Book Club might have only been the third biggest earner at the box office this weekend, but the fact it ties into Fifty Shades of Grey, Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed likely earned it some brownie points with its target audience. Yes, the new rom-com starring Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen, Mary Steenburgen and Diane Keaton does tie in with E.L. James' popular novels, but it ties in with the movies as well, because Book Club cheekily signed on Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed's costume designer Shay Cunliffe to do the wardrobe for the new movie. Speaking about the experience, Shay Cunliffe revealed everyone involved with hiring thought the connection was perfect. She recently told CinemaBlend:
I think everyone got a kick out of that. I think when I went to interview for Book Club, everyone thought, 'This is kind of perfect.' And for me, I really appreciate closing a whole circle on an experience and a kind of story. I'm a mature person. I really loved that it's not exclusively for young and... well actually, I have to say that everyone in Book Club is just as gorgeous and trim as the younger people, and this kind of stuff isn't just for those crowds.
If you haven't caught Paramount's Book Club yet, the new movie is a cute and fun rom-com. It's about maintaining a sex life as you get older, but you don't have to be older to enjoy the movie. It's enjoyable no matter if you are young or young at heart. From what Shay Cunliffe told us, it sounds as if she would have taken the opportunity to work on the movie whether or not it was fun for all ages, as she felt the role really helped to wrap up her own story in the Fifty Shades universe, as well.
There was one big difference between Fifty Shades Freed and Book Club, however. Mostly, it had to do with how many items of clothing Shay Cunliffe was dressing the cast in. While she picked out underwear and corsets for the Fifty Shades movies, the closest the costume designer got to underwear in Book Club was a funny scene involving Spanx.
[That cast] got a kick out of it. I don't think we got down to any underwear whatsoever in Book Club. There's kind of a comic spanks scene, where Candice Bergen's about to go on her first date in 20 years, and the Jane Fonda character insists that she needs to get hold of some Spanx. And it's kind of a comedy on what is possible through the clothing.
I don't want to get too deeply into what goes on with the Spanx in Book Club, because the gag is one of the movies funniest physical gags in the film, but suffice to say, it's certainly not the same type of underwear sequence as we got when Christian Grey undressed Ana Steele, or when Ana Steele strutted about in her underwear in the third and final movie in the trilogy. Book Club is a different type of movie, but its audience should seemingly enjoy this one, too.
If you haven't caught Book Club, it's in theaters now. In the meantime, you can see what other flicks are coming this summer with our full movies schedule.
