Book Club

Four lifelong friends, all retired and facing routine, decide to shake up their comfortable lives by making a shockingly frank choice at their monthly book club. When someone brings Fifty Shades of Grey, the women read the book together and then apply its suggestions, flirting with new partners, challenging stale marriages, and testing their own boundaries. Each woman responds differently, one reconsiders a long marriage, another questions dating, a third rethinks independence, and the fourth seeks fresh excitement. Their conversations are honest and often funny, and the group supports one another as they explore desire, regret, and the possibility of change without giving away any outcomes. They keep their humor intact and test new rules for love and friendship together.

Released in 2018, Book Club was directed by Bill Holderman and created by Erin Simms, starring Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen, and Mary Steenburgen alongside Craig T. Nelson in key supporting roles with a warm, accessible comic sensibility throughout.

The film exceeded expectations at the box office, becoming a surprise hit for adult-oriented romantic comedy, drawing audiences interested in star power and mature romance, and helping to prove a market exists for stories centered on older protagonists worldwide appeal.

Book Club helped normalize frank conversations about desire and relationships among older adults in mainstream cinema, prompting conversations about sex, aging, and friendship. Its ensemble of veteran stars gave visibility to later-life romance and inspired other projects and media discussions that questioned Hollywood's age assumptions and casting patterns and coverage.

Critics offered mixed to warm reviews, reflected by a 6.224/10 user vote average based on 819 votes, praising the cast chemistry while noting predictable plot beats. The film centers on friendship, rediscovery, late-life desire, second chances, and the humor that emerges when long routines are shaken up and personal growth.