Review by stusviews

A charming book has been turned into an equally charming movie. The club of the title is comprised of a group of older adults in a senior living community--four in all--who have decided to spice up their humdrum lives by solving some of the murder cases that have stymied the local constabulary for years. As the story begins, in fact, they're looking into one such cold case already; but when a hot case--a much hotter one--falls into their laps quite by accident, they can't resist the chance to prove their mettle by solving that one, too. (The victim, it seems, was someone they all knew--though not, perhaps, nearly as well as they thought.) "The Thursday Murder Club" is one of those movie mysteries in which the story itself takes a back seat to the cast that brings it to life; there are worse ways to spend your time than by watching revered old pros like Helen Mirren & Company bounce lines off each other with consummate skill. It's funny, diabolically clever--ultimately (and happily) the answers to all their questions make perfect sense, an absolute requirement for a successful whodunit--and, especially toward the end, it turns touching and even heartbreaking. Senior citizens have a lot to offer, the film is saying, especially if they're as resourceful and unwilling to sit on their keisters as this brave bunch. Based on the novel by Richard Osment, and I can't wait till the next book in the series is adapted to the screen. Sit back, put your feet up, and enjoy.