John Madden's 2012 film The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel proved to be a funny, surprisingly honest look at the foils of old age, with a strong cast of veteran British actors, and now the sequel, The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel has come along with a continuation of the story.
After the success of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Sonny (Dev Patel) looks to expand with a second. Muriel (Maggie Smith) accompanies him to a meeting that could help him secure funding for the new premises, and they agree that she'll do the talking. Back at the hotel, Evelyn (Judi Dench) is considering a career opportunity, whilst Douglas (Bill Nighy) continues his attempts to woo her. After a late night out, Norman (Ronald Pickup) runs into some trouble when he thinks that he's accidentally put a hit out on his girlfriend Carol (Diana Hardcastle), and the hotel welcomes two new guests, Lavinia (Tamsin Grieg) and the mysterious Guy Chambers (Richard Gere).
Though not all goes to plan. Whilst Sonny is juggling the potential new deal, his upcoming wedding and the possibility that Guy is an inspector, an old acquaintance Kushal (Shazard Latif) purchases the new hotel. Then Douglas' ex, the insufferable Jean (Penelope Wilton) arrives.
The writing in the first film was better than this second outing, and whilst its numerous twisting narratives, love-triangles and vast array of Marigold residents are all entertaining, it's missing the volume of humour that was so delightful in the first. The additional characters are well-rounded, and I'm sure that those who find Richard Gere charming will enjoy him here, but they don't really bring anything new to the plot that wasn't already there, grappling with old age, the apparently relaxing, party nature of the Indian lifestyle, etc. What's entertaining with Second Best is seeing the original residents continue on their paths. It's a shame that Tom Wilkinson's character, Graham Dashwood was written out at the end of the first, as he was one of the more interesting members of the ensemble, but there's still plenty of talent, with legends Judi Dench and Maggie Smith the clear favourites, especially when they're squabbling at each other on-screen.
Much like the original, and another recent ensemble piece, Pride, also starring Bill Nighy, The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel finds its bearings with an incredibly strong cast and believable characters. Smith continues her role as the straight-to-the-point Muriel, whose dry sense of wit is the source of most of the jokes, with Patel's ambitious, yet pig-headed Sonny a close second. The relationship between Dench and Nighy's shy characters is, although clichéd, the most compelling part of the script, with Madge's love-triangle surprisingly dull. Penelope Wilton succeeds admirably at bringing back the unbelievably annoying Madge, and it was also nice to see Tamsin Greig (Fran from Black Books) in a more substantial film role.
There's definitely a cinematic advantage to setting a film in India. With some astounding architecture, scenic views and a multitude of vast colours, The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is just as vivid as the first, if not more. The cinematography is complimented by the colourful set design, culminating is an extravagant, if not totally over the top final act. Even if you were somehow bored with the characters, the visuals would get you through to the end.
The original film was a light-hearted but charming comedy that, whilst focused on an older audience, was broad enough in subject matter to be enjoyable for most ages. For the most-part, the same can be said for The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. It doesn't trump the first film, but with such a strong cast, it's still good fun.
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