The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Review: Ode to Mari-age and Ageless Love

Title reminds you of the first film in the franchise, released three years ago? Of course it does. It also reminds you of My Big, Fat, Greek Wedding, Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines and Oh Dad! Poor Dad! Mama’s Hung You in the Closet and I’m Feelin So Sad! There’s something about long titles! No surprise though that most of them are comedies. This one has lots of comedy, while garnishing it with a generous sprinkling of poignancy. Life has its share of desserts and deserts. Love, marriage, separation and death are the four pillars that support the hotel, which is an obvious symbol for life itself. C’est la vie!

The 2012 original was based on the book, These Foolish Things, by Deborah Moggachwas, written for the screen by Ol Parker. Parker grew-up in London and began his acting career in the theatre, following it up with appearances on TV and a short career as a stand-up comic. For cinema, he directed Othello (1995), An Ideal Husband (1999) and The Importance of Being Earnest (2002). Author Moggachwas had grown-up children when, in 2014, she re-married, proving that it’s never too late to start another life, in yet another example of life imitating art, in fact her own novel. It was directed by John Madden (The Debt, Oscar-winner Shakespeare in Love), the two men and a woman forming the same trinity that has shaped the second escapade.

For those that were not treated to exotic delicacies première fois, here’s a recap. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel follows a group of British retirees who decide to "outsource" their retirement to less expensive and seemingly exotic India. Enticed by advertisements for the newly restored Marigold Hotel and bolstered with visions of a life of leisure, they arrive to find the palace a mere façade of its former self. Though the new environment is less luxurious than imagined, they are forever transformed by their shared experiences, discovering that life and love can begin again, when you let go of the past. Five major characters, including Tom Wilkinson, are missing. Many more are added, and kicking. One is about to kick the bucket.

Acquiring a second hospitality property is the expansionist dream of Sonny (Dev Patel), and it’s making more claims on his time than he has available, considering his imminent marriage to the love of his life, co-worker Sunaina (Tina Desai). Sonny needs the additional property, now that his first venture, ‘The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel for the Elderly and Beautiful’, poses a rooming space crunch for fresh arrivals, since none of the current occupants want to leave…alive, that is. Guy (Richard Gere) and Lavinia (Tamsin Greig) are two such new guests.

Evelyn and Douglas--Judi Dench as a fabric buyer for an overseas principal and Bill Nighy as a tourist guide, who uses a hidden earphone to be guided himself by a local boy who speaks good English--have now joined the Jaipur work-force, and are wondering where their regular dates for Chilla pancakes will lead, while Norman and Carol (Ronald Pickup and Diana Hardcastle) are negotiating the tricky waters of an exclusive relationship threatened by illicit affairs, as Madge (Celia Imrie) juggles two eligible and very wealthy suitors. Perhaps the only one who may know the answers is newly installed co-manager of the hotel, Muriel Donnelly (Maggie Smith), the keeper of everyone's secrets. As the demands of a traditional Indian wedding threaten to engulf them all, an unexpected way forward presents itself. There is speculation about the real identity of the newly arrived man and woman, which turns out to be …true! Or false?

Parker and Madden juggle and intersperse live action with flash-forward or imaginary, point-of-view scenes with smooth change of gear. The humour is often acerbic while maintaining a genuine British feel. Bringing in the two American guests was a good play, as much a marketing gimmick as a foil to the mainly British and Indian proceedings. Moreover, the angle of pitching the new purchase to an American group brings a new dimension into play. A contemporary feel makes the film equally appealing to those in their 70s as well as those who were born in 70s and later. Four things jar: the numerous shots of vehicles passing by and our characters travelling in them, the ominous foreboding built-in time and again, with no climax, the way most performers hold their heads with a slight tilt and nod after speaking most dialogue pieces and the stilted accent and falsetto struck by some of the Indian characters, mainly Sonny and one of the auto-rickshaw drivers (rickshaws are referred to as tuk-tuks, a la Indonesia and Thailand).Viewed as stand-alone, The Second Best Marigold Hotel has a minimum dependence on the first part, and that much is only to be expected in a sequel.

Time and again, Dev Patel’s eyes bulge, he routinely resorts to contortion and put-on amalgamated Indian accents while mouthing clap-trap dialogue. His part comes across as part emotional fool, part jealous fiancé, part ambitious entrepreneur and part emotional fool. To his credit though, he holds his own among giants like Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Richard Gere. Of the trio, only Richard falls slightly short while the Dames are a delight to watch. Tina Patel (Yeh Faasley, Sahi Dhandhe Galat Bande, Table No.21, Dussehra) is dusky and husky, supple and lithe. Bill Nighy stutters, stumbles and bumbles, like a drunk poet with amnesia, without going over-board. Another old fogey, with genuine amnesia, is played by Ronald Pickup, named Norman Cousins in the film. Remember the American political journalist who died in 1990? Cousins recounted his own self-treatment with humour in 1976, after he’d been diagnosed with a very painful, life-threatening form of arthritis called ankylosing spondylitis. Doctors gave him little chance of recovery. When traditional medicine failed to relieve his pain, Cousins left the hospital, checked into a hotel, and watched Marx Brothers films and TV sitcoms, finding that 10 minutes of “belly laughter” allowed him two hours of pain-free sleep.

British actor Shazad Latif (Spooks, My Mad Fat Diary and A Nice Arrangement) has a way with accents and acquits himself well. Accent is also key to Tamsin Greig (named Lavinia Beech in the story). Incidentally, would you know that he came second in the auditions for Slumdog Millionaire, the film that launched Dev Patel? The film is largely shot in Jaipur and Mumbai, and Indian/Indian origin actors—Avijit Dutt, Denzil Smith, Ashok Pathak, Rajesh Tailang, Vikram Singh, Avantika Akerkar, Shishir Sharma, Sid Makkar, Shubhrajyoti Barat, Lokesh Rai, Atul Kale--generally show competence. Atul Tiwari, popular Indian film-writer, has a cameo while Seema Azmi’s role, though brief, offers her scope. Lillette Dubey is her normal, assertive self.

In terms of music, the leitmotif is the infectious dance track, ‘Yeh ishq haae’, from the Indian Hindi film Jab We Met (2007), both the film and the song being runaway hits.

Rating: ***

Trailer: https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=632206090223608&set=vb.152561131521442&type=2&theater