Cinemagoers who fell in love with the first film will no doubt want to visit The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.
It’s a lovely sequel that echoes the first instalment with a range of warm-hearted moments, humour drawn from the challenges of aging and the wonder of a cross-cultural experience, thick with an exotic kind of magic.
By Keeva Stratton
It would appear that those characters who survived the first installation have now settled in India to a life that is more richly rewarding than their previous English retirement. In fact, it’s given a whole new lease on life to those seemingly nearing the end.
The hotel’s owner Sonny (Dev Patel) is looking to expand the operation and is keen to buy a new hotel, which leads him and Muriel (Maggie Smith) to the US to seek out an investor. When they leave America, they know to expect the arrival of a hotel inspector to see how successful their current operation is.
While Sonny is keen to get the hotel in top shape prior to the inspector’s arrival, his fiancée is keen for him to focus on their wedding; and he soon finds that juggling the various demands in his life is more difficult than he’d hoped. He is letting his fiancée down, and a new man could be set to swoop.
They are not the only couple having trouble.
Douglas (Bill Nighy) and Evelyn (Judi Dench) seem to be stuck in relationship limbo. While Evelyn has turned her local fabric buying into a twilight career, she doesn’t seem to be able to find the same ability to move ahead with the relationship. Norman (Ronald Pickup) and his live-in girlfriend are also struggling, and when the mysterious ‘Guy’ turns up (played of course by Richard Gere) things only get more complicated.
If you enjoyed the first film, this one will equally delight; and its all-star cast, with the addition of Richard Gere, will no doubt set a few mature hearts aflutter. It’s a feel-good film; and if you like feeling good, it’s a good choice.
If, however, like me you’re a bit of a cynic, you may be tempted to think that there is no greater waste of such incredible actors than this. The clichés are abundant, and I find the portrayal of both the Indian people and culture simple and overly caricatured.
Knowing, however, that I’m not the intended target audience, perhaps it’s best that this weakness be overlooked. At the end of the day I know I will be telling my mum to go and see it, and yours probably should, too.
Unlike me, I have no doubt she’s going to love every minute of it.
Directed by: John Madden
Starring: Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy, Richard Gere
Rating: PG
Runtime: 122mins
Release Date: Feb 26
Reviewer rating: 3/5
