Story: After the pandemic kept them apart for so long, the book club members decide they need an adventure together, especially since one of them is about to get married. Vivian (Jane Fonda) never thought she would get married or even want to tie the knot, but her romance with Arthur (Don Johnson) is red hot and he recently proposed. So Vivian is headed to Italy for a girls’ trip to remember, with her best friends Sharon (Candice Bergen), Diane (Diane Keaton), and Carol (Mary Steenburgen), which means a lot of laughs and hopefully, a vacation for the ages. Can the friends manage to make up for lost time and prepare for a wedding, all while getting into one wacky situation after another?

Entertainment Value: I found the original Book Club to be an enjoyable movie, a surprise for me, since I don’t often connect with these kind of movies. The cast carried the entire picture of course, but they all seemed engaged and interested, so the performances were quite good. While The Next Chapter brings back all of the leads for the reunion, the end result just isn’t even close to the first movie’s success. The movie feels unfocused and has little in terms of narrative, instead we have a series of events that struggle to leave much of an impression. I’m sure the Zoom jokes seemed like a good idea a few years ago, but the sense of humor of The Next Chapter feels dated and ineffective. The pace languishes at times and the film just feels lost in most scenes, as if they knew they wanted to make a sequel, but weren’t sure what kind of sequel they wanted. I had solid hopes for this one, since the original was a fun watch, but this sequel is hard to recommend.

This sequel was indeed able to bring back all the primary performers, which is impressive, but the cast doesn’t seem nearly as interested this time around. The performances are solid and certainly elevate this mediocre material, but there just doesn’t seem to be much connection between the cast and the script. Jane Fonda takes the spotlight in terms of narrative and unlike the original movie, the others aren’t given much to do or I should say, not much that feels purposeful. Candice Bergen had a smaller, but enjoyable thread in the first movie, but she and most of the others just kind of stand around and deliver their lines. So much talent was assembled here, so I’m not sure why the cast wasn’t given more to do. Fonda performs well and still has great screen charisma, but even the star studded ensemble can’t save this one. The cast also includes Andy Garcia, Don Johnson, Diane Keaton, Mary Steenburgen, Craig T. Nelson, and Giancarlo Giannini.

The Disc: Universal has issued Book Club: The Next Chapter in a beautiful high definition treatment in this Blu-ray version, which also includes the DVD edition. The movie is bright and colorful, with natural hues and rock solid contrast, a wonderful visual presentation. The bonus features consistent of three promotional, behind the scenes featurettes with the cast & crew.

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