The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Ever wondered what the cue to get into heaven at St. Peter's Gates is going to look like? Try standing in line for a preview screening of this little gem. The Daily Mail readers were out in force this morning, free tickets in hand and storming the cinema, to catch this charming story of a bunch of old folks retiring in India. Like the line for entry to heaven, there was regretfully the odd young person in the audience, no doubt terrified at the prospect of leaving their life behind to sit with all the oldies for what might seem like eternity. But fortunately The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is a charmer and even the youngest viewers will find something to enjoy here. Whether it's Bill Nighy, again stealing the film from under the noses of an accomplished ensemble (see also Love Actually) or the sweet love story of the films only younger characters, the film has enough unexpected moments to mask the more predictable and clichéd elements of the story. When seven British retirees opt to 'outsource' their retirements to cheap and cheerful India, they arrive at a hotel that is not as expected from the brochure. Dev Patel's Sonny runs the place under the watchful eye of his disapproving mother and the visitors are left to dust off the furniture and make do with the cockroaches on the floors and the curry served up every dinnertime. The stars of the movie are delightful; Judi Dench does vulnerable but determined; Bill Nighy funny and heartbreaking; and Tom Wilkinson quiet, reserved and struggling with an unexpected burden. It is a story of seven characters facing up to a new time of their lives with new challenges and new loves presenting themselves. It is a hopeful story about letting go of the past and embracing the future. Like any film set in the country, India is a central character. The colours, the faces, the smiles, the sounds, the hustle and bustle of the packed streets all assault the senses, not just for the characters but also for the viewer. You might see less of the real India than many would like, but it is always present in the background. The love stories are touching with the ups and downs of relationships sensitively written. The unwinding of Bill Nighy and Penelope Wilton's Douglas and Jean is particularly well handled and bound to induce the odd tear once the inevitable finally happens. Wilkinson's search for a lost love is concluded a little too conveniently and lacks the emotional gut-punch it could have. But all the characters get their moments in the spotlight; whether it is bigoted old racist Maggie Smith's opening of her heart to the locals or Ronald Pickup's desperate search for a last bit of nookie (ahem sorry… meaningful connection). The elderly members of the audience loved it, laughing heartily from the opening moments of Dench on the phone to her internet service provider. More unsettling was how many found Maggie Smith's Muriel and her hideously outdated racist comments at the beginning even funnier. Hopefully the Daily Mail readers, like Muriel, will come away from the film with a slightly enlightened view of the world outside their doors. Overall, Dench and Nighy are the standouts, but Wilkinson also gets a strong storyline in a film chock-full to the brim with colour, joy, a little bit of sadness and hardship and a lot of hope. Just like India itself then.

The story was brought to India. Thats all the role India plays. Story does add a gay Indian guy and an Indian couple involved in a premarital relationship (something not still accepted by the Indians in general). It was funny for the first 15 minutes and I thought the initial bitter taste of poverty and other problems will be graduated to sweet taste of India as a philosophy/religion powerhouse(remember Indian is birthplace of many religions) or at least it will play a role in the story. Nothing of that sort happened, story and India never met, they kept on moving like the two banks of a river. As a person born and raised in India with rich religious and spiritual values(I don't know how much I imbibed) I don't think this movies even touches the true spirit of India.

Just got back from having seen this wonderful film at a packed cinema and I'm still smiling. It really is the most entertaining, colourful and uplifting film I've seen for a very long time. Apart from India itself - which is a star in its own right - it is the performances from this stellar cast that really make this movie. At times it was like an acting masterclass, but never at any time could you see the cogs turning. The central characters were all wholly believable, and to be honest I find it impossible to single anyone out, although if I had to, my vote would probably go to Bill Nighy. He is just superb as Douglas - the apologetic, hesitant, henpecked husband of the self centred, bitter, scolding Jean portrayed by Penelope Wilton, who is also excellent. There is one particular scene between the two, where Douglas, for once bites back - and the emotion from Nighy is just mesmerising to watch. When you add the likes of Dames Maggie Smith and Judy Dench to the mix, the delicious Celia Imrie, Tom Wilkinson and Ronald Pickup (with an honourable mention to the latter, who brought a wonderfully rakish comedic performance to the mix) - and you can't go wrong. The younger cast members and all the supporting players do an excellent job - but it is the oldies who steal the show. That doesn't mean it's an oldies film - far from it. I took my 16 year old daughter and she laughed, cried and loved it as much as I did.

source: The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

This is an overrated shallow and ugly movie. Don't be fooled by the A list British cast. Shallow and uninteresting characters and relationships There is no old folks charm here as in Quartet. The characters are uninteresting clichéd and shallow. The gay character (Tom Wilkinson) seems thrown in to be current. Not much humor here in any of the dialog. The romance is unconvincing especially Bill Nighy and Judi Dench. Ugly images Don't expect any Passage to India magic here. It focuses on an unattractive hotel and very ugly parts of the city. Slums and dirty roads. Only agree with Penelope Wilton - sick of the squalor. Want to get out of this movie like she wanted to get out of the city. Forget about this. Not everything Maggie Smith does is good.

The first hour is mind-numbing; truly mind-numbing. The viewer gets introduced to seven elderly Brits, who are off to India because, well, they're elderly, they're bored, they're lonely, they're troubled. To remedy that they've discovered a supposed paradise hotel in Jaipur, India that caters to elderly people. So, off they go. The Indian characters have their own issues revolving around love and respect. The stories of the two groups interweave. Truly, though, the first hour is awfully tough slogging. The elderly Brits are actually composed of a pretty good cast, with actors like Judi Dench, Tom Wilkinson and Bill Nighy among others. And they were given a little more to do in the second hour of the movie that almost made watching this movie verge on the worthwhile. The problem was that I had largely lost the flow of the story because the first hour was so uninspiring. That second half does become a little bit humorous at times and it offers some interesting philosophical reflections about life and aging. All things considered, things work out perhaps a little bit too well for everyone involved in this. The overall story here is quite weak, and - solid cast aside - it's far too slow on the start. (3/10)

If there were an English international acting team, like football, this cast would have won fifty caps each often playing together in the same team. Each took their familiar roles such as a feisty Judy Dench, a thoroughly decent Tom Wilkinson, a xenophobic Maggie Smith and all played well. It just needed Juliet Stevenson, Julie Walters, Hugh Grant and Helen Mirren to appear in cameo roles as substitutes at half time. India also put in a stunning performance. The problem was the predictable script which began to drag after a good first hour. Bill Nighy could have ditched Penelope Wilton far sooner and saved about ten minutes. I kept feeling that I had seen the film before especially with all the actors playing in familiar positions. It was all too neat and everything came together all at the same time. A couple of other things didn't work either. I know it was supposed to have comic aspects but Dev Patel's stereotype might even have embarrassed Peter Sellars. However the most incongruous moment was when Maggie Smith suddenly revealed herself no longer a senile old nanny who used to manage a household budget but someone who could glance at a set of accounts and instantly assess a hotel business. I enjoyed it but it was really was a remake of Lavender Ladies' Room with a View of Cranford's Calendar Girls with Mussolini.

Very disappointed in this so called film dealing with human relationships. Maggie Smith is confined to a wheelchair in the film, and at the last scene, she is suddenly out of it and thriving. Zev Patel possibly goes up a drop of a step further after having appeared in the totally unworthy Oscar winning "Slumdog Millionaire." I will say that there is one terrific performance, other than that of the always remarkable Judi Dench. Her name is Penelope Wilton and she is absolutely sensational as the totally negative wife of one of the cast members, an equally fine Bill Nighy. It's a shame when British workers have to retire to this kind of life due the little amount of money they have amassed. You can see that the British Health Care System leaves a lot to be desired by a 6 month wait for a hip replacement. The film is ridden with clichés and it is certainly no "Passage to India."

Marigold Hotel was overall a very pleasant film with a distinct feel-good factor - helped by the vibrancy of the Indian setting. Judi Dench is excellent as always, and Bill Nighy really captures the child within for this film. In fact, all of the cast were superb, although Dev Patel suffered from a little overacting! The plot is more like a moral, and explores a 'young at heart' theme throughout. I think the vision of the film is somewhat confused at times. It seems to shift from a full-on comedy to a film about ageism, and it doesn't flow as well as one would hope. Also, Maggie Smith's character (although superbly played) is a slightly far fetched transformation, so I would have liked to see more focus on her throughout the film. Overall though, a nice, entertaining piece of work. Perhaps not as good as you would expect from such a star-studded cast, but nevertheless, very entertaining!

In her blog, Evelyn Greenslade (Judi Dench) wrote that she, like her fellow expats, had to adapt. Ironically enough I must have missed the part where they "adapt" because I cannot remember any of the characters adapting to anything in Jaipur, with the possible exception of Muriel (Maggie Smith) who appears to be slightly less racist by the end. Evelyn, for all her talks on "adapting" is the one teaching the locales about British telephone etiquette and customs. Dashwood (Tom Wilkinson) also teaches the youths the intricacies of cricket. Norman (Ronald Pickup) finally meets a woman he likes in Jaipur... a British woman! Muriel proves to be a much better hotel manager than the natives... and ends up managing the joint. The movie reeks with imperialism which is surprising in the 21st century. The narrative is predictable to the extreme, there is no one single event/piece of dialogue/development that you do not foresee a mile ahead. There are more clichés per square minute than many stories I watched or read recently. Yes I am a bit intrigued by the fact that on Rottentomatoes.com and Metacritic.com the film appears to rank favorably with reviewers as well as with the general public. However I just happen to disagree with most of them and to side with one scribe who wrote of the colossal waste of talent amalgamated here. The reason I give TBEMH a 5 and not a 1 is the actors who absolutely provide their very best; but at the end it was not enough and Graham Dashwood expresses it in ways I can not possibly replicate: he dies of boredom.