Just like the 2018’s Book Club, Book Club: The Next Chapter is written and directed by Bill Holderman. I never saw the first Book Club in the theatre, but my wife and I watched it via streaming and I enjoyed it way more than I expected. Book Club: The Next Chapter is pretty much more of the same and a completely unnecessary sequel, but much of the charm from that first movie is here.
How to Download Book Club: The Next Chapter
You can expect to be able to download or stream the film from Peacock TV sometime after its theatrical release (it happened on 12 May 2023). Click on the Download button at the end of this review and check the current availability.
The Movie Review
I know you are probably going to call me captain obvious for saying this, but if you liked the first movie, you will like this movie, it is as simple as that. Of course, on the flip side of that, if you did not particularly enjoy the first movie, nothing here is going to change your mind as it is very similar.
The first thing I have to say about this movie is that I hated the start of it. The movie mentions the Covid-19 pandemic and our four ladies have been keeping up their book club via online video chatting. I freaking hate this with a passion! I lived through the pandemic and it sucked and I am sick of TV shows and movies using it. Yes, it happened, but why can movies and TV shows not just ignore it?
Once the pandemic is over they see it as a great chance to take a girls’ trip to Italy. This serves two purposes, one, it is a fun vacation for them to take and two, it is also serving as a bachelorette party as one of the ladies is getting married. We have some laughs, some cries, and some character development and it is very much the slice of elderly life that the first movie was, only this time it is set in Italy.
The cast here is fantastic once again with legends of the silver screen. Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Mary Steenburgen, and Candice Bergen are awesome and have amazing chemistry together. My wife said that she felt the chemistry the ladies had this time around felt a little more “special” and real. I thought Andy Garcia as Mitchel was great in this movie and he and Diane were once again a lot of fun together.
I do have to say that the Italian setting here was great. The movie looks amazing and is shot very well. The setting of the movie really started to win me over after the quarantine stuff bugged me and by the end of it, I had enjoyed myself. Do not get me wrong, it still felt like a completely unnecessary sequel, but it was still a good evening in the movie theatre, and also, I have to say, I was surprised at how packed the theatre was for this!
One thing that I have not heard many other people mention is the music. Book Club: The Next Chapter has a surprisingly great soundtrack, so great that I am going to have to try and track this down. It has Italian versions of some popular songs and being a huge music lover, I got a real kick out of this.
While I would not say that Book Club: The Next Chapter is a movie you have to rush out to see while it is in the theatres. I do have to say that I am glad the wife and I went to see this as it was good. I think if I had a gun to my head and had to choose between the two (what kind of madman would make me make this choice, I do not know!) I think I would pick the first movie. The Italian setting here is great, but referencing lockdown really annoyed me!
