2023-05-12 00:00:00
It’s so rare to see women over 60 on screen that the initiative deserves to be saluted… but that doesn’t make the film good.
Lazy, mediocre, useless, etc., there is no shortage of adjectives to qualify this second opus, which marks the return of the quartet of friends made up of Vivian (Jane Fonda), Diane (Diane Keaton), Sharon (Candice Bergen) and Carol (Mary Steenburgen).
This “Book Club: The Next Chapter”, placed under the sign of “The Alchemist” by Paolo Coehlo, begins with a montage of the pandemic conversations via Zoom of the four friends – one of the rare moments inspired by this production – for continue on the upcoming wedding of Vivian and Arthur (Don Johnson). And since the quartet dreams of going to Italy, more precisely to Tuscany, why wouldn’t they pay for a trip across the Atlantic?
I spare you the tedious summary of their barely credible adventures – stolen suitcases, museum visits, helicopter rescue, unexpected encounters, etc. – to tell you the basics: the Prosecco is flowing freely and we are treated to rapid images of Rome, Venice and Tuscany accompanied by scenes of wedding dress fittings – a sort of “Bridesmaids” under tranquillizer.
The systematic invisibilization of actresses in Hollywood begins at age 40. While men their age are still saving the world, women are too old – I remind you that Robert Downey Jr., aka Iron Man and Sherlock Holmes, is 58 years old, that Tom Cruise, aka Top Gun and Ethan Hunt, will celebrate his 60th birthday and that Brad Pitt the sex symbol will be 59 years old at the end of the year. On the other hand, it is impossible for women to claim anything, especially not to be romantic partners, and they are then – when they obtain roles – systematically relegated to a function, often grumpy, (grand)maternal. Then, beyond the age of 50, women are simply considered as expired commodities.
It is for this sole reason that one can only rent the two “Book Clubs”. Because Jane Fonda is 85 years old, Diane Keaton and Candice Bergen, 77, and Mary Steenburgen is the youngest of the group at 70 years old. Yes, let’s collectively raise our hats to them, let’s salute them, let’s admire the dialogues sprinkled with savvy (yes, in Hollywood, women’s sexuality seems subject to their fertility) and the intact passion that these iconic women feel for their profession. For the quality and interest of the feature film, however, we will come back.
Rating: 2 out of 5
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