THE SECOND BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL (2015, UK/USA, 122m, PG) ***
Comedy, Drama
dist. 20th Century Fox (UK), Fox Searchlight Pictures (USA); pr co. Blueprint Pictures; d. John Madden; w. Ol Parker (based on a story by Ol Parker and John Madden); pr. Graham Broadbent, Peter Czernin; ph. Ben Smithard (Colour | 2.35:1); m. Thomas New-man; ed. Victoria Boydell; pd. Martin Childs; ad. Dilip More.
cast: Judi Dench (Evelyn Greenslade), Maggie Smith (Muriel Donnelly), Bill Nighy (Douglas Ainslie), Dev Patel (Sonny Kapoor), Richard Gere (Guy Chambers), Celia Imrie (Madge Hardcastle), Ronald Pickup (Norman Cousins), Penelope Wilton (Jean Ainslie), Diana Hardcastle (Carol Parr), Tina Desai (Sunaina), Claire Price (Laura Ainslie), Lillete Dubey (Mrs. Kapoor), David Strathairn (Ty Burley), Tamsin Greig (Lavinia Beech), Shazad Latif (Kushal), Rajesh Tailang (Babul), Denzil Smith (Mr. Dharuna), Sid Makkar (Jay), Avijit Dutt (Nimish), Seema Azmi (Anokhi).
A more-of-the-same sequel, which coasts on the charm and skills of its excellent cast and vibrant locations. The plot lacks originality and the script veers too far toward a sit-com approach at the expense of the depth in characterisation seen in the first film, but the vibe is good. Patel and Smith are looking to expand their hotel business and look for sponsorship from the US. When Gere arrives, Patel believes he is an inspector charged with assessing the business and he goes out of his way to charm him – echoes of Fawlty Towers. Subplots involve the lead-up to Patel and Desai’s wedding, the inter-relationships between the hotel’s elderly guests and their quest for living out the rest of their days in happiness. The cast is in good form yet again, but the actors have less to get their teeth into this time and the film comes across as unnecessary yet still entertaining.
