They have passed this expiration date which is (masculine pronoun?) said to hit women in their fifties. The expression “little lady” is behind them. Let’s not be afraid of the word: they are old. Septuagenarians-soon-octo. But these old women never allowed themselves to be “invisibilized”. In a society where ageism is on the rise, respect! Okay, they’re rich, educated, white. Privileges. So what ? It happens even to the best. And it is flat out, without looking in the rear view mirror (they have tasted the “mirror, mirror…”), that they bite into the present by raising the glass of friendship.
There lies the essence (nectar for some, vinegar for others) of Reading Club. The next chapter (VF of Book Club: The Next Chapter) by Barry Holderman, director without much personality (professionally, anyway), who, in this comedy co-written with Erin Simms, finds the four icons who made the success of the “first chapter”, published in 2018. Without them, not of movie. Especially since it is difficult to make a thinner scenario.
They are Jane Fonda as Vivian, a free spirit who has always lived without ties (but not without men); Diane Keaton as Diane, who has been married, is a widow but still the mother of two hen daughters whom she must teach to distance themselves (from her); Candice Bergen as Sharon, a retired judge whose repartee would not displease a certain Murphy Brown; and Mary Steenburgen as Carol, who discovers the “joys” (let’s not skimp on the quotes) of retirement as a couple, her husband having just taken it (retirement, let us specify). These four musketeers have always been friends. They have maintained their ties, among other things thanks to this book club which was much talked about in the first opus, against a backdrop of 50 shades of grayand just about not in this one.
It must be said that these four trendy old women don’t have time to read a book: they’re taking the plane to Italy. A trip they were supposed to do the day before yesterday (a few decades ago, what), many times postponed because… life. But there, there is a wedding in the air. A bachelorette party imposes itself. Except that nothing goes as planned. For them, of course. Spectators will see everything coming from afar, with or without glasses. And that’s okay: the pleasure is not in the non-adventure (well, let’s give Italy its due laurels: it makes very beautiful images), but in the fact of spending a moment with this fiery quartet. The gentlemen (Andy Garcia, Don Johnson, Craig T. Nelson and company) are here to show off. The background suits them very well.
Brief, Reading Club. The next chapter proves that a work can be as entertaining as it is forgettable. After consumption, there remains, for some, a feeling of amused well-being. For others, fleeting annoyance. And, for all of them, a desire: that these four formidable actresses be – also – offered something more substantial. They have the teeth and the appetite for it.