Book Club **
Dir: Bill Holderman (12A, 102 mins)
Four old friends have their literary and private lives shaken up after reading Fifty Shades Of Grey in their book club. Oh dear. This is a criminal waste of the talents involved: Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen and Mary Steenburgen are worthy of far better material, but do what they can with the wafer-thin premise and ageing hijinks om offer. They are four women who think their days of sex and new relationships are behind them, when E.L. James’ appalling book, which subjugates more than it empowers, reawakens their libidos and they pair off with new beaus. Fonda gets Don Johnson, Keaton gets Andy Garcia, Bergen gets Richard Dreyfuss and Steenburgen gets a new lease of life with hubby Craig T. Nelson. Although the message is a positive one – there is potential for love after a certain age – it’s glibly handled, despite the best efforts of the capable cast and another plug for a shoddy bit of erotica.
Opens June 1