Just as diehard comic geeks had “The Avengers,” aging
Anglophiles received the gift of “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.” The film
delivered its own sort of superhero team-up by bringing together the powerhouse
thespians of British cinema, and it now proves that franchises aren’t just for
big-budget blockbusters. A pleasant diversion, “The Second Best Exotic Marigold
Hotel” returns us to the Jaipur locale of the rustic resort which we last saw
helping nearly the entire staff of Hogwarts find a late-in-life renaissance.
Much like the current spate of films in the Marvel Cinematic
Universe, the hotel is also in the midst of an expansive “phase two.” Still
managed haphazardly, but with much enthusiasm, by Sonny (Dev Patel), the hotel
is operating at full capacity, largely thanks to the assistance of
resident-turned-co-manager Muriel Donnelly (Maggie Smith). In fact, the hotel
has been so successful that the pair are looking to expand their operation by purchasing a nearby inn and refurbishing it into a second
location. But first they must secure the necessary capital, flying to America
to approach the owner of an American retirement company (David Strathairn) for an investment. To secure the deal, they’ll
first need to impress a hotel inspector who’ll be sent incognito to evaluate
their business. And no sooner have they returned from their trip than two new
guests arrive simultaneously: dashing American Guy Chambers (Richard Gere) and
Englishwoman Lavinia Beech (Tamsin Greig). But who might be the secret inspector?
We also catch up with the rest of the hotel’s residents — the
film reunites the entire cast of the first film (minus those who portrayed
characters who didn’t make it to the end) — finding that they’ve adapted quite
well to their new surroundings, though they each find themselves facing the
sort of minor conflicts that come with starting a new life chapter. Evelyn
(Judi Dench) and Douglas (Bill Nighy) are still (far
too tentatively) pursuing their second-chance romance; Norman (Ronald Pickup)
and his girlfriend Carol (Diana Hardcastle) face
questions of monogamy; and Madge (Celia Imrie) must
make a decision when she’s wooed by two eligible bachelors.
The first film didn’t explore the culture of India with too
much depth, instead using it simply as an exotic backdrop to its exploration of
our anxieties about growing older. This time around, the Indian cast members
get a bit more to do: Sonny angers his long-suffering girlfriend Sunaina (Tina Desai) when their wedding starts to take a
backseat to his plans to expand the hotel, and the film even finds time for a
plotline for Sonny’s mother (touchingly played by Lillete
Dubey, “The Lunchbox”).
All that busyness seems at odds with a film ostensibly about
life in a retirement community, though it certainly keeps things moving, even
if most of the plot developments are telegraphed well in advance (possibly so
as not to startle any audience member who might have heart conditions).
Returning screenwriter Ol Parker does a decent job
juggling all the threads, but as is often the case with films of this nature,
some plots are more interesting than others and they aren’t always the ones that
get the most screentime.
Bright, colorful, and inoffensive — there are no less than
two Bollywood-style dance numbers! — the chief
pleasures of the film come from its cast of seasoned professionals (to
understate it a bit), clearly having a great time together. Really, these
performers could be acting out the phone book and it’d be worth the ticket
price. As always, Maggie Smith proves an invaluable asset, delivering her
patented withering stares and providing some poignancy to the film’s
overarching messages that it’s never too late for a new beginning in life, and
that sometimes knowing that the end is nearing can make the journey all the
sweeter. Assured direction from John Madden (“Shakespeare in Love”), along with
Ben Smithard’s colorful cinematography and an
effective score from Thomas Newman, add to the polished feel.
If you’re buying a ticket to “The Second Best Exotic Marigold
Hotel,” you know precisely what you’re signing on for, and in that regard the
film delivers: it knows what it is and does it extremely well. Even recognizing
that I’m well outside the target demographic, I enjoyed myself enough not to
mind the extended visit.
This article appears in Feb 25 – Mar 3, 2015.
Haven’t seen it and likely will wait till it hits cable. Adam, some day you will be in the target demographic and might find comments such as, ” so as not to startle any audience member who might have heart conditions,” a bit offensive.
Hi Kathryn! Thanks for the comment! You may be right, but I’m hoping that by the time I AM in the target demographic, I’ll have maintained my sense of humor about it. The movie does, that’s for sure. You can definitely expect to find a more than a few jokes in the same vein throughout the film, so be prepared for that once you do see it.
Well, I thought I had a fairly good sense of humor and I could be very wrong about that. It does seem, though, that there is a difference between old folks in a comedy making jokes about old folks and others who are not that age doing the same. Sort of like the difference between Black folks using the n word and others using it. But I am happy to be wrong.
Or like an obese person making a joke about his weight and a thin person doing the same.