Book Club (2018)

Diane (Diane Keaton) is recently widowed after 40 years of marriage, Vivian (Jane Fonda) enjoys her men with no strings attached, Sharon (Candice Bergen) is still working through her decades-old divorce, and Carol's (Mary Steenburgen) marriage is in a slump after 35 years. The lives of these four lifelong friends are turned upside down after reading the infamous "50 Shades of Grey," catapulting them into a series of outrageous life choices.

Parental Guidance

Director: Bill Holderman

Music composed by: Peter Nashel

Screenplay: Bill Holderman, Erin Simms

This is a movie I have been waiting for since Mr. Dondon Monteverde announced it on Facebook and the first thing I could think of is that it is very much worth the wait.

Some of the people I know were shunning this because of the citation of E.L. James trilogy featuring Christian Grey who we later on learn that his nickname is Moby Dick.  (Wink, wink!)

What I could say is this:  The four longtime friends do talk about senescence and sex, but the Book Club is more than that.  It is about family and relationships plus not being placed in the basement just because you are more than sixty years old.  In this day and age, people over sixty are more vibrant than ever.

Diane Keaton is Diane and she is the narrator of this story of true friendship and the people surrounding the four of them.  Her partner in this movie is the forever handsome Andy Garcia and among the four leading men(the three others are Richard Dreyfuss, Don Johnson and Craig T. Nelson...Ed Begley Jr. doesn't count because he's an ex---hehehe), he is my favourite, but the three did quite well too.

Among her three friends Vivian(Jane Fonda) is the wildest, but then again, if you are able to see her soul through her eyes, you would know that there's more to her than meets the eyes.

The most stalwart among them is the animal lover and judge, Sharon(Candice Bergen).  I've loved her since Murphy Brown and she's really something special.  Even here she was able to portray her role like she was born to do it.

The monogamous among them is Carol(Mary Steenburgen), but you cannot say she's the most conservative.  I won't expound, but I must say she's a very graceful dancer.

What else?

Oh, it's great to see Alicia Silverstone here.  Well, she had some other mother roles in some other movies.  The last one I saw was a comedy not really worth writing about, but it's refreshing to see her here.

I think I should stop now before I tell you the whole story like what (most) of the critics do.

I hope more people get to see this movie for it's a great one.