Review: If you could take a movie to the beach, 'Book Club: The Next Chapter' might be it (2024)

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).

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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'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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Review: If you could take a movie to the beach, 'Book Club: The Next Chapter' might be it (2024)

FAQs

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

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.

What is the movie Book Club: The Next Chapter about? ›

Is the book club the next chapter worth watching? ›

Critics Reviews

Much like the first film, Book Club: The Next Chapter is another easygoing lark that does zero that's unexpected yet still generates just enough genuine laughter to make its sitcom-level simplicity bearable. Content collapsed.

Is the beach book different to the film? ›

How does this film differ from the novel? This film had some differences from the novel that wasn't seen in the film: Richard's obsession with war and video games is explained a bit more in the novel.

What book are they reading in the movie The Book Club? ›

The hot, sexy hotel owner Vivian (Jane Fonda) decides they will all read "Fifty Shades of Gray," though the rest of the women (Candice Bergen, Mary Steenburgen, Diane Keaton) object. They soon find themselves glued to the book and going for a semblance of a love life.

How old are the ladies in Book Club: The Next Chapter? ›

Jane Fonda, at 85, is the matriarch of the group, followed by Diane Keaton and Candice Bergen at 77. That would make Mary Steenburgen, at 70, the ingenue. All of them appear as vital and vibrant, sassy and saucy, as they did 20 years ago, which is a testament to whatever lifestyle routine they've embraced.

Who is streaming Book Club: The Next Chapter? ›

Streaming on Roku. Book Club: The Next Chapter, a romance movie starring Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, and Candice Bergen is available to stream now. Watch it on Prime Video, ROW8, Fandango at Home or Apple TV on your Roku device.

Who is the black actor in Book Club: The Next Chapter? ›

Don Johnson plays Arthur in the Book Club: The Next Chapter cast. In Book Club, Johnson's Arthur convinces Vivian to take a chance on love again, and Book Club 2 finds them planning to marry.

What happens at the end of the movie book club? ›

The final surprise of the movie arrives when Diane and Mitchell decide to get married at the venue, just moments after Vivian and Arthur (played by iconic '80s Miami Vice actor Don Johnson) decided to be together forever but without the labels of “husband” and “wife.” Mitchell, overhearing Diane's speech about love ...

When was book club Next Chapter filmed? ›

Production. In May 2022, Variety announced that Book Club 2: The Next Chapter, began production with Keaton, Fonda, Bergen, Steenburgen, Garcia, Johnson, and Nelson reprising their roles from the first film. Production occurred over the course of two months in Italy, including 10 days in Venice.

What happened at the end of the movie The Beach? ›

The film ends with Richard stopping by an Internet cafe to check his mail. He receives a letter from Françoise titled "beach life" containing a photograph of the whole beach community and an animated handwritten inscription over the image: 'Parallel Universe. Love, Françoise X'.

What is the meaning of The Beach movie? ›

The meaning is, I think, showing to people that being a part of something bigger then they are and finding something that they've looked for their entire life isn't always as it was expected it to be.

Is the movie The Beach based on a true story? ›

The real story behind the inspiration for Alex Garland's 1996 novel remains somewhat contested, although there are those that say The Sanctuary, a then-secret beach community on Koh Phangan accessible only by hired boat or arduous hike, is clearly what set things off.

Who was Diane Keaton married to? ›

She has never married. She has two adopted children: a daughter Dexter Keaton (born 1995) and a son Duke Keaton (born 2000).

Where is book club filmed? ›

That name won't come up when you search for it, but Book Club: The Next Chapter used two real hotels to create it: Hotel Danieli in Venice for the interiors and the Grand Plaza Hotel in Rome for the exterior shots.

Is Diane Keaton related to Michael Keaton? ›

She is not related to Michael Keaton, as her birth name is Diane Hall. She changed her last name to her mother's maiden name as a result of a Diane Hall already being in the Actors Guild.

What is the plot of Book Club: The Next Chapter Ending? ›

Judge Sharon officiates the wedding. Vivian hedges about going through with the wedding, so Arthur pledges his love and asks her to not marry him. When Mitchell asks Diane to marry him, she accepts and Sharon marries them on the spot.

Where was the book club next chapter filmed? ›

That name won't come up when you search for it, but Book Club: The Next Chapter used two real hotels to create it: Hotel Danieli in Venice for the interiors and the Grand Plaza Hotel in Rome for the exterior shots.

What is the storyline of the book club? ›

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