Book Club: The Next Chapter turns a new page

Book Club: The Next Chapter is the sequel to the 2018 comedy film starring Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen and Mary Steenburgen.

The Book Club buddies are suffering from a pandemic lockdown this time out and ready to bust out of the house. Zoom meetings and book mailings allow them to still keep in touch, although with some technical challenges that come with the times.

Monthly novel gatherings are quickly thrown out the window and for a film titled Book Club, there is not a lot of reading going on. Instead, viewers travel with the four golden gals to Italy on an adventure. This could have been remedied with the quartet spending time reading travel books to prepare, but let's turn the page.

This bachelorette is looking for paradise with her gal pals and Fonda certainly knows how to dress on a vacation. Keaton channels her quirky Annie Hall style and Bergen does most of the joke heavy lifting while delivering the words with a sarcastic force. Mary Steenburgen behaves the most realistically of the bunch and adds some necessary groundwork before things travel to kooky territory in Rome. A Michelangelo statue drums up some thirsty chuckles, but the belly laughs really come later in the film.

The focus remains on the women, but the men in their lives do what they can with their supportive parts in the plot.

Some emotional surprises happen by the end of the tale and these seniors eventually display some impressive tech skills with selfies, texting and security cameras. They even express themselves with emojis to anyone that will read their messages.

There were some stereotypes and predictability throughout the plot but overall a fun trip with performers that still know their craft no matter what age.

Depending on this Book's success at the box office, audiences should request more hot cops for chapter three!

Respect your elders and go see Book Club: The Next Chapter in theaters everywhere!