John Madden's milking of the grey pound continues in this spirited sequel to 2012 sleeper hit The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. With golden British acting pedigrees like Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Celia Imrie, Ronald Pickup and Penelope Wilton returning from the first, almost all of the film's attraction comes from seeing the extraordinary cast play off each other. The tea-drinking Expendables are joined in this sequel by sitcom star Tamsin Grieg (Black Books, Friday Night Dinner) and American actors Richard Gere and David Strathairn. However, the cast still manages to be upstaged by Slumdog Millionaire star Dev Patel, with his best performance since Danny Boyle's 2008 Oscar-winner.
The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel sees Sonny Kapoor (Patel) and cranky Mrs. Donnelly (Smith) going through the trials and tribulations of trying to extend their prospective hotel chain. With the news of a coming hotel inspector (creating scenarios straight out of Fawlty Towers) and Sonny's wedding to fiancée Sunaina (Tena Desae) approaching, the elderly residents of the hotel struggle to cope with varying levels of chaos associated with their new lives in India. The sheer abundance of characters and their accompanying story lines makes for entertaining, albeit poorly paced, viewing and the stories often feel too unrelated from each other, not helped by the often eye- rolling levels of cliché. Patel, along with Smith the stand-out star, has some excellent comic dialogue mainly based around the running gag of the geriatric guests' impending demise. Even the unoriginal jealousy-of-someone- who-might-but-doesn't-pose-a-threat-to-his-girlfriend plot can be forgiven due to the film's wit and charm.
Maggie Smith gives another wonderful performance, the character reining in her bigotry from the first film to give a wiser, more observant performance. You know you're good when you make Judi Dench and Bill Nighy somewhat of an afterthought in the plot. But that's where the films succeed - like the Expendables, they would be pointless if they had lesser actors in the same roles. As Sonny himself says, "It takes teamwork to make a dream work." And the team that is the cast of the film work very well despite Grieg being under-used in her role; one feels that a Fran Katzenjammer-like performance would fit very nicely here, but the rest of the cast fill out nicely, giving the film a warm, quirky feel reminiscent of the country it's set in. And cinematographer Ben Smithard makes India look great, especially during the wedding scenes. Indian weddings are always spectacular to behold, especially when done with the enthusiasm of Dev Patel. On the better side of being a three-star film, The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel may somehow manage to be less original than its title, but see it and you'll probably have a good time. Try not to smile at its charm, and watch yourself fail.
The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel sees Sonny Kapoor (Patel) and cranky Mrs. Donnelly (Smith) going through the trials and tribulations of trying to extend their prospective hotel chain. With the news of a coming hotel inspector (creating scenarios straight out of Fawlty Towers) and Sonny's wedding to fiancée Sunaina (Tena Desae) approaching, the elderly residents of the hotel struggle to cope with varying levels of chaos associated with their new lives in India. The sheer abundance of characters and their accompanying story lines makes for entertaining, albeit poorly paced, viewing and the stories often feel too unrelated from each other, not helped by the often eye- rolling levels of cliché. Patel, along with Smith the stand-out star, has some excellent comic dialogue mainly based around the running gag of the geriatric guests' impending demise. Even the unoriginal jealousy-of-someone- who-might-but-doesn't-pose-a-threat-to-his-girlfriend plot can be forgiven due to the film's wit and charm.
Maggie Smith gives another wonderful performance, the character reining in her bigotry from the first film to give a wiser, more observant performance. You know you're good when you make Judi Dench and Bill Nighy somewhat of an afterthought in the plot. But that's where the films succeed - like the Expendables, they would be pointless if they had lesser actors in the same roles. As Sonny himself says, "It takes teamwork to make a dream work." And the team that is the cast of the film work very well despite Grieg being under-used in her role; one feels that a Fran Katzenjammer-like performance would fit very nicely here, but the rest of the cast fill out nicely, giving the film a warm, quirky feel reminiscent of the country it's set in. And cinematographer Ben Smithard makes India look great, especially during the wedding scenes. Indian weddings are always spectacular to behold, especially when done with the enthusiasm of Dev Patel. On the better side of being a three-star film, The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel may somehow manage to be less original than its title, but see it and you'll probably have a good time. Try not to smile at its charm, and watch yourself fail.