This
typical
indie
masala
film
is
a
sequel
to
the
2012
released,
"The
Best
Exotic
Marigold
Hotel".
It
lacks
the
novelty
factor
and
the
sheen
which
was
apparent
in
its
first
edition.
The
narration
takes
off
a
couple
of
years
after
the
long-term
British
residents
have
settled
at
"The
Best
Exotic
Marigold
Hotel" in
Jaipur.
The
hotel
is
packed
to
capacity
and
manager
Sunil
Inderjit
Kapoor
aka
Sonny
(Dev
Patel)
and
his
co-manager
Muriel
Donnelly
(Maggie
Smith)
are
now
toying
with
an
expansion
plan
for
"The
Second
Best
Exotic
Marigold
Hotel".
This
forms
the
crux
of
this
film.
The
sequel
opens
with
Sonny
and
Muriel
on
a
road
trip
to
California
in
the
hope
of
finding
an
investor
to
help
them
buy
the
property
they
are
looking
for.
After
the
inconclusive
meeting
with
the
retirement
company
in
the
US,
who
they
hoped
would
finance
their
dreams,
the
duo
are
back
in
Jaipur.
Life
continues
as
routine
with
Sonny
taking
roll
calls
of
his
guests
every
morning,
in
case
they
leave
unexpectedly,
pun
intended.
And
while
he
manages
his
hotel,
he
is
also
bogged
down
with
his
impending
marriage
to
Sunaina
(Tina
Desai)
and
his
uncertain
future.
His
frustrations
escalate
when
Kushal
(Shazad
Latif),
Sunaina's
brother's
friend,
turns
up
in
their
lives.
The
rest
of
the
coterie
at
the
hotel
too
are
embroiled
with
issues
of
their
own,
basically
related
to
matters
of
the
heart.
The
end
culminates
as
a
geriatric
romance
saga
punctuated
with
rough,
dry
and
acidic
humour,
that
generates
from
metaphor
packed
dialogues.
Adapted
from
Deborah
Moggach's
2004
novel,
"These
Foolish
Things",
the
script
written
by
Ol
Parker
is
chaptered
in
three
parts;
The
Sagaai
-
The
Engagement
party;
The
Sangeet
-
The
Family
party;
and
the
Shaadi
-
The
Wedding.
With
several
sub-plots,
numerous
characters
and
no
dramatic
sequences,
the
pace
of
the
narration
is
fluid,
sluggish
and
meandering.
The
film
is
worth
watching
for
the
fine
performances
by
the
geriatric
cast.
Maggie
Smith
as
Muriel
who
keeps
Sonny
grounded,
is
endearing.
It
is
a
delight
to
watch
her
dish
out
caustic
one-liners.
Judi
Dench
as
Evelyn
Greenslade,
who
sources
textile
for
an
overseas
company
now
appointed
as
its
official
buyer,
has
a
bounce
in
her
step
after
a
successful
negotiation.
While
she
is
professionally
secure,
her
relationship
with
Douglas
(Bill
Nighy),
the
half-baked
tour
guide
in
Jaipur,
is
on
a
rocky
terrain.
It
is
touching
to
see
how
he
proposes
to
her.
Equally
interesting
is
to
watch
the
tracks
played
by;
Celia
Imrie
as
the
romance
starved
Madge,
who
is
wooing
two
eligible
suitors
and
Richard
Gere
who
plays
Guy
Chambers,
an
incognito
hotel
inspector
and
a
novelist
who
finds
his
muse
in
Lillete
Dubey,
Sonny's
widowed
mother.
Dev
Patel
slips
into
Sonny's
shoes
with
fine
precision
as
the
over-confident
and
irritatingly
talkative
entrepreneur.
He
pairs
with
Tina
Desai
in
equal
measure.
Together,
their
chemistry
is
blatant
and
appealing.
Shazad
Latif
as
the
bone
of
their
contention
has
his
screen
moments
and
he
shines.
A
few
Bollywood
songs
like
"Yeh
ishq
haaye" from
"Jab
We
Met",
"Balma"
from
"Khiladi
786"
and
"Aila
re
aila"
are
integrated
into
the
script.
And
the
entire
cast
seemed
to
have
a
blast
shaking
their
legs
to
"Jhoom
Barabar
Jhoom".
With
good
production
quality,
the
film
efficiently
captures
Jaipur
through
Ben
Smithard's
lens,
but
then
the
images
are
not
alluring
enough
to
make
you
want
to
visit
Jaipur.
Overall,
while
"The
Exotic
Marigold
Hotels"
is
packaged
as
a
cultural
ambassador
of
Jaipur,
"The
Second
Best
Exotic
Marigold
Hotel"
remains
after
all,
only
the
second
best!