Book Club (2018)

[raven]

Good cast; Diane Keaton, Candice Bergen, Jane Fonda, Mary Steenburgen - looks like light summer fun.  Opens May 18.

Quote

Four lifelong friends' lives are turned upside down to hilarious ends when their book club tackles the infamous Fifty Shades of Grey. From discovering new romance to rekindling old flames, they inspire each other to make their next chapter the best chapter.

[starri]

I...guess that looks like Jane Fonda.  Kind of.

[enoughcats]

Red headed Jane Fonda looks like the mistress in the Danny Devito  movie Ruthless People , played by Anita Morris (whose hair was 'that' shade of red in that movie.

Anita Morris

I first mistook Diane Keaton for Candice Bergen and from the snippets, it's either going to be fun for cringeworthy (and I might be their aged target demographic).

[Bastet]

I hope this movie is a lot better than it sounds - 50 Shades of Sexist Crap as inspiration for anything, really? - because this is a great cast.  Fonda's Grace and Frankie (on which she's an exec producer, not just actor) handles sex and romance for older women fantastically, so I want to think she, especially, wouldn't sign up for dreck.

[annzeepark914]

Actually, I'm leery of going to see this movie based on the multiple previews I've seen.  What a great cast, though.  Where the heck are the scripts for serious, thoughtful films using actors like these?

[SmithW6079]

Ugh. That fact that the commercial uses that piece of crap fan fiction masquerading as an original novel as a plot point turns me off immediately, despite the high-power actresses. 

[Bruinsfan]

I'm reminding myself that Keaton is eminently watchable in anything, and Jane Fonda has Fuck-You-Money so she could send anyone with a script she didn't like packing without worry.

[raven]

I've laughed at some of the preview so I think this could be good; plus I'm happy to see Candice Bergen on the big screen.  50 Shades might be a good choice; most everyone knows what they're about even if you're like me and haven't read the books or seen the movies,  I do wonder how much $$ they had to kick back to the 50s Shade author.  

[Bruinsfan]

I'm hoping not a penny, and that they mercilessly roast the book once the characters start actually reading it.

Edited May 12, 2018 by Bruinsfan

[Crs97]

I never read the 50 shades books, but I think this looks hilarious, mostly because the actors involved can make bad lines funnier with their delivery.  I definitely plan to see it, but really don’t care if it’s bad.  I’ll get popcorn, laugh some, and be fine.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Mary Steenburgen, Candice Bergen, Don Johnson, Bill Holderman, and Erin Simms discuss Book Club:

[Joimiaroxeu]

Quote

I do wonder how much $$ they had to kick back to the 50s Shade author.  

I suspect the author pitched the idea of this film herself. There aren't any more books in the series to make movies out of (not yet anyway) so this is perhaps the next best way to keep using them as film fodder. Maybe next there'll be a Girls Trip-ish version, and ones starring Latina or Asian actresses. I'm also surprised there hasn't been a cable series created from the books.

[Crs97]

I saw it yesterday, and it ended up being exactly what I thought - an enjoyable enough movie that made me chuckle a few times.  The actors deserved better than the material given, but they looked like they were having fun.  My UO-Diane Keaton was the weakest link; she has become almost a caricature of herself IMO.

[Inquisitionist]

3 hours ago, Crs97 said:

My UO-Diane Keaton was the weakest link; she has become almost a caricature of herself IMO.

Haven't seen it, but I don't find this hard to believe.  

[choclatechip45]

I thought it was hilarious.

[MerBearHou]

Oh my gosh, I hated this movie.  It pained me to hear the lame dialogue coming out of the mouths of these revered actresses.  And the men matched with them — I did not buy the relationships one bit (only slightly could see Mary S and Craig T).  I thought about walking out but kept hoping that something would happen to redeem the movie.  Never did.  The acting was stiff and embarrassing all around.  Big thumbs down for me.

[callie lee 29]

Just saw it. It was entertaining,  no more,  no less.  For me Candice Bergen was the weakest link. Like a practice run for Murphy Brown reboot, but really they all seemed like the exact same characters they've been playing for years. The most exciting part was when I thought Diane Keaton was actually going to show her neck (no scarf, no buttoned to the top shirts). I was disappointed. That wound have been worth the $11.

[Inquisitionist]

9 hours ago, callie lee 29 said:

For me Candice Bergen was the weakest link. Like a practice run for Murphy Brown reboot, 

I also don't find this hard to believe.  I think she coasted on good writing as MB.

[annzeepark914]

15 hours ago, callie lee 29 said:

The most exciting part was when I thought Diane Keaton was actually going to show her neck (no scarf, no buttoned to the top shirts). I was disappointed. That wound have been worth the $11.

Hah!  Now I'm trying to remember if we saw Diane's neck in that movie with Jack Nicholson and that gorgeous house on the beach (I only watch the reruns for a couple of scenes: kitchen scenes cause I love that kitchen, and the incredible sobbing/typing scene...so hilarious!)

[raven]

On 5/25/2018 at 4:48 PM, choclatechip45 said:

I thought it was hilarious.

So did I - we were all laughing.  You could see most of the humor coming from a mile away but that didn't take away from the enjoyment of it or how well the jokes landed.

It's total fantasy - everyone's rich, with either an awesome job or retired and financially set - but it made for pretty set pieces/houses.  Everyone pretty much played to type, which was fine, though I though Jane Fonda was a bit of scene-stealer.  She had the meatiest part of all the women though.   I thought they had good chemistry with each other; I could see them being friends for decades. 

I knew Candice Bergen's character would end up having sex as soon as she dated but in the car.....we were all cracking up.

I always picture Alicia Silverstone as 16 year old Cher so to see her playing a 40 yr old mom was something of shock, LOL.  

[Bruinsfan]

7 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

Hah!  Now I'm trying to remember if we saw Diane's neck in that movie with Jack Nicholson and that gorgeous house on the beach (I only watch the reruns for a couple of scenes: kitchen scenes cause I love that kitchen, and the incredible sobbing/typing scene...so hilarious!)

Didn't she have a nude scene in that movie?

[ombelico]

Saw it yesterday and agree that it's an enjoyable piece of summer fluff with a great cast. Was worth the price of a matinee ticket, not more than that, but I got a few good laughs out of it.

On 5/19/2018 at 2:19 PM, Crs97 said:

Diane Keaton was the weakest link; she has become almost a caricature of herself IMO.

I feel like Diane Keaton is actively trying to wear the most unattractive clothes possible, and while that's her right in real life, it didn't seem to make sense for her character. Truly, at one point she had on one of the most unattractive pairs of jeans I've ever seen in my life. They were so hideous it took me out of the movie for a second - someone who has such a gorgeous house in Santa Monica can afford a decent pair of jeans! And who goes on a date with a sexy airline pilot wearing 3 heavy layers in Southern California and Arizona? If it's an issue of her wanting to be modest, there are ways to do that while still wearing something at least remotely attractive.

I adore Candice Bergen (yes, it's mostly carryover from Murphy Brown) and while her character was portrayed as a bit more pathetic than needed (after all, it's a woman's right to move on from a divorce by swearing off relationships and getting a cat), I didn't like that they framed the issue as her still being hung up on her ex-husband for 18 years. The issues between Mary Steenburgen's and Craig T. Nelson's characters were frustrating because really all they needed to do was talk. I mean, even she says early that he had changed since retiring, and it's not that far of a leap to think that perhaps that is giving him a bit of a late mid-life crisis. Jane Fonda's character had the most interesting story.

[Browncoat]

I saw this tonight, and honestly, I coild barely recognize anyone, they’ve all had so much work done.

But it was an enjoyable piece of fluff — I laughed a few times, despite hating the trope that a woman just has to have a man or she’ll be lonely and unhappy forever.  It also bugged me that the daughters just gave in so quickly after Diane Keaton’s extremely weak and unconvincing speech.  

However, I would leap at the chance to fly in that little airplane.  It was gorgeous!

[Bastet]

I watched this last night on Prime, and I'd love to see this cast in a far better movie.  But it was entertaining enough fluff, given the cast (it really has nothing else going for it other than a few funny lines). 

That all four of them were paired up with a man by the end was highly problematic, though.  They tried to paint Jane Fonda and Don Johnson's characters' relationship as a positive one because he didn't want to change her, but it still came across that she'd been wrong all along and should have accepted his proposal all those years ago. 

Same with Candice Bergen's character - it couldn't be that she truly didn't want to mess with any of it anymore, it had to be that she was avoiding dating because she was hung up on her divorce.

(I laughed when the goofy doctor turned up as her date [just as she was dealing with her ex and his 30+ years his junior fiancée], since the actor played the annoying Stuart Best in several episodes Murphy Brown.)

But the interaction among the women was fun, and at least we got Diane Keaton's character's various oh, please reactions to the books.

I spent the whole film thinking one of her character's daughters looked familiar, but had no idea it was Alicia Silverstone until the end credits. 

[bankerchick]

On 6/17/2018 at 12:52 PM, ombelico said:

Truly, at one point she had on one of the most unattractive pairs of jeans I've ever seen in my life. They were so hideous it took me out of the movie for a second - someone who has such a gorgeous house in Santa Monica can afford a decent pair of jeans!

Agreed! I noticed that as well.

On 5/28/2018 at 9:35 PM, Bruinsfan said:

and the incredible sobbing/typing scene...so hilarious!)

Have to say this is one scene in the movie that I skip over whenever I watch, which I'm not embarrassed to say, is semi-regularly.  Jack Nicholson makes almost anything watchable.

On 5/28/2018 at 9:35 PM, Bruinsfan said:

Didn't she have a nude scene in that movie?

Yes, and if you watch the non-network TV version, it's fairly explicit.  She looks great, though.

I find Hanoi Jane pretty unwatchable these days but really enjoyed the scenes with Candice Bergen, especially her dating scenes.  Richard Dreyfuss climbing out of the back of the car was the most hilarious scene in the movie.  And Craig T. Nelson talking to the cop with his Viagra boner was pretty funny too.

[BetterButter]

Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen, Mary Steenburgen Reteam for ‘Book Club 2’

[Bastet]

6 minutes ago, BetterButter said:

Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen, Mary Steenburgen Reteam for ‘Book Club 2’

I hope the fantastic cast gets a better script this time around, and the men aren't presented as so important to their happiness, but I'm in (once it's streaming on something I have/on TV).

[Bastet]

I had forgotten this was getting a sequel until I saw a promo tonight on TV.  Here's the trailer:

I tend to doubt this script will be any better than the first, but I will absolutely watch (once I can do so at home) because of the cast that saved the original.  It's pathetic these are the crumbs women their age and the audience are tossed, but I'll still feast.

[annzeepark914]

On 4/21/2023 at 1:41 AM, Bastet said:

I had forgotten this was getting a sequel until I saw a promo tonight on TV.  Here's the trailer:

I tend to doubt this script will be any better than the first, but I will absolutely watch (once I can do so at home) because of the cast that saved the original.  It's pathetic these are the crumbs women their age and the audience are tossed, but I'll still feast.

I was going to post the same. We saw the preview for the sequel, about the same quartet going to Italy this time. It looks like something from the 60's (older women acting girlish but now a bit foul-mouthed). We women, who are no longer 20-40 somethings, have lives that can be explored, would make interesting, thought provoking stories. It used to be one could see interesting films from England. I remember Four Weddings & A Funeral only being shown at the little artsy theaters--until word got out that it was really a fun story. Then, it appeared in lots of regular movie theaters. I haven't seen any English films in quite a few years.

 

 

 

[voiceover]

Posting this here bc I haven’t seen a thread for the sequel:

I cannot have been the only one to recognize that Jane Fonda’s amuse bouche crack in the trailer was stolen from SATC: the ep when Smith was introduced as their waiter.  He lists the specials, and after he walks away, Samantha purrs: “I’d let him amuse *my bouche!”

Get another joke ffs.  

[choclatechip45]

I saw it with my mom and sister. I thought the first one was better. 

[Harvey]

5 hours ago, choclatechip45 said:

I saw it with my mom and sister. I thought the first one was better. 

What was it like? 

[choclatechip45]

8 hours ago, Harvey said:

What was it like? 

I would describe it as group of friends traveling and watch them deal with different hijinks that come up.