2023-05-09 12:59:13
Jane Fonda, have fun and nonsense à la “Hangover”: The sequel to a well-cast US comedy from 2018 is entertaining, even if the sense of originality is violated here and there.
Out of respect, one should rather remain silent about age, even about deserved entertainment divas. But when you look at all the scenes in this sequel, you just can’t help but be amazed: How light-footed, so agile, so fresh how Jane Fonda in particular moves through the film “Book Club – A New Chapter” is simply unbelievable that the US actress will be 86 in December. Fonda’s fellow readers in this comedy (the four have been running a book club for decades) are a little younger, but they’ve all seen quite a bit in their lives. And the ladies somehow survived Covid too.
Now they are opening a new chapter; together they want to see more of the world. Starring alongside Fonda are Diane Keaton, Candice Bergen, Mary Steenburgen and Don Johnson.
It goes to Rome in the Eternal City
Covid is coming to an end, which also gives Vivian, Diane, Carol and Sharon new impetus. First of all, however, people still meet digitally to exchange ideas about books and other things in life. All the more heartfelt the hugs at the first real meeting of the elderly Americans: lots of news, and finally the incredible information: Vivian, the freedom-loving Vivian of all people, has got engaged! What could be more appropriate than a trip to distant Europe, to where so many lovers, but also so many filmmakers have ended up: to the Eternal City, to Rome.
The ladies spend wonderful, sunny days; on we go to Venice, and also to Tuscany. All of this would hardly fill an evening if something didn’t go wrong on the way: the ladies lose their luggage, after all you even end up behind Italian curtains, that is to say: in jail. It’s all staged so lightly (and accompanied by music, including “Felicità” by Al Bano and Romina Power) that you can always tell from the story, which is bathed in wonderfully warm colors, that everything will end well in the end.
Almost as beautiful as Audrey Hepburn in “Roman Holiday”
Listing all the reference points, all the precursor films that one feels reminded of, would be quite time-consuming: from the bachelor party “Hangover” to the female counterpart “Bridesmaids” to such stylish classics as the one that is exactly 70 years old this year ” A Heart and a Crown” with Audrey Hepburn (original title: “Roman Holiday”). Of course, Fonda and Co. don’t appear quite as elegantly as Hepburn during their Roman vacation. But the quartet cuts a fine figure; whether at a fine dinner or trying on a wedding dress. Other Rome films such as Fellini’s “La Dolce Vita” come to mind. Also this time, of course, a scene at the legendary Trevi Fountain should not be missing. So far, so predictable.
Post-Covid comedy with pure joie de vivre
It also quickly becomes clear that books do not play a major role in this sequel, despite the film title. Yes, right at the beginning one of the book ladies holds Sally Rooney’s cult novel “Normal People” up to the laptop camera. And yes, the ladies repeatedly refer to Paulo Coelho’s “The Alchemist” on their trip to Italy; a literary added value, however, beyond the few dabs, cannot be determined. One might criticize this as a misnomer; but you can also just enjoy the joie de vivre of this comedy, which is much more of a post-Covid comedy than a book comedy.
The pandemic is discussed several times – right into the successful credits, which show some impressions of the shooting and also some corona masks – and finally even name the responsible “Covid Compliance Officer”. In any case, the joy of the four ladies to be able to undertake such a journey after years of starvation is contagious. Contagious in a way that makes you overlook even the predictability, the lame moments, all the unbelievability that also characterizes this enjoyable flick.
Book Club – A New Chapter, USA 2023, 108 min., FSK from 0, by Bill Holderman, with Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Don Johnson (dpa)
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