|
THE SECOND BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL Send This Review to a Friend
Certain British actors are enjoyable to watch even though the material with which they are working is second-rate. You know their names—Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy, Penelope Wilton, for example. They were superb in the classy “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” that spawned this sequel and gave us an appealing glimpse of India as well.
What do you do for an encore? The success of the original obviously inspired the idea that there should be a follow-up. But this time around, the straining is very visible as screenwriter Ol Parker clearly struggles to stitch a viable plot together.
One has to just settle for enjoying Maggie Smith as the elderly wise lady who doesn’t suffer fools but can dispense advice when the moment calls for it and Judi Dench as the woman trying to get her act together as she ages and is romantically attracted to Bill Nighy, who is also attracted to her but can’t bring himself to commit and get over his bumbling manner. Another plus is Penelope Wilton as the embittered estranged wife of Nighy’s character. There are others.
This time American actor Richard Gere is tossed into a role for a bit of intrigue and romance with the mother of the young man running the original Marigold Hotel but aspiring to open another. And speaking of that young man, Dev Patel playing Sonny Kapoor, whom we met the first time around, has now become even more annoying with his excessive exuberance and manic behavior. In short, in the first film he was comically endurable, but now he is insufferable.
I won’t go into all the plot complications packed into the film, which is directed by John Madden. There is just too much to explain. But yes, you can depend on there being a colorful Indian wedding, Bollywood-style. And at least there are those ever-dependable British stars to enjoy. A Fox Searchlight Pictures release. Reviewed March 6, 2015.
|