The original ‘Best Exotic Marigold Hotel’ never got its’ full box office due. It was released the same weekend as ‘The Avengers’ and, as a result, was widely overlooked. I had such a high opinion of this hidden gem that the idea of a sequel made me nervous as a bad sequel can often detract from the memory of one’s idealized version of the original. Fortunately, my fears were unfounded as, while not superior to the original, it definitely is a worthy compliment. It’s a pleasure to see these legends of British cinema come together in an ensemble cast and deliver an entertaining time at the movies (and let’s throw in Richard Gere too, why not?)
This time around, the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel has become so successful that Sonny Kapoor (played by the kinetic Dev Patel), decides he is ready to open a chain of hotels dedicated to providing a beautiful place for seniors to live out their twilight years. Seeking the financial backing of an American company, Sonny juggles preparing the hotel for their inspectors and trying to arrange his wedding with his beautiful fiancee, Sunaina (Tina Desai). The film takes us deeper into the lives of the tenants as they adapt to their new lives in India and, even at this late stage in life, struggle to make sense of the meaning of it all. The comedic is deftly balanced with the profound and, if I have any complaint, some of the storylines seemed on par with a sitcom rather than a feature length film.
Richard Gere’s Guy Chambers is introduced as geriatric eye-candy and provides a foil for Sonny who is torn between trying to ensure the greatest stay ever for a possible hotel inspector and protecting his mother from a potential love interest. Sonny knows that Guy must be the undercover hotel inspector as he remembered that their potential financial backers said they would send on of their ‘guys’ to check the hotel out. Dev Patel is at his comedic best when trying to frantically balance multiple chaotic situations and always managing to say and do the wrong thing. Another great performance
I am always grateful to see films made that fall outside the normal targeted box office range of 18 to 45 yr olds. I am even more impressed when those films can appeal to people of all ages. The ‘Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel’ contains plenty of comedy and situations that deal with universal questions of finding one’s way in the world and discovering meaning even in the most ludicrous of situations. The film pokes fun at, but never ridicules or demeans, people’s struggles as they age. The idea that life goes on, grows, and changes, even as it enters its’ final stages resonates throughout the film and while it invokes our sympathy and sometimes sorrow, it rarely causes us to pity.
One of the things I found most profound is that at a stage of life where we hope we have most of the important things figured out, people still struggle with even the most basic of relationships. How we connect remains just as complicated, if not more so, due to all the life baggage that has been acquired along the way. One steps cautiously given the awareness of the pitfalls that lie ahead even though time is the one thing not in abundance. The problems of their love lives could have appeared in films featuring characters of all age ranges.
The sights and sounds of India are on full display. The beauty and colors permeate throughout even when exploring areas not necessarily the most scenic. The wedding of Sonny and Sunaina is as colorful a festival as any travel show could possibly hope to portray. It was an interesting balance of showing the beginning of their lives amongst the twilight of the others. It’s difficult to show life as a celebration and adventure as one’s life begins to wind down, but that what these two films are all about. ‘It ain’t over till it’s over’ and one can begin and reinvent one’s life as often as one is able.
I thoroughly enjoyed this film and found it a worthwhile sequel to a great film about aging with dignity.
I give this film *** stars
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