An episodic comedy about four lifelong friends who stay in contact with a monthly reading assignment, Book Club brings together a whole group of wizened performers who display their comic and romantic skills.  The women: Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen and Mary Steenburgen.  The men: Andy Garcia, Don Johnson, Craig T. Nelson, Richard Dreyfuss, Ed Begley, Jr. and Wallace Shawn.  Even the youngest star, Alicia Silverstone, peaked in the 1990s, making this a cast of names of which millennials might have heard, but never seen, which in itself is startling to me.

Bill Holderman’s film is filled with short, pithy scenes, especially in the first half, which might really bug me except that so many of them are laugh out loud funny.  Strangely, the central conceit — that the four female friends read the salacious book “Fifty Shades of Grey,” with radical ramifications to their personal lives — is underplayed.  They barely talk about the book, or its two sequels, which comprise the next two monthly assignments.  And yet, the words are seen to open their eyes to the prospect of different experiences and romantic entanglements.  Each lady connects or reconnects with someone special, partly due to what they happen to be reading about.

Three aspects of this film won me over.  First, the ladies are terrific.  Their characters are convincingly real and genuinely interesting, and their interaction is, too.  Second, the men are treated with respect and not demeaned.  I think a lot of comedies would make fun of the men at the expense of the women; here they are worthy characters on their own.  Third, this script is funny.  It’s not just the many one-liners; the situations themselves are clever and funny.  If the film takes a long time to get to where it takes itself seriously, it can be forgiven because it is so funny in the meantime.

Of all the performers one stands out above the others for me.  Andy Garcia is absolutely wonderful as Mitchell, the pilot who jokes his way into Diane’s heart (Diane Keaton).  He is irresistible.  Each of the stories develops independently, yet in concert with the others, as each of these ladies learns to love again thanks to the erotic prose of E. L. James (who can be seen in one scene walking a dog with her husband).  Be sure to see this movie, the funniest comedy, so far, of 2018.  ☆ ☆ ☆.  19 June 2018.