Run time: 108 mins

Fonda, Keaton and Co make a surprisingly triumphant return in this rom-com crowdpleaser.

After pandemic lockdowns lift, Vivian is newly engaged to Arthur and travels from New York to Los Angeles to reunite with her three best pals. Diane is happily partnered with Mitchell, Sharon has retired as a judge and still enjoys being single, and Carol is nursing her husband after a heart attack. On a whim, they decide to finally take their long-planned trip to Italy, spinning it into a bachelorette party for Vivian. Adventures ensue in Rome and Venice, all en route to a stunning villa in the Tuscan countryside.

Let’s be honest, 2018’s Book Club probably left extremely low expectations. But thankfully, the sequel is an improvement in almost every way. Expect sparky humour, zippy dialogue, warm character-based drama and, yes, that same silliness that prevents taking any of it remotely seriously. Leaning even more heavily into the Sex and the City vibe, the film nimbly sidesteps the drawbacks of the original due to lively performances from actors who would be charming whatever they were doing on-screen.

This time around there’s something under the surface to suggest the film actually has something important to say and, who knows, this may not be the final chapter?