Quartile rating: 6/10 · 1 rating
Four lifelong friends decide that their lives could change by becoming nasty and reading Fifty Shades of Grey in their monthly book club to get inspiration on how to handle sexual pleasure at an elderly age.
Book Club is a pleasant but formulaic romantic comedy that coasts on the charm of its veteran cast (Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen, Mary Steenburgen). The premise of older women rediscovering romance via Fifty Shades of Grey is mildly clever but the execution follows predictable rom-com beats throughout. Cinematography is functional and unremarkable. The ending wraps up all four storylines in tidy, expected fashion with little surprise. The novelty of centering older women in a romantic comedy gives it a slight distinction, but the film itself is largely by-the-numbers within the genre.