The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2015)

It's never too late to love, to learn or to really LIVE your life – or too early. That was the message of the surprise British hit "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" in 2011, and that message is even more pronounced and entertaining in the 2015 follow-up, "The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" (PG, 2:02). Now, pay attention, teenagers and 20-somethings. When I review a YA movie and it's good, I encourage older adults to keep an open mind and give the film a chance. Now it's the turn of all young adults reading my reviews to keep THEIR minds open…

All the original cast is back for the sequel and with a few new veteran and younger actors joining them. The action picks up a few months after the story in the first film ended, with the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel doing well, and some of its mature long-term residents beginning or contemplating new romantic relationships and even jobs in their new hometown of Jaipur, India. But this film opens very differently than you'd expect: Sonny Kapur (Dev Patel) is speeding down Route 66 in a Mustang convertible with the top down – and ignoring the protestations of his passenger (and co-manager of the hotel back in India), Mrs. Muriel Donnelly (Maggie Smith). They're on their way to a business meeting with Ty Burley (David Strathairn), the head of a chain of extended-stay hotels that cater to the aged. The very polite and VERY enthusiastic Sonny and the very… direct and very proper Mrs. Donnelly each do their part to pitch the idea of a (using a nice play on words) 2nd Best Exotic Marigold Hotel near the original. They have the customer demand, but they need investors to help them purchase a vacant hotel in town. Mr. Burley won't commit, but he does agree to send an incognito inspector in the near future. Very excited and mildly encouraged (respectively), Sonny and Mrs. Donnelly head home.

Back in Jaipur, there's much more going on with the residents and staff of the hotel than just expansion plans. There's romance in the air (as well as threats to romance), both for the 20-somethings and the 70-somethings… and maybe one or two others in between. Sonny is working through wedding plans with his fiancé, Sunaina (Tina Desae), but feels threatened by old frenemy Kushal (Shazad Latif) who has been teaching Sunaina complicated dances for the engagement party and wedding. Randy old lothario Norman (Ronald Pickup – and, yes, ironically enough, that is his real name) alternately bemoans and appreciates having made the decision to be exclusive with live-in girlfriend Carol (Diana Hardcastle), who just may have a wandering eye of her own. Meanwhile, Madge (Celia Imrie), Norman's female equivalent in the group, is being courted by two wealthy Indian men, but wonders if she should be looking in still another direction for happiness. Evelyn (Judi Dench) and Douglas (Bill Nighy) seem to want to get together, but both are afraid to make a move – and things get even more complicated when Douglas' wife, Jean (Penelope Wilton), shows up to finalize their divorce – and with their daughter (Fiona Mollison) in tow.

Last, but certainly not least, Sonny is falling all over himself to impress a new guest named Guy Chambers (Richard Gere), who Sonny is convinced is the hotel inspector. But, much to Sonny's dismay, Guy mainly seems interested in getting to know Sonny's widowed mother (Lillette Dubey). (Eventually, Sonny feels compelled to set up a date between the two, selling Guy as "so handsome, he has me urgently

Fmovies: I have such a huge affection for the first film, it's so warm, captivating and funny. The follow up had huge shoes to fill, and for the most part it does. I founds the first thirty minutes a little pedestrian, but after that it opened up and turned into a beautiful film. It's very emotionally charged, puts you in a hugely reflective state and really draws you in. It terms of acting it was never going to fail was it? There is a host of stellar acting going on, Maggie, Judi, Celia etc are all glorious, but this time I was hooked on Bill Nighy's character, he's just fabulous.

I applaud this film for capitalising on the more mature acting talents out there, even though the second offering focuses slightly more on the youngsters, who are also brilliant, fans of Toast of London will recognise Clem Fandango!!

An excellent film that makes me desperate for a third. BTW Richard Gere has no right to still be that handsome!

9/10

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel was a surprise hit in 2012, leveraging the "oldies" out of their armchairs and into the cinemas in droves: the film returned around 15 times its modest $10M budget. Now three years later comes the sequel – the amusingly titled "Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel", and its much of the same again. After all, why break a winning formula? Set eight months after the original, and with an enviable occupancy record, expansion is on the cards for the Marigold Hotel. Sonny (Dev Patel) and Muriel (Maggie Smith) head to San Diego in search of investment funding from the US company Evergreen Inc, with the view to expand the franchise into a second property and beyond. There is interest from the owner Ty Burley (David Strathairn, probably best known as the head of Treadstone in the Bourne films) but that interest also brings the threat of a hotel inspector making Sonny (now back in India) suspicious of every new face. Richard Gere's appearance as a wannabe novelist sparks a particularly frantic burst of sucking-up, the farce surrounding these scenes being very reminiscent of the famous Fawlty Towers episode.

Sonny and Sunaina (Tina Desai) are to be married, and the storyline compounds the stresses associated with the business expansion with the stresses associated with the rituals and relationships surrounding the nuptials. Adding fuel to the fire is the unwelcome intervention – in both love and business – of a rich and good-looking family friend and rival (Shazad Latif), bringing the couple's relationship to breaking point. In a slew of secondary story lines, the rest of the ensemble cast comprising Bill Nighy, Judi Dench, Ronald Pickup, Celia Imrie, Diana Hardcastle (sidenote: wife of Tom Wilkinson) and Penelope Wilton pursue love and happiness against the romantic backdrop of Jaipur.

It is hard to actively dislike this film. Like the first film, and like similar recent films such as The Hundred Foot Journey, the esteemed cast demands your attention from the off and the lush colours of India (strikingly enhanced by the job of Evelyn – Judi Dench – in fabric procurement) wrap around you and warm you like a favourite cardigan. The script entertains, with good humour throughout and a smattering of laugh-out-loud lines. In terms of the acting, there is nothing like a Dame and both Dench and Smith are once again excellent, displaying nuanced and – particularly in Smith's case – very moving performances. Bill Nighy (after the strikingly different performance in "Pride") is back into reliable Bill Nighy acting territory again! New to the cast in this outing is one of my favourite comedy actresses Tamsin Greig ("Episodes") and Richard Gere, looking more silver-fox than ever.

But a particular joy for me was Ronald Pickup, celebrating 50 years in the business (after a debut in Dr Who!) who turns in a stellar performance as the besotted but slightly neurotic Norman Cousins.

Another star of the film is India itself. Having had the opportunity to travel extensively, I have never been particularly drawn to India: but this film does more for the Indian Tourist Board than a host of travel brochures ever could. Jaipur looks breath-taking – who knew they had a "Great Wall of China"? – and I may need to reconsider my future travel itinerary.

John Madden ("Mrs Brown", "Shakespeare in Love") directs again, with Thomas Newman scoring.

Any sequel will naturally be compared against its or

The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel fmovies. Many cinematic releases of late have excelled at contaminating us with dross, puerile swearing and mindless violence. Here then is an oasis of colour in both settings and characters. The first film was a heart-warming experience, which reacquainted viewers with what good cinema should be about. The sequel is equally as splendid - in my opinion, and judging by my fellow cinema-goers, by all of those attendees to. No violence, no swearing, no lavatorial humour. Gosh, what is the world coming to? Just dollops of old-fashioned (and I am not ashamed of using the term), gentle humour. The film is chock-full of some of our (British, that is) top-notch thespians and boy, do they knock anything our Yankee brethren could conceive in a million years into a cocked hat. Okay,Richard Gere pops up as the token 'American', but even he is out-acted by the British and Indian cast ten times over. For two hours of sheer entertainment, with a feel-good factor tipping the scales, then you will be hard pushed to beat this fine example.

26 February 2015 Film of Choice at The Plaza Dorchester Tonight - The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. Checking into back into The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel was like visiting old friends with a familiarity that is both comfortable and welcoming. We are reintroduced to all the old characters as we follow the next part of their adventure in the home for the Elderly and Beautiful situated in Jaipur, India. You have to smile as the effervescent enthusiasm of the totally inept Sonny bubbles over in every single thing he does. Held together by the team around him, Sonny finds the demands on his time pulling him in all directions as he tries to expand his business and arrange his marriage. The audience were laughing throughout as we bounced back and forth between each character's story and the addition of both Tamsin Grieg and Richard Gere were both entertaining and welcome. It was great to go back, the film was bright in colour, humour and emotion and I must confess I will be going back to see it at the cinema and definitely buying the DVD.

Speaking critically, of course this film doesn't deserve a 10. It's not a perfect, flawless film, simple as. Nor is it "ground-breaking" story-telling. But I'm still going to go ahead and rate it a 10 regardless. Because, quite simply, I LOVE these films to death, so I'm incredibly biased and could never give it less. But speaking on non–critical terms, this film is perfectly deserving of a 10 anyway (and it certainly does not deserve lower than a 6 for those of you dull sods out there rating as such.). It's a harmless film and isn't there to be picked apart for every little plot failing it may have. It's there to be enjoyed and if you let yourself, you will. It makes you laugh, it makes you cry, it makes you reflect. It gets the point of the film across splendidly – that life can be an adventure at any age. That is the point of the film. It's all that you want and need it to be.

If there's been one word I've seen affiliated most with this film, it's the word "unnecessary". You know what, I don't think it is. Because are all films supposed to be "necessary"? They exist as a form of escapism and to someone somewhere, a sequel to any film is greatly welcomed, as this film was for me. I have been waiting for this film since the day the companion piece (as they prefer to call it) was announced, and it was lovely and amusing and certainly did not disappoint. And if people enjoy it, why shouldn't they make more?

This film allows you to reunite with an incredible cast and their charming characters, which I'm sure are what made the first film such a hit. Evelyn and Douglas (Judi Dench and Bill Nighy) are the highlight of the film for me and seeing their tentative romance unfold is a joy to watch. Muriel Donnelly (Maggie Smith) also comes to the forefront of this film, providing her expected acerbic, hilarious one-liners but with the film also allowing you to see a softer side to her, which comes to a particularly emotional point at the film's conclusion. Those three were the real highlights of the film, but the rest of the cast did just as brilliantly, especially the Indian cast who I'm glad to see had a lot more to do this time round. Lillete Dubey was wonderful as was Tina Desai and Seema Azmi (who I was especially glad to see return). Although he caused quite a stir when the line-up was first released, Richard Gere wasn't a particularly exciting addition in the end, but that's not to say he didn't do a good job – mediocre, but still didn't take anything away from the film. Still, it was an amazing cast who all played their parts flawlessly, all bringing something different to the story. I don't think anyone can really argue with that.

It deserves a ten because Ol Parker (screenwriter) and John Madden (director) did a fantastic job in creating a story that could match up (and better, in some respects) to a film they did not imagine warranted a second. It deserves a ten because it achieves what it sets out to do: 1) provide a film to a demographic poorly provided for in the film industry (whilst still making sure that is doesn't scare away younger viewers). 2) It generously allows you two more hours with characters who most certainly charmed your heart in the first. 3) It makes you realise that yes, "life can be an adventure, at any age" and creates that feeling to want to live by that. It deserves a ten because, simply, take a look at the cast list. Finally, it deserves that ten