, was forced to close due to the strain of pandemic closures and economic turmoil, and then Bruce spent some time in the hospital due to a heart attack that very nearly killed him. Carol has a tight grip on her emotions and an even tighter grip on Bruce, which puts a noticeable strain on their relationship. That strain is further compounded by a chance encounter with an old cooking school flame, which pushes Carol to reassess several aspects of her life.

Even if the film weren’t set in Italy, relationships and romance are the lifeblood of both Book Club films, but even more so in The Next Chapter . While Vivan wars with her conflicting feelings about marriage and Carol faces her fears, Sharon finds herself swept up in a whirlwind romance with the charming Hugh Quarshie , who helps all of them embrace Italy in new ways, and Diane is forced to let go of her past and look toward her future with Mitchell ( Andy Garcia ). It’s very entertaining to see how each of the women tackle these relatable life experiences—with humor and not always grace. The Next Chapter may tie things up in a perfect bow by the end, but there’s still a healthy dose of imperfection which makes each character endlessly endearing.

The Book Club universe scratches the same itch that series like Grace and Frankie or films like Moving On or 80 For Brady do—and not just because they all feature unforgettable performances from Jane Fonda. Not only is female friendship the heart and soul of these titles, but they all make a point of saying that women over sixty can still be hot, sexy, and the makers of their own destinies. Too often on screen, and unfortunately in real life too, women reach a certain age and find themselves relegated to the title of “mom” or “grandmother,” and completely stripped of the idea that they can be sexy. While men over forty are still headlining in action-hero roles and wooing their much younger female love interests, women over forty are vanishing from the screen at an alarming rate . Book Club: The Next Chapter may be nothing more than feel-good matinée fodder to most, but for women—of all ages—it’s a little beacon of light in the dark.

Bill Holderman and Erin Simms ’ script is oftentimes rather predictable in the way it sets up each plot point, but it never fails to entertain. There are moments that illicit quiet chuckling and full-body laughter, sometimes within the same scene! The drama is quite mild, leaning on situational conflict rather than interpersonal conflict, and the resolutions are always sweet. Their writing caters to each actress’ strengths, allowing their comedic timing and chemistry to flow naturally. A film like The Next Chapter isn’t supposed to be earth-shattering, it’s meant to entertain and it does tenfold.

Book Club: The Next Chapter is a raucously funny movie that will leave audiences ready to grab their gal pals and set off on an adventure to Italy. If they can’t swing the trip, they’ll be grabbing them to see this film again. From the stunning locations to the gorgeous clothes (that are tragically too expensive for most people to shop the look for) the film delivers on a good time.

Book Club: The Next Chapter arrives in theaters on May 12.

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‘book club: the next chapter’ review: diane keaton and jane fonda in an affectionate but strained romp.

The sequel to the 2018 hit comedy reunites the two stars with Candice Bergen and Mary Steenburgen on a bachelorette trip to Italy.

By Sheri Linden

Sheri Linden

Senior Copy Editor/Film Critic

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Signed, sealed and delivered, Book Club: The Next Chapter is an unabashed love letter to four great movie stars. As a vehicle for their talents, it’s less of a sure thing. If you can see past the clunky plot contrivances, strained hijinks and one-liners that don’t land, and focus on the Italy-set comedy’s Mediterranean glow and the dazzling quartet of go-getters at its center, the movie might fit the bill as a celebratory pairing with Mother’s Day brunch.

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Kicking things off with Tom Petty’s infectious and pointed “American Girl,” Holderman sets a buoyant mood that’s quickly deflated by six pre-title minutes of the clique’s pandemic Zooming. As the world reopens, they agree, after some give-and-take, to revive a long-shelved plan for a vacation in Italy, one that turns into a bachelorette getaway for Fonda’s Vivian, who surprises no one more than herself when she becomes engaged to Arthur (Don Johnson), the long-ago boyfriend she rediscovered in the previous installment. The high-powered, commitment-averse hotelier has been enjoying a New York penthouse lifestyle with him, while Keaton’s widowed Diane is living the New Mexico dream with pilot Mitchell (Andy Garcia). With their understated supporting turns, Johnson and Garcia provide a welcome antidote to all the over-enunciated exuberance.

The four longtime friends have moved on from the Fifty Shades trilogy — which, five years ago, jump-started their lives on the romance and sex fronts — to the pop mysticism of Paulo Coelho’s self-help fable The Alchemist. Its advice to embrace serendipity and not submit to fate as a victim is the unsubtle guiding principle as these superachiever American girls, in their 70s and 80s, embark on their Italian adventure. They take their moveable feast of comfort and luxury and endless long-stemmed glasses of wine to Rome and Tuscany, with an impromptu detour to Venice. There are landmarks and selfies, gelato and prosecco, and double entendres so broad they might qualify as quadruples. Serendipity arrives in the form of sparks between Sharon and Ousmane (Hugh Quarshie), a life-loving retired professor of philosophy, and Carol reignites a culinary flame with Gianni (Vincent Riotta), a fellow chef she once loved.

Emphasizing that Book Club is about the performers more than the characters, Holderman interrupts the travelogue for an all-out lovefest sequence in an opulent bridal salon, where Fonda’s bride-to-be and her three besties all get to flaunt their magnificent selves in a fashion show of gowns. Stefano De Nardis’ costumes shower the actors with affection — in Keaton’s case especially, paying tribute to her distinctive fashion profile.

In the midst of one evening’s festivities, product placement for a brand of liqueur is so conspicuous, the bottle’s label so precisely positioned before the camera, that it might as well have been accompanied by a jingle. As to the film’s song soundtrack, after the promise of Petty, it lapses into a less-than-commanding mix of vintage pop. A party scene featuring a new rendition of the rousing international hit “Gloria,” led by Quarshie and Steenburgen, could have been a blast if Holderman didn’t remind the audience at every awkward turn just what a blast all the characters are having.

Sustaining the thin narrative was not the top priority, it seems; The Next Chapter moves in and out of a sense of emotional connection. When it does indulge in straight-up sentiment, the results, however obvious, are a welcome break from the half-baked shenanigans. A scene between Keaton and Fonda is affecting precisely because it’s A Scene Between Keaton and Fonda.

Hell yes, Hollywood needs more movies about female friendship, and it needs more movies that place older women front and center. Watching this one, it’s easy to kvell over the signature silhouettes and screen essences of four extraordinary performers: Keaton’s deft-clumsy openness, Fonda’s ineffable elegance and strength, Bergen’s unparalleled timing and stinging wit, and Steenburgen’s graceful ebullience. Actresses in earlier eras didn’t have the chance to do what they’re doing here. If only they were doing it in a better movie.

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Review: If you could take a movie to the beach, ‘Book Club: The Next Chapter’ might be it

Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen and Mary Steenburgen return in this sequel to the 2018 hit, this time reading Paulo Coelho’s ‘The Alchemist’ and heading to Italy for wine-soaked fun

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It seems like everyone’s going to Italy these days. Thanks to a strong dollar and pandemic-induced wanderlust, it’s not just influencers, old friends and exes filling up their Instagram feeds with gelato and pasta. Season 3 of “Succession” went to Tuscany for a wedding, “The White Lotus’” second season checked in for a stay in Sicily, while Toni Collette landed in Rome to become the “Mafia Mamma.” And now the “Book Club” gals — Jane Fonda, Mary Steenburgen, Diane Keaton and Candice Bergen — take off for a wine-soaked adventure off the page in the fluffy and fantastical “Book Club: The Next Chapter.”

Directed by Bill Holderman, written by Holderman and Erin Simms, this sequel is even more of a heightened fantasy than its 2018 predecessor. It will require tossing aside every scrap of disbelief and grabbing onto a glass of prosecco instead, but that doesn’t mean that it can’t also be a touching story about the importance of lifelong friendships. When Vivian (Fonda) grasps her girls in a group hug and declares them her “soul mates,” it’s hard not to be at least a little bit moved by their bond, a lively balance of pleasure-seeking, hapless adventure and a healthy dose of tough love.

In the first film , the gals got their groove back thanks to “Fifty Shades of Grey.” “The Next Chapter” finds the quartet forging a new path forward with Paulo Coelho’s “The Alchemist,” looking for signs that ultimately lead them to Italy under the auspices of a bachelorette party for Vivian, who is now engaged to Arthur (Don Johnson).

The sequel stumbles a bit at the outset with a 2020-set preamble featuring tired pandemic material about Zoom happy hours as the book club goes virtual; the machinations to get them to Italy are so tortured that as an audience, we often feel ahead of the characters. It’s not until they arrive in Venice from Rome, rattled by the theft of their suitcases, that we fall into step with them. The ladies shake loose their uptight Brentwood sensibilities for the Italian way of life, follow the signs like Coelho’s protagonist, and a spontaneous drink with a handsome stranger, Ousmane (Hugh Quarshie), leads to a serendipitous dinner party and a visitor from the past.

No slowing down — or retirement — for ‘Book Club’ stars Fonda, Bergen and Steenburgen

‘Book Club: The Next Chapter’ stars Jane Fonda, Mary Steenburgen and Candice Bergen. And none of them plan to retire from acting anytime soon.

May 8, 2023

Shot on location in Italy, the film offers some travelogue appeal, though it retains the aesthetic of a carefully lit studio backlot. The characters are also essentially riffs on these legendary performers’ personas — it’s not exactly transformative acting here.

But once again, Bergen proves to be the MVP as salty, sarcastic retired judge Sharon. She’s the very necessary hit of acid needed to make this confection palatable, the spritz of lemon on a plate of fritto misto, cutting through the fat. Going with the Italian wine theme — these ladies like to drink a lot of it — Sharon is a dry, full-bodied Montepulciano (she may be sardonic, but she is still sexy). Fonda’s Vivian is a crisp, bubbly prosecco, chef Carol (Steenburgen) a velvety Chianti, perfect for pairing with food, while Diane (Keaton) is a cool, sweet Pinot Grigio. To continue the food metaphors, the story itself is so easily digestible that it calls to mind polenta: warm, comforting, not too challenging, a little cheesy.

This is a film that wants to have it all, to celebrate the women who take the nontraditional path but still end in a white wedding, to offer a portrait of feminine sexuality of a certain age but remain couched in heterosexual monogamy. There are some inherent contradictions in what it wants to hold as true, but it’s also honest in that it offers a space for those truths to coexist. Holderman and Simms’ script navigates those moments capably enough.

Ultimately, “Book Club: The Next Chapter” is about finding balance: between reading the signs and controlling your own narrative, between taking a leap of faith and putting in the hard work. Most importantly, it’s about putting your own desires first and having the bravery to take the reins, whether that means marriage or a rendezvous in a canal with a handsome professor of philosophy. Either or both can be the right choice. It may be treacly and unrealistic, but “Book Club: The Next Chapter” has heart and soul, and it’s as sweet and quaffable as an Aperol spritz on a hot day.

Walsh is a Tribune News Service film critic.

'Book Club: The Next Chapter'

Rating: PG-13, for some strong language and suggestive material When: Opens Friday Where: Wide release Running time: 1 hour, 47 minutes

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Movie Review – Book Club: The Next Chapter (2023)

May 8, 2023 by Robert Kojder

Book Club: The Next Chapter , 2023.

Directed by Bill Holderman. Starring Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen, Mary Steenburgen, Andy García, Craig T. Nelson, Don Johnson, Giancarlo Giannini, Hugh Quarshie, Adriano De Pasquale, and Vincent Riotta.

Follows the new journey of four best friends as they take their book club to Italy for the fun girls trip they never had.

While watching Book Club: The Next Chapter , it’s noticeable that outside a few references to Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist and discussions of the fairy tale endings they desire in life, there’s no reading going on here. And for as bizarre as it is for a movie called Book Club to primarily function as a relaxed vacation to Italy between long-time friends that turns into a comedy of errors (where every joke is a lame Italian-based sexual double entendre), and philosophical musings on relationships, fate, and the possibilities that still exist within their lives, I will certainly take it upon sifting through the synopsis of the 2018 first film, which was essentially a sexual reawakening through the Fifty Shades of Gray novels.

From what I can gather, director Bill Holderman (once again directing and co-writing alongside Erin Simms) has replaced those novels as a source for tired sexual humor with Italy (Italian meatballs are used as a euphemism for exactly what you think), where everything is supposedly sexier. The painful attempts at comedy are made more frustrating considering these filmmakers are also interested in exploring the complicated feelings of mortality and time that come with the backend of someone’s life, such as potentially getting married for the first time, finding love once more, reconnecting with old flames, or simply having fun sexually as freely as younger people frequently do.

Perhaps the first film was similar in tone (which sounds reasonable given what the women were reading and trying to accomplish), but these characters feel stuck inside a narrative that is unsure if it wants to treat them and their concerns seriously or use them as an excuse to rattle off cringe sexual one-liners every two minutes. To clarify, this has nothing to do with older women experiencing sexual desire, which is perfectly normal. The problem is how uninspired and how often the jokes go for low-hanging fruit. It’s not just about sexual humor, as a storyline involving the ashes of a deceased husband culminates in over-the-top absurdity.

Nevertheless, Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen, and Mary Steenburgen return as the tight-knit friend group Diane, Vivian, Sharon, and Carol, who founded a book club 40+ years ago. Throughout the pandemic, they kept their meetings and readings going through Zoom (although not without the typical cheap comedy at the expense of elderly people not always entirely understanding technology). During that time, Vivian (Jane Fonda) and her partner Arthur (Don Johnson) have grown closer, with the former making the surprising choice to settle down and say yes to marriage.

They also decide that they should choose to live life to the fullest, putting together a bucket list vacation to Italy, doubling as a bachelorette party. For a brief while, it’s breezy, charming, and harmless. When the women decide to look at some dicks, the film amusingly cuts to the usual chiseled statues with erect penises. It’s a funny gag once that then goes on for minutes, with more and more sex jokes that would be fine if they had an ounce of cleverness to them and weren’t beaten to the ground. It gets to a point where the filmmakers are less concerned with maintaining camaraderie and chemistry between the women, focused on setting up the next cringe punchline.

It’s all a shame because there are moments in Book Club: The Next Chapter that feels earnest, such as a sequence where everyone gives each other a dose of tough love or moments where they uplift one another to instill bravery to live life and take crazy risks. Whether or not anyone ends up getting married is for viewers to find out, but even its positioning on marriage feels in line with who the characters are whenever the filmmakers are allowing them to show personality beyond overplayed sexual lust. There is also natural joy in watching these legendary actresses enjoy the company of one another, but with such a weak and repetitive screenplay, that fun doesn’t last long. 

Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★  / Movie: ★ ★ ★

Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check  here  for new reviews, follow my  Twitter  or  Letterboxd , or email me at [email protected]

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• DVD & Streaming

Book Club: The Next Chapter

Content caution.

In Theaters

• May 12, 2023
• Jane Fonda as Vivian; Diane Keaton as Diane; Mary Steenburgen as Carol; Candice Bergen as Sharon; Andy Garcia as Mitchell; Don Johnson as Arthur; Craig T. Nelson as Bruce; Giampiero Judica as Donato

Home Release Date

• May 30, 2023
• Bill Holderman

Distributor

• Focus Features

Movie Review

A lot has happened since the events of the first Book Club movie—and there was nothing bigger than being quarantined for the coronavirus. Still, the group of friends we met in the first film learned how to use Zoom and chat online, and the world continued to revolve.

Other changes happened, too. Carol’s restaurant shut down due to a lack of customers. As a judge, Sharon’s become a bit jaded, marrying off a bunch of younger people. And Vivian—yes, Vivian —is getting married.

Despite Vivian’s distaste for holy matrimony, Arthur finally broke her down with his charm, and the two purchased an engagement ring on a spur-of-the-moment decision. Such a joyous occasion is reason for celebration, the rest of the group decides. And hey, they’ve always wanted to go to Italy, so why not turn the bachelorette celebration into a bachelorette vacation?

Soon, they’ve all arrived and are ready to mambo all around the Italian landscape. Carol, Sharon and Diane all have surprises in store for Vivian that they can’t wait to spring upon her.

But Italy’s got a few surprises of its own that the bookless book club will face, too.

Positive Elements

Though things inevitably go awry during the trip, the group of women scarcely lets problems get them down. And if one of them begins to slip, the other three are quick to reassure them that everything will be alright. On the flip side, when something postive happens to one of them, the others celebrate their friend’s good fortune.

At one point, Vivian doubts her commitment to marriage, but her friends reassure her. Diane and Carol receive similar comfort and reassurances. The only member of the book club they are confident doesn’t have any issues in her life is Sharon (though even that isn’t quite the case, as we’ll see.) Regardless, the four women frequently support one another.

Spiritual Elements

While searching for a venue, Vivian and Arthur check out a church. The priest there tells them about a statue of Saint Christopher, “the patron saint of travel.” Vivian and Arthur take the statue’s presence as a sign that Vivian should go to Italy. When Vivian tells Sharon that she’s inside a church, Sharon responds that she’s “shocked you didn’t burst into flames when you crossed the threshold.” A man crosses himself.

We hear many references to “the universe” or “fate” determining the future. In fact, Sharon eventually challenges Vivian to stop blaming everything on such things and to take control of her life rather than letting it passively slip away.

Someone says that you should trust your heart, “because it always, always , guides you right.” That sentimental exhortation immediately brings to mind Mark 7:21 and Jeremiah 17:9, the latter of which reads: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”

Someone talks about a “Divine Master’s stroke” in reference to affirmation of a marriage.

Sexual Content

Most of the many jokes in Book Club: The Next Chapter are sexual in nature. One woman suggests that a bachelorette party “means we go see naked men.” To accomplish that, the women look at marble statues of naked men, and we briefly see the statue’s genitals. “Where do I stuff the dollar bills?” Someone asks. The women furthermore joke about the small size of the statue’s genitals, with Vivian making a crude, suggestive joke about male arousal. The breasts of a female statue are visible, too.

Sharon flirts with a stranger, and the two have sex in a boat. When the man is caught by a police officer asking what he’s doing, Sharon responds “that would be me.”

The women use Italian words as double entendres for male and female genitals. Carol’s dress bears a bit of cleavage, and her friends point it out. Later, Carol reconnects with an old flame, and she decides to flirt with him despite already being married. We later hear the two of them grunting suggestively as the van they’re in rocks back and forth, but it’s later revealed that the two were just vigorously making pasta dough together. The man later texts Carol a thanks for “rubbing his dough” and providing a “very happy ending to his night,” and Carol worries that her husband with misinterpret the texts (as her friends make many more crude references).

We see kisses between several different couples. We hear references to and jokes about various sexual body parts or bodily functions, including pubic hair, male and female genitals, arousal and ejaculation.

And there are still more references to sex. Vivian describes her ideal wedding dress as “sexy, yet traditional.” Someone misunderstands the flow of a conversation, leading to a sexual reference. A character mentions “making love in the park.” Someone talks about a man’s genitals, and another person says, “There’s nothing I wouldn’t have done for him—sexually.” We see someone text about buying new lingerie. Sharon talks about having so much sex that she doesn’t remember who she got a jacket from. Another crude quip comes from someone who says Mother Teresa “wasn’t just on her knees praying ,” after a reference to oral sex.

Violent Content

A car swerves and nearly crashes after its tire bursts. Vivian thinks a buff police officer is actually a stripper, and she touches his body without his consent, telling him to start taking his clothes off.

Crude or Profane Language

The Lord’s name is paired with an f-word once, and it’s taken in vain a second time as well. The s-word is heard five times. We also hear “d–n,” “h—” and “b–tard.” God’s name is used in vain about 60 times, including one use with “d–n.”

Drug and Alcohol Content

The fours friends drink wine in most scenes. Diane admits that she may be a bit intoxicated, and another character deals with a hangover. We hear a reference to syringes used for drugs.

Other Negative Elements

Men steal luggage. Diane accidentally drops an urn full of ashes from a helicopter. Many people discuss how their previous marriages failed.

Book Club: The Next Chapter has nothing to do with books, instead leaning fully into the relational side of things with messages that make the purpose of relationships seem a bit self-serving.

The movie casts Vivian as its primary focus, and she approaches the prospect of getting married with something akin to excited dread. That dread comes almost exclusively from her fear of having to, in essence, think about someone else.

That’s not the explicit message, of course, but it’s certainly implicit in Vivian’s dialogue about preferring dating to marriage,  because it’s less commitment. The moral here is essentially that Vivian will love Arthur so long as she doesn’t have to give up anything for him. She’ll choose him so long as she has the ability to un-choose him if need be. In this approach to matrimony, Book Club fundamentally misunderstands marriage, approaching it from a self-centered “What can I get out of this?” mindset rather than a self-sacrificial one.

I only write that harsh paragraph to express the ugliness of such a view of marriage. And as for the rest of the film, well, it felt more like the whole sequel was made as an excuse for the actresses to have fun in Italy—many of the scenes simply show them touring Rome, Venice and Florence, wine in hand. I don’t know if the movie was intended to feel like someone showing me a slideshow of their vacation, but that’s how it came across to me.

Like its predecessor, Book Club: The Next Chapter relies heavily on bawdy jokes and suggestive gags for its humor, and the women additionally use God’s name in vain about 60 times.

So is there anything positive here? I’ll admit that the foursome’s steadfast friendship and encouragement of one another are traits to be desired among any friend group. Then again, you can bet that the movie would jump at the chance to make a sex joke because of my use of the word “foursome.”

The first Book Club was a box office success, earning more $100 million against a $14 million budget. But not every box office blowout demands a sequel. And Book Club: The Next Chapter falls squarely into that latter category.

Kennedy Unthank

Kennedy Unthank studied journalism at the University of Missouri. He knew he wanted to write for a living when he won a contest for “best fantasy story” while in the 4th grade. What he didn’t know at the time, however, was that he was the only person to submit a story. Regardless, the seed was planted. Kennedy collects and plays board games in his free time, and he loves to talk about biblical apologetics. He doesn’t think the ending of Lost was “that bad.”

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‘Book Club: The Next Chapter’ is a Predictable but Fun Character-Driven Sequel

While the ‘Book Club’ sequel is very predictable, the character-driven story really works, thanks to fun performances from Keaton, Fonda, Bergen and Steenburgen.

(L to R) Diane Keaton as Diane, Mary Steenburgen as Carol, Candice Bergen as Sharon, and Jane Fonda as Vivian in 'Book Club: The Next Chapter,' a Focus Features release.

The sequel to 2018’s ‘ Book Club ,’ which is entitled ‘ Book Club: The Next Chapter ,’ opens in theaters on May 12th and is once again directed and co-written by Bill Holderman.

What is the plot of 'Book Club: The Next Chapter?’

Four older best friends, Diane ( Diane Keaton ), Vivian ( Jane Fonda ), Sharon ( Candice Bergen ) and Carol ( Mary Steenburgen ), take their book club to Italy for the fun girls' trip they never had in their youth to celebrate Vivian’s upcoming marriage. But when things go off the rails and secrets are revealed, their relaxing vacation turns into a once-in-a-lifetime cross-country adventure that will change all of their lives forever.

Book Club: The Next Chapter

Who is in the cast of ‘Book Club: The Next Chapter?’

‘Book Club: The Next Chapter’ stars Oscar-winner Diane Keaton (‘ Annie Hall ,’ ‘ The Godfather ’) as Diane, Oscar-winner Jane Fonda (‘ Klute ,’ ’ 80 For Brady ’) as Vivian, Oscar-winner Mary Steenburgen (‘ Melvin and Howard ,’ ‘ Back to the Future Part III ’) as Carol, and Oscar-nominee Candice Bergen (‘ Gandhi ,’ ‘ Carnal Knowledge ’) as Sharon, as well as Oscar-nominee Andy Garcia (‘ The Godfather Part III’ ) as Mitchell, Don Johnson (‘ Knives Out ’) as Arthur, Craig T. Nelson (‘ The Incredibles ’) as Bruce, and Giancarlo Giannini (‘ Man on Fire ’).

Initial Thoughts

The result is a very predictable comedy that is still funny and overall entertaining thanks to the colorful characters and excellent performances from the four leading actresses.

(L to R) Mary Steenburgen stars as Carol, Candice Bergen as Sharon, Diane Keaton as Diane and Jane Fonda as Vivian in 'Book Club: The Next Chapter,' a Focus Features release. Credit: Riccardo Ghilardi / © 2023 Fifth Season, LLC.

The Sequel’s Story and Direction

‘Book Club: The Next Chapter’ begins during the COVID lock-down and shows our characters dealing with the pandemic by continuing their book club through Zoom. The pandemic soon ends and the four friends are reunited in person, but all their lives have changed. Vivian (Fonda) is now engaged to Arthur (Johnson), Diane (Keaton) is in a serious relationship with Mitchell (Garcia), Sharon (Bergen) has retired from being a Judge, and Carol (Steenburgen) is having issues with her husband (Nelson), while her restaurant closes due to the pandemic.

When Carol is reminded that they all planned to take a trip to Italy together back in their youth, she suggests that they travel there now to celebrate Vivian’s upcoming marriage. As one can imagine, high jinks ensue. While there is not a lot of the actual book club featured in ‘Book Club: The Next Chapter,’ that’s okay, as the character-driven story and the performances of the lead actresses is enough to keep the film moving, funny, and compelling. However, it is also very predictable, and there are not a lot of real surprises in the movie.

For example, the opening scene actually gives away the ending, if you can recognize which of the lead actresses’ voice is the narrator, and spoiler alert … you definitely can! Another predictable moment comes when Carol, who is having issues with her husband coincidentally runs into her old boyfriend in Rome. Sparks fly as you can imagine, but if you guessed that nothing happens between them and she eventually makes up with her husband, you’d probably be on to something.

So the movie is littered with extremely predictable moments but to the credit of director Bill Holderman and the cast, none of that really matters. The heart of the movie are the relationships between these four women, and the slightly outrageous characters each one of them has created, which is where the humor stems from. It’s clear that Holderman realizes that, as he keeps the focus mostly on the leading ladies, their characters, and the beautiful locations of Italy, as nothing else in the movie really matters at all. In that sense, Hollderman has the freedom to allow the other characters, situations, and minor plot points to go to the wayside as the only thing that is important is our four main characters, their friendship, and their experiences together.

(L to R) Diane Keaton stars as Diane, Jane Fonda as Vivian, Candice Bergen as Sharon and Mary Steenburgen as Carol in 'Book Club: The Next Chapter,' a Focus Features release. Credit: © 2023 Fifth Season, LLC.

Related Article: Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen and Mary Steenburgen Talk 'Book Club: The Next Chapter'

Italy is a character in the movie.

‘Book Club: The Next Chapter’ shot on location in Italy in some of the country’s most famous locations, and Hollderman takes full advantage of it. Italy is definitely its own character in the movie, and cinematographer Andrew Dunn shoots the actresses with beautiful vistas and famous Italian locations behind them like the Pizza della Rotonda, the Trevi Fountain, and the Spanish Steps. It adds a layer of excitement to the project, and also grounds the film in a certain reality, even in the movie’s most ridiculous or predictable moments.

(L to R) Mary Steenburgen stars as Carol, Jane Fonda as Vivian, Diane Keaton as Diane and Candice Bergen as Sharon in 'Book Club: The Next Chapter,' a Focus Features release. Credit: © 2023 Fifth Season, LLC.

Keaton, Fonda, Bergen and Steenburgen

But the movie only works because of the carefully created characters performed by the four excellent leading actresses. You can tell that they all really like working with each other, as it shines through their performances and relationships with each other on screen. It also helps that each actress was perfectly cast and plays a character similar to their own onscreen personas.

Diane Keaton plays Diane (that can’t be a coincidence), a neurotic woman still looking for love, not unlike an older version of Annie Hall. Fonda plays Vivian, an older woman trying to hold on to her youth and beauty, which is almost the same exact character as she recently played in ’80 For Brady.’ Bergen plays Sharon, a bawdy career women fearful of retirement, reminiscent of her classic TV character Murphy Brown. And Steenburgen plays Carol, a free spirited women, who still loves her husband, but is looking for some excitement in her life, which in line with characters she’s played in the past in films like ‘Back to the Future III.’ None of this is meant as a criticism, but rather just to say that the actresses play characters they are well suited for and because of that, create very memorable performances.

In a film like this, it’s easy for one or two of the lead actresses to get less screen time than the others, but that is not the case here. While in some ways the story is told from Keaton’s character’s point of view, all of the main characters have nice arcs and each actress is given time to shine. Keaton and Fonda’s characters find their true voices before the end of the movie, and the two actresses share a very nice emotional scene together. Steenburgen’s Carol has a full arc too, and in many ways her story is the heart of the movie. But Bergen surprisingly has the best comedic moments and is very funny in the film, especially when she is squaring off with Giancarlo Giannini.

Speaking of which, Giancarlo Giannini, best known for action dramas like ‘Man on Fire’ and ‘ Casino Royale ,’ is very funny as an Italian police captain that has it out for Bergen’s Sharon, and in turn her friends. But again, his “change of heart” in the third act is another example of the film’s predictability. But overall, while they have very little screen time, the male actors are very good in the movie and support their female counterparts quite well, without ever drawing the attention away from them.

Andy Garcia, Don Johnson, and Craig T. Nelson all have great chemistry with their significant others, Keaton, Fonda, and Steenburgen, respectively. While Garcia and Johnson both play “nice guys,” Nelson has a little more to do playing the “hapless nice guy,” although again, his character’s turn in the end was about as predictable as they come.

Final Thoughts

In the end, even the movie’s predictability can’t stop the film from being fun and entertaining, thanks to the character-driven story and outstanding performances from Keaton, Fonda, Bergen, and Steenburgen, not to mention the beautiful locations. It may not be for everyone, but I know my mom is going to love this movie!

‘Book Club: The Next Chapter’ receives 7 out of 10 stars.

(L to R) Diane Keaton stars as Diane, Jane Fonda as Vivian, Candice Bergen as Sharon and Mary Steenburgen as Carol in "Book Club: The Next Chapter,' a Focus Features release. Credit: Riccardo Ghilardi / © 2023 Fifth Season, LLC.

Other Movies Similar to ‘Book Club: The Next Chapter:'

• ' Nine to Five ' (1980)
• ' The First Wives Club ' (1996)
• ' Something's Gotta Give ' (2003)
• ' The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel ' (2012)
• ' And So It Goes ' (2014)
• ' Youth ' (2015)
• ' The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel ' (2015)
• ' Our Souls at Night ' (2017)
• ' Book Club ' (2018)
• ' Wine Country ' (2019)
• ' Poms ' (2019)
• ‘ 80 for Brady ' (2023)
• ‘ Moving On ' (2023)

Buy Tickets: 'Book Club: The Next Chapter' Movie Showtimes

Buy 'Book Club' on Amazon

‘Book Club: The Next Chapter’ is produced by Focus Features, Makeready, and Fifth Season. It is set to release in theaters on May 12th, 2023.

Jami Philbrick has worked in the entertainment industry for over 20 years and is currently the Editor-in-Chief of Moviefone.com. Formally, Philbrick was the Managing Editor of Relativity Media's iamROGUE.com, and a Senior Staff Reporter and Video Producer for Mtime, China's largest entertainment website. He has also written for Fandango, MovieWeb, and Comic Book Resources. Philbrick received the 2019 International Media Award at the 56th annual ICG Publicists Awards, and is a member of the Critics Choice Association. He has interviewed such talent as Tom Cruise, George Clooney, Dwayne Johnson, Scarlett Johansson, Angelina Jolie, Oprah Winfrey, Quentin Tarantino, and Stan Lee.

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Book Club: The Next Chapter Is Paper Thin

By Richard Lawson

The ladies of  Book Club: The Next Chapter do, at least, hold a few books at the start of their film. But that’s really the only nod to format. Quite unlike the  first film —which was centered on later-in-life sexual (and sorta social) awakenings stirred by a specific tome,  50 Shades of Grey —this sequel doesn’t bother with finding another titillating novel to set its heroes on a new course. Instead, they just decide to go to Italy, mostly as a bachelorette party.

Never-married bon vivant Vivian ( Jane Fonda ) is set to get hitched to the beau she fell for in the first film, Arthur ( Don Johnson ). She reveals her happy news to her best pals—retired judge Sharon ( Candice Bergen ), recently out of work chef Carol ( Mary Steenburgen ), and merry-ish widow Diane ( Diane Keaton )—after months, if not over a year, of quarantine separation. Yes, I’m sorry to report that the new  Book Club movie drags us back into the socially distanced, Zoom-box hell of yesteryear. But only in an opening montage, in which life changes are laid out and books are held up to the camera to remind us why the movie is called what it is.

Then it’s off to Italy, a trip that leads each of the girls to some sort of epiphany. Carol has become overly protective of her husband, Bruce ( Craig T. Nelson ), since he had a mild heart attack. She must learn to embrace the time they have together rather than drastically limiting their lives for fear of death. Vivian is contending with nuptial doubts; she keeps seeing signs that she’s made the wrong choice, that she’s giving up who she is in favor of something so pedestrian and limiting as marriage. Sharon is, eh, I dunno, just making funny jokes and exploring her newfound promiscuity, while Diane is figuring out what to do with her dead husband’s ashes—and what to do with her still living boyfriend, Mitchell ( Andy Garcia ). 

Those plot points are secondary to the main sell of the film, of course, which is to see this quartet of grande dames make ribald jokes (yuks about a man’s “meatballs” and someone’s “bouche” being “amused,” etc.) in postcard-perfect Italian locations. The movie delivers on that premise, though the jokes are more strained, less organically sourced than they were in the first film, in which  50 Shades provided a sturdy thematic springboard. Bergen succeeds best at enlivening the new film’s limp (ha, limp! Like a penis!) material, so trained is her sitcom timing.

The others are all perfectly fine, though Keaton remains lost in an abstraction of her famous kooky persona, while Fonda seems stuck on repeat so soon after her similarly hot-tamale turn in  80 for Brady . Everyone is on repeat, really, simply trying to squeeze some extra juice out of a wacky idea that worked well once before. (The original  Book Club earned nearly eight times its budget at the box office.) Which, to be fair, makes them no different from many of their younger colleagues stuck on the franchise hamster wheels of the IP era.

What’s really missing in this followup film is a compelling emotional current, one to match the bittersweet poignance of the first film (and, it must be said, that of  80 for Brady ). There is plenty of sentiment in the film’s goopy conclusion, but it’s tacked-on, perfunctory. Compare this film to the woozy, lyrical sequel  The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and it seems pamphlet thin.

Given that the older-ladies lark has grown into a financially viable genre, I’m wondering where all the truly good scripts are. Where is the wit and sparkle of, say, a  First Wives Club , or even a  Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again ?  Book Club ’s four stars—and others like them—deserve material that’s specific, clever, surprising in some way. These plug-and-play movies have lost much of their charm at this point, feeling more like a slightly degrading duty than any kind of demographic triumph. Which may be overthinking it. But shouldn’t a movie about a book club feel at least a little bit literate?

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Book Club: The Next Chapter (2023) Review

CUTE AND HARMLESS, BUT

Underwhelming and less focused.

In 2018, Book Club , a romantic comedy film, was released and brought with it the fun spin of four middle-aged women and their reading of E.L. James’s Fifty Shades novels. Directed by Bill Holderman, the film, which starred Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen, and Mary Steenburgen, focuses on four longtime friends (Diane, Vivian, Sharon and Carol) who read Fifty Shades of Grey as part of their monthly book club, and subsequently begin to change on they view their own personal relationship with their spouses and / or dating experiences. While the movie received mixed thoughts and opinions from critics and moviegoers, Book Club was deemed a box office success, grossing over $104 million worldwide at the box office against its $14 million production budget. Given its modest results during its theatrical run, a sequel was eventually greenlit, but was pushed back several years, due to the on-going effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, five years after release of the first Book Club film, Paramount Pictures and director Bill Holderman returns to the female quartet of ladies with the release of Book Club: The Next Chapter . Does this “second chapter” offer something new and exciting or is it, more or less, the same thing and watered down for a messy viewing experience?

Longtime friends and book club members Diane (Diane Keaton), Vivian (Jane Fonda), Sharon (Candice Bergen), and Carol (Mary Steenburgen) have felt disconnected by the global pandemic for several years, finally ready to reunite in person and resurrect their “big plan” to take a trip to Italy. Concerned are shared amongst the group, including Carol close attentiveness to her husband, Bruce (Craig T. Nelson), who’s recently recovering from a heart attack as well as Diane, who is trying to move on from her late husband and questioning her future with Mitchell (Andy Garcia). However, when Vivian accepts an unexpected marriage proposal from Arthur (Don Johnson), the four ladies pack their bags for Italy to celebrate the event with a bachelorette party. However, an innocent and sightseeing trip into the picturesque country goes awry soon enough, with the quartet dealing with their own personal challenges and unexpected temptations while traveling aboard.

THE GOOD / THE BAD

I do have to say that this movie was one of the few films that sort of “fell through the cracks” of myself doing a review for this movie. Yes, I do remember wanting to see it as it sort of had a feeling of a classic romantic comedy angle for a fun “Girls Night In” feeling. Personally, I did like the cast for this movie….I mean it had Keaton, Fonda, Bergen, and Steenburgen as the four female leads as well as having the likes of Garcia, Johnson, and Nelson as supporting players in the movie. Naturally, I knew that Book Club wasn’t going to break any type of new grounds in terms of storytelling and characters, but it sure looked fun enough  to see for some entertainment value, which is why I decided to check the movie a week or two after its initial release. However, I kept pushing and pushing back getting around to writing up a movie review for it. I can’t remember why? I mean….I liked it for what it was and didn’t think it was bad or anything. I think I just wanted to do other movie reviews out there, so I kept on delayed doing one for Book Club to a point that I sort of never did it. Who knows….maybe I’ll eventually doing it as a “cinematic flashback” review of mine. In the end, I felt that Book Club should be taking for what it is a “face value” experience, which provide plenty of humorous bits of four aged women going through their own bouts of struggles and love, while tying it together with them reading the Fifty Shades trilogy that binds their encounters together. Again, nothing original, but still a good “fluff” piece.

This brings me back around to talk about Book Club: The Next Chapter , a 2023 romantic comedy film and the follow-up sequel to the 2018 film. Given the fact that the first film wasn’t exactly a box office success, it still managed enough to make a decent profit, which was probably why a sequel materialized a few years after. To me, I was a bit surprised when it was first announced as I didn’t anticipate a “next chapter” endeavor for Book Club , with my belief being that the movie as a sort of “one and done” project and didn’t require a sequel. Yet, one did materialize, with the project being set several years after the first movie and with a new location setting. I think my first look at the upcoming romantic comedy was when the film’s movie trailer appeared, which showcased footage from the sequel project. From the looks of it, it looked to be pretty much the same feeling as was the 2018 endeavor, which can be both a good and bad thing…. depending on how you look at it. Perhaps the most reassuring thing that I took away from the trailer was that the main principal cast (Keaton, Fonda, Bergen, and Steenburgen) were all coming back to reprise their roles. So, much like the original movie, I wasn’t expecting anything grand to be “blown away” by Book Club: The Next Chapter and planned on seeing it when it was scheduled to be release in May 2023. Unfortunately, due to my work schedule (and other more prominent movies out there), I didn’t get the chance to see the film during its theatrical run. Time passed and I actually had the chance a few months later to see the movie during my flight on vacation. Now, I’m ready to share my thoughts on this sequel romantic comedy. And what did I think of it? Well, it’s pretty much the same thing, which can be seeing as both good and bad. Despite having thinly sketched plot and a lot of “filler” moments within its stock-like characters, Book Club: The Next Chapter still manages to be memorable for its touching moments and fantastic leading ladies’ quartet that certainly do make the movie. Again, it’s nothing new or original, but still makes for another “fluff” piece of entertainment.

Book Club: The Next Chapter is directed by Bill Holderman, who previously directed the first Book Club movie as well as a producer on several other projects such as A Walk in the Woods and The Old Man & the Gun. Given his familiarity of working on the 2018 film, it seems like the most sensible and reasonable choice that Holderman would helm this particular project. In that regard, I think that it is quite beneficial towards the film itself, with Holderman approaching The Next Chapter with the same type of romantic comedy bravado and charm that many will be comfortable with and reassured while watching the feature. This, of course, makes this movie have the same type of feeling (both in tone and narrative presentation), which can be both good and bad. For the positives, Holderman certainly knows his target audience and keeps The Next Chapter from changing up the status quo formula and provides a feature film that light on dreariness and the seriousness and is filled humor and lightheartedness. Much like the characters, Holderman makes The Next Chapter be a continuation of what was established in the 2018 movie and provides an extension of the four female friends “next stage” in their lives; discovering more about their relationships that they are in and / or discovering more about themselves. It’s not quite as bizarrely humorous like the first one, but The Next Chapter does provide the quartet of friends going on a picturesque journey through the country of Italy, with Holderman making the film a somewhat “fish out of water” tale within the framework of a classic romantic comedy. In addition, Holderman, much like the first film, does make this sequel feel quite breezy and streamlined by keeping a nice and brisk pace throughout, which makes the picture’s runtime of 107 minutes (one hour and forty-seven minutes) go by fast. In the end, while not exactly the best sequel endeavor out there, Holderman makes The Next Chapter still very much a fun and lighthearted experience to be easily accessible to adults, who are looking for some mild laughs and sentimental.

For its presentation, The Next Chapter’s visual appeal is actually one of the film’s stronger attributes, with the production taking a very picturesque journey through various locations across Italy. While the backdrop of the first Book Club was decent enough to depict the suburbs of suburbia lifestyle dwellings, Holderman and his team take to Italy where the production was held for two months; capturing both the “sight and sounds” of Italian landscape for the feature. The result is something that definitely captures a very vivid background for the four women to bounce around throughout the course of the picture and makes for a cinematic “road trip” through Italy. Thus, the movie’s “behind the scenes” team, including Leonardo Grillo and Saverio Sammali (art direction), Stefano Maria Ortolani (production design), Chiara Balducci (set decorations), and Stefano De Nardis (costume design) for their efforts in bringing the movie’s world to life with such vibrancy and colorful manner that’s pleasing to the eye. Also, the cinematography work by Andrew Dunn certainly helps brings those Italian locales to life with several moments of sleek camera angles and usage of dramatic shots. Lastly, while the film’s score, which was composed by Tom Howe, is good and helps compliment the feature’s “lightheartedness” through its musical composition, the movie’s soundtrack is pretty good and boast plenty of familiar and catchy song that definitely are a “perfect fit” for this rom-com genre feeling as well as for the feature’s setting.

Unfortunately, The Next Chapter doesn’t really measure to be a solid follow-up endeavor and certainly does fail prey to numerous “sequel” problems along the way. Perhaps the most prevalent one that many will agree upon about this movie is the simple fact that the movie just simply feels too light on narrative substance. This, of course, derives from the feature’s script, which was written by Holderman as well as Erin Simms, and how very hollow it all is throughout the entire film. Of course, there is some good wholesome moments where characters bond, learn important lessons about their own personal struggles, and (of course) love, but it’s all rather just for “fluff”, with the actual substance that The Next Chapter being quite limp from the get-go. Situations arise as the four friends travel across Italy and, while intent for fun and humor, tend to lack a certain type of “cinematic bite”, even for the romantic comedy angle that the feature is framed into. To be even more honest, the movie itself comes across as being a little bit pointless to some degree. Of course, the moderate success that the first film offer help generate some leverage towards the sequel been greenlit, but, on the whole, The Next Chapter seems rather aimless and not as tightly woven together in comparison to its predecessor. Some scenes are rather boing and mundane, while other feels a bit fragmented as if some moments were removed to the cutting room floor. As such, the movie comes across rather bland to the touch and lukewarm in how everything is staged and executed.

In conjunction, the movie’s script doesn’t really challenge itself and ends up having a very predictable and formulaic nature throughout its runtime. To be fair, the first movie wasn’t exactly the most original or creative film of this genre and does suffer from a similar formula, but I wasn’t expecting something a bit more substance and strength found within the shaping of The Next Chapter . Sadly, that is not the case, with the script feeling too underwhelming at times and not digging deep enough to make sense. Plus, some of the written dialogue seems rather clunky and corny at times. Naturally, the acting talent involved helps elevate those particular awkward dialogue scenes, but it still comes off as a rather wooden and too forced. Certain sequences of sexual innuendo encounters are fun and bring some type of comedic levity, but seems rather poorly executed. Heck, those same moments take a bit more president than the actual plotting of the main narrative, which (in hindsight) is never a good thing. Overall, The Next Chapter isn’t bad or terrible, it’s just lacks focus and a lot more narrative substance on the storytelling bone of the script.

As a minor point of criticism, I would say that The Next Chapter doesn’t fully bring into the film’s namesake (book club) into much of the script. While the first one utilized the group of women reading E.L. James’s popular erotic Fifty Shades trilogy, this particular sequel doesn’t capitalize on the group reading Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist. In truth, it almost feels like an afterthought, which is quite perplexing as the movie is called “Book Club” and one would think that the novel would play an important piece of the narrative. Sadly, it’s not.

The cast in The Next Chapter is sort of “mixed bag”, with some characters helping the feature’s likeability and others show the lack of substance of characterization beyond their initial setup. To be fair, no one in the entire film gives a “bad performance” or anything like that, but the thin script doesn’t exactly pan out correct for half of the character, which is never a good thing. Perhaps the best attribute that the movie has in its arsenal is the return of its four leading female leading actresses, with Diane Keaton ( The Family Stone and Something’s Gotta Give ), Jane Fonda ( Monster-in-Law and Barbarella ), Candice Bergen ( Murphy Brown and Miss Congeniality ), and Mary Steenburgen ( Elf and Step Brothers ) as Diane, Vivian, Sharon, and Carol respectfully. The movie clearly defines their personal hangouts and dilemma accordingly throughout the movie. For Diane, it’s about making sure that she and Mitchell are still computable in their relationship. For Vivan, it’s about the uncertain feeling about getting married to Arthur. For Sharon, it’s about if she needs that “soulmate connection” within another. Lastly, Carol is worrying excessively over Bruce’s health. So, yes, it’s crystal clear as to what the “struggles” are for these four women and they each discover something about that dilemma by the end. Unfortunately, these characterizations are stock-like and rudimentary, which definitely needed a lot more “oomph” within their substance (as mentioned above). Still, what helps elevate those problems is the screen presence that the four actresses carry in how they deliver their lines and interact with the rest of the cast. Of course, Fonda and Bergen stand out the most with former being a bit more forward and crasser, while the latter nails the sarcastic tone in her dialogue delivery. Likewise, Keaton is good as the “worry wort” of the group and handles it well, while Steenburgen makes for a compelling second “worried / concerned” role. Plus, it also helps that the four actresses get along beautifully, which is perfectly represented in their on-screen chemistry with each other. Overall, while the personal character journeys are predictable and formulaic by nature, the cast is visibly having fun making this movie and makes the whole endeavor amusing to watch just for that reason.

Sadly, the supporting male characters from the first film, including actor Andy Garcia ( Ocean’s Eleven and The Godfather Part III ) as Mitchell, actor Craig T. Nelson ( Coach and The Incredibles ) as Bruce, and actor Don Johnson ( Miami Vice and Knives Out ) as Arthur, are terribly underutilized in the movie and are significantly reduced in comparison to the original feature. Yes, they do have some minor subplots in The Next Chapter , but their somewhat inconsequential and could’ve been written better into the main story. In fact, it felt like some were just “shoehorned” into the movie….just for the sake of it, which is not good. It’s quite sad because Garcia, Nelson, and Johnson are still quite good in their acting talents and whenever their on-screen, but as for the characters of Mitchell, Bruce, and Arthur, they are sadly undercooked.

The rest of the cast, including actor Giancarlo Giannini ( Casino Royale and Man on Fire ) as the unnamed Florence Police Chief, actor Vincent Riotta ( House of Gucci and Tar ) as Italian Chef Gianni, and actor Hugh Quarshie ( Highlander and Red Sparrow ) as Ousmane, make up the minor supporting players in the movie. Sadly, much like the returning male supporting characters from the first film, these roles definitely have potential in them for some unique and humorous individuals that the four women encounters throughout their journey, but never really amount to much beyond minor distractions. Of course, the three actors are good in their respective roles, which makes their appearances worth it, but it’s just a shame that they don’t materialize into something more than just “cookie cutter” characters.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Looking for “one last hurrah” amongst their friendship before one of them gets hitched, Diane, Vivan, Sharon, and Carol journey to Italy on a bachelorette celebration in the movie Book Club: The Next Chapte r. Director Bill Holderman’s latest film takes what was familiar and liked about the first Book Club feature and expands upon it by providing another round of middle aged women getting caught up wild shenanigans and learning more about themselves, of their love, and how close together each of them are. While the movie does carry a woefully thin script (character subplots and storytelling beats) and several pacing issues, the film does have some redeeming merits thanks to its presentation’s locales and locations, a breezy experience that’s both lighthearted and touching at the same time, and a very likeable cast. Personally, I thought this movie was somewhere between okay and good. Of course, I didn’t expect much from this sequel beyond the usual “fluff” of a rom com “everything works out in the end” feeling with these endeavors, so I wasn’t disappointed with it. Still, I felt that the feature’s story (and overall writing) could’ve been better utilized. The cast was good though and was probably the best thing about the movie (something similar to the first film). Although, I probably would say that the first Book Club feature was better and the more well-rounded of the two (story and character speaking). Thus, it’s a give and take, which is probably why I would give the movie a favorable “rent it” for anyone who enjoyed the original Book Club picture and wanted to see what became of these characters in another installment. In the end, Book Club: The Next Chapter plays it safe by not break any new ground or take its characters in a new direction, but it certainly does reinforce its ideals, humor, and sentimentality within these female protagonists in a way that is like eating a good “comfortable food” cinematic palette of formulaic reassurance of love and friendship.

3.2 Out of 5 (Rent It)

Released on: may 12th, 2023, reviewed on: september 29th, 2023.

Book Club: The Next Chapter   is 107 minutes long and is rated PG-13 for some strong language and suggestive material

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Hmm! I didn’t know there was a sequel! It wasn’t released in my country too, I think.

But sounds like it’s one of those sequels which really doesn’t grow the overall story much. I’ll still watch it, though, I was a huge fan of Candice in the 90s. Thanks so much for the review! I wouldn’t keep my expectations high.

Yeah, it’s not really a “must see” movies, which is why I didn’t rush to see in theaters. As mentioned, I did check this movie out on an airplane. It passed the time. Was it original? No, but, a “fluff” piece.

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Book Club: The Next Chapter review – four go mad in Italy in excruciating comedy sequel

Jane Fonda and co go through the emotions as book-loving friends on a hen party jaunt in this cliched travelogue cringefest

T his sequel to the 2018 romantic comedy reunites the four lifelong friends – Viv (Jane Fonda), Diane (Diane Keaton), Sharon (Candice Bergen) and Carol (Mary Steenburgen) – who in the previous instalment revamped their reading habits and their autumn years by tackling Fifty Shades of Grey in their monthly book group. Five years and a pandemic later, the ladies reconvene to learn that avowed singleton Viv has finally agreed to get married. What better excuse to take a hen party excursion to Italy?

Accompanied by a Wall’s Viennetta of a score comprised of synthetic, Italian-flavoured easy listening, the chums soak up the culture of Rome, Venice and Tuscany by the bottle. If anything, the writing in this chocolate-box travelogue of a sequel is even lazier than that of the first film, with much cackling innuendo and sparkly narcissism, a couple of clumsily engineered long-distance domestic crises and interminable heartfelt speeches that made me cringe so hard I nearly dislocated my spine.

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Is The Miracle Club (2023) Based on a True Story?

• The Miracle Club, starring Kathy Bates and Maggie Smith, is based on writer Jimmy Smallhorne's Irish upbringing in a quaint town.
• Smallhorne's passion project took 20 years to come to life, featuring an ensemble cast in a nostalgic 1960s Europe setting.
• While the characters are fictional, The Miracle Club pays homage to the resilient working-class Irish women of Smallhorne's youth.

Released in July 2023, The Miracle Club is a delightful Irish dramedy that stars Oscar-winners Kathy Bates and Dame Maggie Smith. Directed by Thaddeus O'Sullivan, the story concerns a group of blue-collar women from Ballygar who embark on a journey from Dublin to Lourdes, France in 1967 to witness the enchanting market town known for its religious miracles. Along with Elieen (Smith) and Lily (Bates), the women are joined by Chrissie (Laura Linney) and Dolly (Agnes O'Casey) on a pilgrimage of enlightenment.

With The Miracle Club recently added to Netflix, more people can see the movie and its superb ensemble cast. Yet, given the nostalgic glimpse of 1960s Europe, it's easy to wonder if the movie is based on a true story or fabricated from scratch. Believe it or not, The Miracle Club is not only based on writer Jimmy Smallhorne's time growing up in a quaint Irish town, but the project has been in the works for over 20 years. Here's everything to know about the true story behind The Miracle Club .

What is The Miracle Club About?

Written by Jimmy Smallhorne, Timothy Prager, and Joshua D. Maurer, The Miracle Club begins in Ballygar, Ireland in 1967. The small town is full of hard-working, blue-collar citizens who struggle to survive on the outskirts of Dublin. Viewers are introduced to Lily Fox (Smith), still grieving over her son's death at sea years prior. Lily is best friends with Eileen Dunne (Bates), a cancer-stricken grudge-holder still mad that her friend Chrissie Ahearn (Linney) fled town decades ago. Elieen has essentially swapped Chrissie for the ingénue Dolly Hennessy (O'Casey), the mother of a mute child who also hopes and prays for a miracle to come in Lourdes.

The inciting event occurs at the Holy Cross Talent Show in a nearby church, where first place wins a free trip to Lourdes, France. After bickering with Chrissie and blaming her for her mother's death, the female foursome wins first place and finds its way to France on a crowded bus ride and ferry trip. Alas, what should be a happy time away from home becomes an exercise in harboring and hashing out old grudges that come to light as the story unfolds. The title of the beloved road trip movie refers to the women's devout faith and attempt to find religious miracles in Lourdes to help them overcome their hardships in Ballygar. Ultimately, the friends learn that miracles come from within, not from traveling to a mystical land.

The Miracle Club's Miraculous Journey to the Screen

The Miracle Club has been a lifelong passion project for Smallhorne, who spent roughly two decades trying to make the movie. The movie originated under the title Pushers Needed in 1999. The project moved to HBO in 2005, with Smallhorne attached to direct. At the time, Smallhorne recruited Maggie Smith, Kathy Bates, Joan Allen, Claire Danes, and Brenda Blethyn for the main roles. Although the film never went forward with HBO and the original cast, producer Joshua D. Maurer never gave up hope and continued to search for funding.

Eventually, following a significant rewrite from Maurer and screenwriter Timothy Prager, The Miracle Club was picked up and financed by Lionsgate UK and Embankment Films. Although the COVID-19 pandemic delayed production, the retooled script was strong enough to attract original cast members Smith and Bates back to the project almost 20 years after they were first linked. Meanwhile, Laura Linney was cast and Thaddeus O'Sullivan was hired to direct the movie. While Smallhorne's involvement with the project's revival is unknown, the blueprint he laid out in 2005 is recognizable in the finished product.

The 20 Best Irish Movies of All Time, Ranked

It's also worth noting that Smallhorne is an accomplished actor who has remained active since The Miracle Club 's release. Although he does not appear in The Miracle Club , in 2023 Smallhorne appeared in the Paramount+ Original Series The Doll Factory and TG4's Irish TV series Northern Lights . In 2024, Smallhorne appeared in the Dublin-based drama TWIG and the Irish sitcom The Dry . Smallhorne has also directed two films, 2by4 (1998) and the TV movie Fingerprints (2016).

Is The Miracle Club Based on a True Story?

Although the four main characters in The Miracle Club do not exist in real life, the true story Netflix movie is inspired by writer Jimmy Smallhorne's memories of growing up in Ireland. According to Deadline's glowing review of the film:

"The movie is the brainchild of co-writer Jimmy Smallhorne and based on his memories of his family and growing up in a small Ireland town, but the emphasis is clearly on the women in that family."

While Smallhorne did not grow up in Ballygar, he came of age in the nearby Dublin suburb of Ballyfermot. The working-class depiction of the characters in the film derives from Smallhorne's experience as a professional construction worker in Ireland. According to The Irish Film and Television Network, Smallhorne lived on the streets of Dublin for a short time before co-founding the Irish Bronx Theater. While not much is publicly known about the specific women in Smallhorne's life, his background and time in Dublin informed the screenplay for The Miracle Club .

10 Movies That Make You Think Hard About Religion

According to The Pat Kenny Show Podcast , Smallhorne states:

"The first half of this film happened when I was 8 years old, and I came out of school and I saw a mother hanging out of a stool, hanging wallpaper with a pair of knickers on her head to protect her from the freshly painted ceiling. I looked up at this woman and said 'this woman's a star.' And all the women on the street in Ballyfermont were like this. And at that moment I thought, this is a great movie."

Smallhorne continues to explain that movie legend Maggie Smith was always his first choice to play Lily. He also credits Joan Allen, whom he had previously worked with, for reading the script. Once Smallhorne confessed that Smith was his first choice to play Lily, Allen told him that she shares the same talent agent with Smith. More miraculously yet, when Smallhorne said Kathy Bates was his first choice to play Eileen, Allen told him that Bates also shares the same agent with her and Smith.

When asked to describe why he wrote The Miracle Club , Smallhorne added:

"It's a homage to the women of a generation who were raising eight, nine, ten, twelve (children), like, you know, there was one family around the corner with twenty-two kids. So I wanted to pay homage to that idea of what it takes to raise big families like that and behind that, the idea of birth and life was this idea that it came from God. I wanted to pay homage to them and I also wanted to find out what was behind that resilience that's really emblematic of working-class culture."

Although the characters in The Miracle Club may not be based on specific real-life people, they represent an entire generation of blue-collar Irish women that Smallhorne grew up admiring in the Dublin suburbs. The Miracle Club is available to stream on Netflix.

Episode 68: Mr. Fixer Upper by Lucy Score

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• July 25, 2023 (United Kingdom)
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• Runtime 2 hours 11 minutes

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