Book Club (film)
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''Book Club'' is a 2018 American
romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a sub-genre of comedy and Romance novel, romance fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount all obstacles. Ro ...
film directed by Bill Holderman (in his directorial debut), who co-wrote the screenplay with Erin Simms. The film stars
Diane Keaton Diane Keaton (née Hall; born January 5, 1946) is an American actress. She has received List of awards and nominations received by Diane Keaton, various accolades throughout her career spanning over five decades, including an Academy Award, a Bri ...
,
Jane Fonda Jane Seymour Fonda (born December 21, 1937) is an American actress and activist. Recognized as a film icon, Jane Fonda filmography, Fonda's work spans several genres and over six decades of film and television. She is the recipient of List of a ...
,
Candice Bergen Candice Patricia Bergen (born May 9, 1946) is an American actress. She won five Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards as the title character on '' Murphy Brown'' (1988–1998, 2018). She is also known for her role as Shirley Schmi ...
, and
Mary Steenburgen Mary Nell Steenburgen (; born February 8, 1953) is an American actress, comedian, singer, and songwriter. After studying at New York's Neighborhood Playhouse in the 1970s, she made her professional acting debut in the Western comedy film '' Goin ...
as four friends who read ''
Fifty Shades of Grey ''Fifty Shades of Grey'' is a 2011 erotic romance novel by British author E. L. James. It became the first instalment in the ''Fifty Shades'' novel series that follows the deepening relationship between a college graduate, Anastasia Steele, ...
'' as part of their monthly book club, and subsequently begin to change how they view their personal relationships. The film was released on May 18, 2018, by
Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...
. It received mixed reviews from critics and was a box office success, grossing over $104 million worldwide against its $14 million budget. A sequel, '' Book Club: The Next Chapter'', was released in May 2023.


Plot

Four women have participated in their monthly book club for 40 years, bonding over the suggested literature, and have become very good friends. One day, as they read ''
Fifty Shades of Grey ''Fifty Shades of Grey'' is a 2011 erotic romance novel by British author E. L. James. It became the first instalment in the ''Fifty Shades'' novel series that follows the deepening relationship between a college graduate, Anastasia Steele, ...
'', they are intrigued by its content. Considering this a wake-up call, they decide to expand their lives and pursue pleasures that have eluded them. While flying to visit her daughters in
Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
, Diane meets Mitchell and they strike up a relationship – although she is hesitant because her husband died only a year ago and she has not dated in decades. Vivian spends more time with Arthur, but her fear of commitment makes her keep him at a distance. Carol is frustrated with her husband's refusal to have sex with her, and reading the book makes her realize they are missing something. Sharon starts an
online dating Online dating, also known as internet dating, virtual dating, or mobile app dating, is a method used by people with a goal of searching for and interacting with potential romantic or sexual partners, via the internet. An online dating service ...
account to start dating again. The group goes on to read '' Fifty Shades Darker'' and '' Fifty Shades Freed'' at the book club, while trying to figure out how to solve their problems. Diane's daughters see her as needing them to look after her, continually pressuring her to move to Arizona although she does not want to leave her friends. Diane sneaks away to see Mitchell, and when her daughters cannot reach her, they send the police out to find her. On discovering her at Mitchell's, they insist she move into the basement of one of their homes, essentially ending her relationship with him. Eventually, Diane tells her daughters that though she is older, she does not need to be under surveillance. She packs up her belongings and leaves for Mitchell's, where they resume their relationship. Arthur asks Vivian to commit to being in a relationship and she declines, despite his assurances that he wants her to continue being independent. Soon after he leaves for the airport, Vivian realizes she has made a mistake and goes after him. She misses his airplane, but on returning to her hotel she finds Arthur waiting for her and they rekindle their relationship. Carol, frustrated that Bruce is refusing to have sex with her, tries various ways to entice him, to which he is oblivious. She eventually spikes his beer with
viagra Sildenafil, sold under the brand name Viagra among others, is a medication used to treat erectile dysfunction and pulmonary arterial hypertension. It is also sometimes used off-label for the treatment of certain symptoms in secondary Ray ...
, which angers him as that is not what is causing the problem, and they continue to not have sex. Bruce admits that he has been stressed because he
retired Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...
, and does not know what to do with himself. They eventually reconcile after dancing together in a fund-raising
talent show A talent show or talent contest is an event in which participants perform the arts of singing, dancing, lip-syncing, acting, martial arts, playing an instrument, poetry, comedy or other activities to showcase skills. Many talent shows are p ...
. After a few dates with men she meets online, Sharon decides that the scene is not for her. She then gives a speech at her son's joint engagement party with her ex-husband, where she realizes that everyone deserves to be in love and happy. She opens her online dating account again, in the hopes of finding someone.


Cast

*
Diane Keaton Diane Keaton (née Hall; born January 5, 1946) is an American actress. She has received List of awards and nominations received by Diane Keaton, various accolades throughout her career spanning over five decades, including an Academy Award, a Bri ...
as Diane *
Jane Fonda Jane Seymour Fonda (born December 21, 1937) is an American actress and activist. Recognized as a film icon, Jane Fonda filmography, Fonda's work spans several genres and over six decades of film and television. She is the recipient of List of a ...
as Vivian *
Candice Bergen Candice Patricia Bergen (born May 9, 1946) is an American actress. She won five Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards as the title character on '' Murphy Brown'' (1988–1998, 2018). She is also known for her role as Shirley Schmi ...
as Sharon *
Mary Steenburgen Mary Nell Steenburgen (; born February 8, 1953) is an American actress, comedian, singer, and songwriter. After studying at New York's Neighborhood Playhouse in the 1970s, she made her professional acting debut in the Western comedy film '' Goin ...
as Carol *
Andy García Andrés Arturo García Menéndez (born April 12, 1956) is an American actor, director, producer, and musician. He first rose to prominence acting in Brian De Palma's '' The Untouchables'' (1987) alongside Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, and ...
as Mitchell *
Don Johnson Don Wayne Johnson (born December 15, 1949) is an American actor and singer-songwriter. He played the role of James "Sonny" Crockett in the 1980s television series '' Miami Vice'', for which he won a Golden Globe, and received a Primetime Emm ...
as Arthur * Craig T. Nelson as Bruce *
Richard Dreyfuss Richard Stephen Dreyfuss ( ; Dreyfus; born October 29, 1947) is an American actor. He emerged from the New Hollywood wave of American cinema, finding fame with a succession of leading man parts in the 1970s. He has received an Academy Award, a ...
as George *
Alicia Silverstone Alicia Silverstone ( ; born October 4, 1976) is an American actress. She made her film debut in the thriller ''The Crush (1993 film), The Crush'' (1993), earning the 1994 MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance, and gained further pro ...
as Jill *
Katie Aselton Kathryn Aselton (born October 1, 1978) is an American actress, film director and producer. She directed and co-starred in '' The Freebie'', which was shown in the non-competition "Next" category at the Sundance Film Festival in 2010. She also st ...
as Adrianne * Ed Begley Jr. as Tom *
Wallace Shawn Wallace Michael Shawn (born November 12, 1943) is an American actor, essayist, playwright, and screenwriter. He is known for playing Vizzini in '' The Princess Bride'' (1987), Mr. Hall in '' Clueless'' (1995), Dr. John Sturgis in '' Young Sheldo ...
as Derek * Lili Bordán as Irene *
Tommy Dewey Thomas R. Dewey (born August 3, 1978) is an American actor, producer, and writer. He co-starred in the Hulu original series ''Casual (TV series), Casual.'' Early life Dewey was born in Birmingham, Alabama. He went to Mountain Brook High School, ...
as Chris *
Mircea Monroe Mircea Monroe is an American actress. She had roles on the TV series ''Episodes'' as Morning Randolph (2011–2017), ''Hart of Dixie'' as Tansy Truitt (2011–2015), '' Impastor'' as Alexa Cummings (2015–2016) and '' Sing It!'' as Stacey Needl ...
as Cheryl E. L. James (author of the entire '' Fifty Shades'' book series) and her husband Niall Leonard make a cameo appearance as Carol and Bruce's neighbors.


Production

In May 2017, it was announced
Diane Keaton Diane Keaton (née Hall; born January 5, 1946) is an American actress. She has received List of awards and nominations received by Diane Keaton, various accolades throughout her career spanning over five decades, including an Academy Award, a Bri ...
,
Jane Fonda Jane Seymour Fonda (born December 21, 1937) is an American actress and activist. Recognized as a film icon, Jane Fonda filmography, Fonda's work spans several genres and over six decades of film and television. She is the recipient of List of a ...
and
Candice Bergen Candice Patricia Bergen (born May 9, 1946) is an American actress. She won five Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards as the title character on '' Murphy Brown'' (1988–1998, 2018). She is also known for her role as Shirley Schmi ...
had joined the cast of the film, with Bill Holderman directing, from a screenplay by himself and Erin Simms. Holderman and Simms also produced the film, along with Andrew Duncan and Alex Saks, the latter two under their June Pictures banner. In July 2017,
Mary Steenburgen Mary Nell Steenburgen (; born February 8, 1953) is an American actress, comedian, singer, and songwriter. After studying at New York's Neighborhood Playhouse in the 1970s, she made her professional acting debut in the Western comedy film '' Goin ...
joined the cast, and in August 2017,
Andy García Andrés Arturo García Menéndez (born April 12, 1956) is an American actor, director, producer, and musician. He first rose to prominence acting in Brian De Palma's '' The Untouchables'' (1987) alongside Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, and ...
,
Don Johnson Don Wayne Johnson (born December 15, 1949) is an American actor and singer-songwriter. He played the role of James "Sonny" Crockett in the 1980s television series '' Miami Vice'', for which he won a Golden Globe, and received a Primetime Emm ...
, Craig T. Nelson,
Richard Dreyfuss Richard Stephen Dreyfuss ( ; Dreyfus; born October 29, 1947) is an American actor. He emerged from the New Hollywood wave of American cinema, finding fame with a succession of leading man parts in the 1970s. He has received an Academy Award, a ...
, Ed Begley Jr.,
Wallace Shawn Wallace Michael Shawn (born November 12, 1943) is an American actor, essayist, playwright, and screenwriter. He is known for playing Vizzini in '' The Princess Bride'' (1987), Mr. Hall in '' Clueless'' (1995), Dr. John Sturgis in '' Young Sheldo ...
,
Alicia Silverstone Alicia Silverstone ( ; born October 4, 1976) is an American actress. She made her film debut in the thriller ''The Crush (1993 film), The Crush'' (1993), earning the 1994 MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance, and gained further pro ...
,
Tommy Dewey Thomas R. Dewey (born August 3, 1978) is an American actor, producer, and writer. He co-starred in the Hulu original series ''Casual (TV series), Casual.'' Early life Dewey was born in Birmingham, Alabama. He went to Mountain Brook High School, ...
and
Katie Aselton Kathryn Aselton (born October 1, 1978) is an American actress, film director and producer. She directed and co-starred in '' The Freebie'', which was shown in the non-competition "Next" category at the Sundance Film Festival in 2010. She also st ...
joined as well.
Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...
began in August 2017 around
Santa Clarita, California Santa Clarita (; Spanish for "Little St. Clare") is a city in northwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a 2020 census population of 228,673, it is the third-most populous city in Los Angeles County, the 17th-most popul ...
.


Release

In November 2017,
Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...
acquired U.S., UK and France distribution rights to the film. It was released on May 18, 2018. ''Book Club'' was released on Digital HD,
Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...
and
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
in August 2018.


Reception


Box office

''Book Club'' grossed $68.6 million in the United States and Canada, and $35.9 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $104.4 million. In the United States and Canada, the film was released alongside ''
Deadpool 2 ''Deadpool 2'' is a 2018 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Deadpool. It is the sequel to ''Deadpool (film), Deadpool'' (2016) and the eleventh installment in the X-Men (film series), ''X-Men'' film series. The film wa ...
'' and '' Show Dogs'', and was projected to gross around $10 million from 2,781 theaters in its opening weekend. It made $4.7 million on its first day, including $625,000 from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut to $13.6 million, finishing third, behind ''Deadpool 2'' and '' Avengers: Infinity War''; 80% of its audience was female while 88% was over the age of 35. It dropped just 25% in its second weekend to $10.1 million, finishing fourth, and continued to hold well in its third weekend, grossing $6.8 million and finishing fifth.


Critical response

On review aggregation website
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, the film has an approval rating of based on reviews, and an average rating of . The website's critical consensus reads, "''Book Club'' only intermittently rises to the level of its impressive veteran cast; fortunately, they're more than enough to bring pedestrian material entertainingly to life." On
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, the film has a weighted average score of 53 out of 100, based on 37 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. Audiences polled by
CinemaScore CinemaScore is an American market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts from the data. Background Ed Mintz, who ...
gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale, while
PostTrak PostTrak is a U.S.-based service that surveys film audiences for film studios. History The service conducts surveys in the top 20 markets in the U.S. and Canada with the use of polling cards and electronic kiosks. A PostTrak report for a fil ...
reported filmgoers gave it 4 out of 5 stars.


Sequel

In June 2019, Mary Steenburgen confirmed news of a sequel. In September 2019, producer and co-writer of the film, Erin Simms, offered further confirmation. The script was written, but due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
filming was put back to mid 2021 and the film was expected to be released in 2022. It was expected that the characters Diane, Vivian, Sharon, Carol, Mitchell, Arthur, Bruce, Jill and Adrianne would all reappear. In May 2022, ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' announced that the sequel, titled '' Book Club: The Next Chapter'', had begun production with Keaton, Fonda, Bergen, Steenburgen, Garcia, Johnson, and Nelson reprising their roles from the first film.
Focus Features Focus Features LLC is an American independent film production and distribution company, owned by Comcast as a unit of Universal Pictures, which is itself a unit of Comcast's division NBCUniversal. Focus Features distributes independent and fore ...
will replace Paramount as domestic distributor, with
Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...
distributing internationally. In July 2022, ''Deadline'' confirmed that the sequel's release date is set for May 12, 2023.


References


External links

* {{Fifty Shades of Grey 2018 films 2010s English-language films 2010s buddy comedy films 2010s female buddy films 2018 romantic comedy films American buddy comedy films American female buddy films American romantic comedy films Fifty Shades Films about books Films about divorce Films about friendship Films about old age Films about widowhood in the United States Films set in Arizona Films set in Los Angeles Films set in hotels Films set on airplanes Films shot in Los Angeles Midlife crisis films Paramount Pictures films 2018 directorial debut films 2010s American films Films scored by Peter Nashel English-language romantic comedy films English-language buddy comedy films