BOOK CLUB: THE NEXT CHAPTER
Cert 12A
102 mins
BBFC advice: Contains infrequent strong language, moderate sex references
"This is the cheesiest film I have ever seen. I'd give it one out of ten."
Before anyone accuses me of not understanding a film aimed at women of a certain age, I should point out that quote is from Mrs W.
She is not as old as Jane Fonda, but she is a retired female who appreciates the good things in life and was in Italy, where this movie is set, only last month.
I thought she was being too harsh on her marking but did find it a tad sad to see how low a quartet of great actresses had set their bar.
Meanwhile, what the heck were Andy Garcia and Don Johnson doing?
And this judgment comes after I wrote the original Book Club was "more entertaining than we imagined" because of a cast who were "energetic beyond their years.
We laughed out loud six times, and our endorsement of that 2018 movie came with a 7.5/10 rating.
Five years later, everything that was right about the first film was wrong about the second one.
Book Club: The Next Chapter is corny, lacks zest and is overflowing with unfunny double entendres.
It stars Jane Fonda as a lover of life who has finally accepted a marriage invitation in her twilight years.
This prompts one of her pals (Mary Steenburgen) to suggest a hen party in the romantic country of Italy.
At first, she and her other friends (Candice Bergen and Diane Keaton) scoff at the idea, but eventually, they warm to it, and, in the next minute, they are at the Trevi Fountain.
And so begin adventures, flowing from Rome on to Venice and Trentino.
The old folk defy their years by romancing, getting into trouble with the police and generally having a whale of a time against beautiful Italian backdrops.
Bill Holdermann's picture doesn't raise a smile because the plot is weak, and the acting is well below the standards they have set during headline careers.
One of this year's turkeys.
Reasons to watch: All-star cast
Reasons to avoid: Unfunny
Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 3/10
Did you know? In 1982, Jane Fonda released the first of 22 exercise videos which collectively sold over 17 million copies over the next 13 years.
The final word. Bill Holderman: "f we were going to do a sequel, we wanted to go against the norm and try to make it expand the world, expand the characters, and really give it depth and meaning, and that took us a while to pull off." Oscars Central
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