by Nathaniel R
First things first: how utterly fabulous does Jane Fonda look in the trailer for Book Club? She's 80 (!!!) Don Johnson isn't even 70 year but he should be so lucky. She looks great as a ginger.
Now that the mandatory Jane worship is out of the way (I just saw Klute again -which is a renewal of breathless fandom for her gifts every time), let's break down the trailer for this romantic comedy of sorts about four golden girls who aren't willing to stop living and are dating again. Whilst they read books? We're really not sure how the books fit into it to be honest. Neither is the trailer...
YES
• Jane Fonda looks like a ton o' fun in this role. Love this boob grab and hip shake. Ha!
• Always happy to see Mary Steenburgen, one of the most reliable and undersung actresses. And if you've never seen her Oscar winning role, do so. She's fab in Melvin and Howard.
• Maybe the Keaton arc will be moving? Refusing to stop hoping / living.
• The script seems to be playing on each of the actresses personas which might be a good sign (Keaton's eccentric fashions, Bergen's power woman, Fonda's rebellious streak, and even the super niche bit about Mary Steenburgen getting her screen husbands horny in moving cars and then having to explain it to the police (see also Parenthood, 1989).
LOVE THE CAT. The book jokes not so much.
NO
• Fifty Shades of Grey jokes, really? Those had expiration dates and they're already moldy. P.U.
• For a comedy the trailer isn't very funny. So perhaps the best we can hope for is pleasant smiles rather than guffaws.
MAYBE SO
• Richard Dreyfuss. Would you answer this message? I can never decide about him. Sometimes he's just brilliant (Close Encounters), sometimes he overdoes it (Jaws), sometimes it's both simultaneously (The Goodbye Girl), sometimes he's just right in a low-key way (Postcards from the Edge).
• Seriously why is it that every onscreen female foursome has to break down in almost the same way (see Girls Trip, Golden Girls, Sex and the City and probably many lesser known examples). Fonda is obviously the Samantha/Blanche ... Bergen the Miranda/Dorothy and... Keaton the Rose/Charlotte... Steenburgen is the wild card I guess.
Are you a Yes No or Maybe So? And how do your allegiances break down with these actresses? It's a relief that none of them have to settle for that awkward "Golden Globe Nominee" title card that sometimes happens in the middle of all the Oscar winner cards!