The book being discussed is not “War and Peace,” and the film will not displace “The Third Man” from anyone’s list of cinema classics. “Book Club” is what it is, a commercial concoction for (mainly) female moviegoers of a certain age who may feel an uncertain connection with the current state of popular culture. But it’s also a chance to see four terrific actresses—let’s not use the gender-neutral term in this context—having varying degrees of fun with matters of sisterhood, sex and hope in a movie that touches on mortality and holds out the prospect of later-life joy.
The...