Book Club: The Next Chapter (2023)

COVID-19 has forced four friends to doing their book club thru Zoom calls rather than meet in person. When the pandemic has subsided enough so they can meet in person, there have been changes in their lives. Carol (Mary Steenburgen) has been forced to close her restaurant, Sharon (Candice Bergen) has retired as a judge, Vivian (Jane Fonda) gets engaged to her boyfriend (Don Johnson) and Diane (Diane Keaton) resists overtures to marry her boyfriend (Andy Garcia). To celebrate Vivian's engagement, the girls decide to throw her a bachelorette party ..... in Italy! A sequel to the 2018 BOOK CLUB and directed by Bill Holderman, who directed the first installment. Was a sequel really necessary? Not really but we're treated to a Cook's tour of Rome, Venice and Tuscany gorgeously shot by Andrew Dunn (GOSFORD PARK). The four actresses are enormously appealing which almost helps them coast over the formulaic sitcom plot and dialog as it marches to its corny conclusion. You know what you're in for but if you're a fan of the four actresses, it's tolerable (just). With Giancarlo Giannini, Don Johnson, Andy Garcia, Craig T. Nelson, Hugh Quarshie and Vincent Riotta.