The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2015)
Directed by John Madden
Starring Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy, Ronald Pickup, Diana Hardcastle, Penelope Wilton, Celia Imrie, Tina Desai, Dev Patel, Shazad Latif, Tamsin Greig and Richard Gere.
SYNPOSIS:
As the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel has only a single remaining vacancy – posing a rooming predicament for two fresh arrivals – Sonny pursues his expansionist dream of opening a second hotel.
This sequel to John Madden’s 2011 hit The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel had few requirements to fulfill. Of most importance, the stellar cast from the first film returned in force, bolstered by a handful of bright, new faces. The largely-British ensemble cast, extensively listed above, features actors whom it is a simple pleasure to watch. Bill Nighy (Pride) is a perennial charmer, and his relationship with the delightful Dame Judi Dench (Philomena) is only a recipe for success. The screen is stolen by the contrasting co-owners of Jaipur’s supremely successful hotel, played by Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire) and Maggie Smith (Downton Abbey).
After rescuing the somewhat sorry Chappie, Patel is again a delight. As Sonny, Patel is a kite in a thunderstorm; being pulled fiercely from side to side, but seemingly enjoying it all along. His energy is infectious and brightens the already sun-kissed landscape. Smith, however, is on hand to suck all that energy straight back out. Her deadpan, blunt responses are hilariously honest and her dry wit is such a charm.
Yet, bringing back such an eclectic cast also has its downside. To accommodate 12 central characters and allow each a key role in a story-line, sacrifices over the quality of these story-lines have to be made. There are several strands of story happening at once, and we flicker quickly between them, with not enough time given to the development of each. The stories become overly soppy (Dench and Nighy), downright silly (Pickup and Hardcastle) or a little boring (Imrie). Thankfully, Smith is usually on hand to undercut any seriousness with her stinging lack of compassion.
Including so many characters leaves some poorly developed, Sunaina (Desai) largely comes off as superficial and with little care for anything but the inconsequential, whilst others would have been better off taking a back-seat. All this character development and separate story-line action leaves the picture feeling overlong, clocking in at almost two hours long.
Nevertheless, this second trip to India is just as romantic as the first. The location is a shimmering golden paradise, full of markets and society and a touch of glamour. It is enough to make anyone seriously consider a future holiday to such a location. However, the cynical eye is somewhat put off by the boldness of its romanticism. The location is full of plentiful, rich spices and the most vibrant fabrics, whilst the air is filled with such joyful music following fantastical traditions. This rose-tinted version of reality is nice to be a part of, as long as you can dismiss the fact that it is sorely fictionalised and features the looming ghost of colonial rule.
Despite these criticisms, The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel does the only thing it needed to; entertain its core set of fans. The first incarnation of this series was a roaring success with an adult demographic, which wholeheartedly rallied in support. This will surely be the case again with the second coming. The cast is back, the laughs are plentiful and the location is just as dreamy as it was four years ago. After a very successful cinema run, it knocked Fifty Shades of Tripe off the box office top spot, the film will surely continue to excel in the home video market. And rightly so.
The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is worthy successor and a thoroughly nice film.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★/ Movie: ★ ★ ★
Jake Wilson
https://youtu.be/IWWtOQOZSTI?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng
Originally published July 6, 2015. Updated April 13, 2018.
