Book Club (2018)

Four lifelong friends (Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen, Mary Steenburgen) have formed a book club where they meet once a month to discuss a selected book they've all read. Bored with the current selection, Cheryl Strayed's WILD, Fonda suggest the sexual FIFTY SHADES OF GREY to stimulate their stagnant lives. Co-written and directed by Bill Holderman in his directorial debut. If you've seen the trailer, the film offers no surprises, it's all as clear as the label on the can. While the cast is excellent and it's thrilling to see what these four actresses can do with subpar material and turn the most innocuous of lines into spun gold more often than not, there's also an underlying sadness to the film in that these actresses deserve better. It's refreshing to see a film whose leads are over 65 years old but aren't portrayed as doddering seniors planning a heist. Instead, the film's emphasis is on how society marginalizes and patronizes older people as if their lives are over. The actresses are given strong leading men: Keaton gets Andy Garcia, Fonda gets Don Johnson, Bergen gets Richard Dreyfuss and Steenburgen gets Craig T. Nelson. Actors strong enough to stand head to toe with these wonder ladies. With Alicia Silverstone, Wallace Shawn and Ed Begley Jr.