MOVIE: Despite star power, “Book Club” is light reading
Were “Book Club” an actual book, a page turner it would not be.
The romantic comedy would be more of a lazy read — its plot developments range from sloppy to almost non-existent — but one with reasonably appealing characters.
It helps that those characters are portrayed by four appealing veteran actresses: Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen and Mary Steenburgen. They play longtime friends in their 60s who are in a book club.
Diane (Keaton) is not far removed from her husband’s death; Vivian (Fonda) enjoys the company of many men but is wary of getting serious with any one of them; Sharon (Bergen) has settled into a loveless rut after a decadeold divorce; and Carol (Steenburgen) is 35 years into a loving but stalling marriage.
When we first see their little club gather, it’s Vivian’s turn to pick a book.
“I would like to introduce you to Christian Grey,” she says, holding up a copy of E.L. James’ 2011 erotic romance novel “Fifty Shades of Grey.”
One friend reminds Vivian that the books they choose are intended to stimulate the mind. Vivian’s response: “Fifty Shades” is “quite stimu- lating.”
Carol is inspired by the book to try to spice things up with hubby Bruce (Craig T. Nelson), going so far as to inquire if the zip ties he asks her to hand him are to tie her up. But the old gal who Bruce is interested in is his motorcycle.
After learning her exhusband, Tom (Ed Begley Jr.), is seeing a muchyounger woman, the fairly stuffy Sharon — a federal judge — decides to dip her toes into online dating after years of telling herself she didn’t need a man.
And then there’s Vivian (Fonda), a successful hotelier, whose world is shaken up when old flame Arthur (Don Johnson) appears and takes an immediate interest in her again.
The biggest problem with “Book Club” is, as with myriad other romcoms before it, there is no meaningful reason the men and women — in this case, Diane and Mitchel and Vivian with Arthur — shouldn’t be together.
Sure, down deep, Vivian is scared of being hurt, but it’s clear she and Authur share a chemistry — just as Fonda (“Grace and Frankie”) and onetime “Miami Vice” heartthrob Johnson (“Django Unchained”) do on screen.
“Book Club” is written by Bill Holderman and Erin Simms, with Holderman making his directorial debut. His inexperience shows at times, for example, when despite two fine actors in Steenburgen and Nelson, the problems of Carol and Bruce aren’t more compelling.
As writers, they try to spice things up with a fair amount of double-entendres. Sometimes, these are pretty funny. Other times, they’re mostly painful.
Even though you want “Book Club” to give you something more, the fact that it gives you this great group of actors is ultimately enough.
Stimulate the mind it doesn’t, but pass the time it does.