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 The
success of a 2012 movie about a bunch of UK OAPs (Old Age Pensioners)
taking a big leap to see out their golden years in a ramshackle rest
home in India was a surprise. The coming-of-old-age dramedy, The Best
Exotic Marigold Hotel, was a surprise box office hit. Cast with most of
the UK’s over-60 leading lights, the beautifully photographed cinematic
holiday, with its message that life’s not over until it’s truly over,
seemed to particularly resound with a previously undeserved
demographic. The film was such a hit, that naturally another trip to
the Ganges was in order.
The
Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel picks up not long after its
predecessor, but starts its journey on Route 66, where would-be
entrepreneur, Sonny, and his main investor, the salty Mrs. Donnelly,
live the (his) American dream of flying down the legendary
highway in a convertible. They’re heading west to meet with a
conglomerate that Sonny hopes will support his dreams of expanding his
retirement living empire. The company’s ‘definitely maybe’ until an
on-site inspection can be held, invigorates the normally exuberant Sonny
to levels of near-hysteria as his plans for a new Best Exotic Marigold
Hotel seem to be coming to fruition, which would be great as Sonny’s
wedding day to the sweet, steadfast Sunaina draws nearer. Back at the
hotel, the residents from the first film are seen to have been whiling
away their days pursuing hobbies that turn into lucrative business
offers, guiding tours (with a little electronic help), and
generally enjoying their time as long term guests. Douglas’ crush on
the luminous Evelyn has gone nowhere - a situation he’d like to remedy
if he could get her to stand still. Evelyn’s skill and discernment
helping a small, overseas textile company choose Indian materials turns
into a real opportunity and she is hired to travel across the country on
their behalf. Sexy sexagenarian Madge has billionaires for every day of
the week and perennial bounder Norman is surprisingly monogamous with
his lady, Carol. Of course, all cannot remain blissful and zen-like,
and various misunderstandings and the not-entirely-welcome return of old
friends disturb the peace.
Working in the template that did so well in 2012, The Second Best Exotic
Marigold Hotel has brought back all of its cast that survived the first
film (it is a movie about old people, after all), and added a few
new faces, most notably, Richard Gere as a wandering soul who may or may
not be the incognito inspector Sonny is overeager to impress.
Otherwise, there’s really not a lot new under the sun. The film’s still
shot gorgeously, though not quite with the freshness or grandeur of the
first movie. The fish out of water element is also gone as everyone is
now part of the Hotel family. We’re seeing them more or less getting on
with their established existences instead of discovering their ways, and
it’s just not as interesting. The setup is extremely sitcom-ish; like
the old Love Boat episodes where we go from this couple’s story, to that
couple’s story, to this odd character on the fringes, etc. Unlike the
first film, where - slight as it might have been - the residents’
culture shock and adjusting - or not - to their new ways of life served
as a binding tie between the characters and moved the film forward; but
here there isn’t any real connection outside of their proximity to the
hotel. The film must then depend on the individual characters’
sequences being compelling enough to keep viewers’ attention and none of
the stories is that interesting. What there is is extremely cheesy and
cliché, and indeed, very 1980’s sitcom; with Norman’s possibly drunkenly
ordering a hit on his girlfriend, and Sonny’s over-effusive attention to
the inspector, who no one’s really sure is actually the inspector. All
that was missing was the canned laughter. There is much more time given
to a potential triangle between Sonny, Sunaina and Sonny’s old frenemy,
who’s returned to threaten everything Sonny has worked for. Even that
falls flat as Sunaina, who was such a lovely example of the modern,
young Indian woman in the first movie, doesn’t do much this film except
fuss at Sonny about their wedding. (She does get some dance
sequences, this time, something actress
Tena Desae told me she’d hoped for in our
interview in 2012).
The
luminous Judi Dench and the ever-cool Bill Nighy (in his omnipresent
black suits, even in the Indian heat) are given a anemic romance
that only shows some spark once his unhappy, caustic wife, played by
Penelope Wilton, returns to proceed with their divorce. Maggie Smith is
present only to reel off excellently timed one-liners and throw her
inimitable side-eye as needed, but then with even less frequently and
bite than before. That she has no storyline of her own in this film is
a huge error. (How I longed for some quality time with my Downton
Abbey OTP, Dames Smith and Wilton, and was terribly let down.)
Watching the excellent English cast of old pros play off each other in
the first film was one of its great appeals, but there is hardly any
interaction here. Instead, the movie stays far too long on Richard
Gere’s vague character’s wooing of Sonny’s prickly mom (Whose
hardline rigidity from the first film evaporates in the face of Richard
Gere). The Norman storyline is silly and endless, and did we really
need two long dance sequences for Sonny and Sunaina - and practice
routines? Utterly gone was any sense of gravity or real emotion, which
Tom Wilkinson’s character of the man reuniting with his lost love
provided beautifully in the original chapter. The only thing audiences
have to put their minds to in this sequel is which character is going to
die before the final credits roll (it is a movie about old people,
after all)? And even in that instance, it feels like the viewer is
being played. The movie has no plot and instead meanders around
aimlessly for two long hours, hoping that the charm of its cast – which
really was about seventy percent of the first film’s appeal – will pull
it through.
The
Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel cannot be blamed for going to the well
twice, but it certainly must be excoriated for outfitting its stunning
cast with this half-baked, afterthought, shell of a script. It is
unfortunate, because the first film did so well to present an older
audience with a well-crafted (if not brilliant or groundbreaking),
light, entertaining movie with characters and situations they could
relate to for a fun day out at the cinema. Instead of employing that
type of thoughtfulness to this sequel, the creators of this movie
decided to coast on the previous film’s laurels and make no real effort
at all.
Based
on its predecessor’s success and once again leaning toward that
untapped, older demographic, the filmmakers might be able to tempt the
audience to try this sequel, but no one will be lining up to visit The
Third Best Exotic Marigold Hotel without some real renovations.
~ The
Lady Miz Diva
March
6th, 2015
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