It’s no secret that Hollywood and American culture favor the exploits of the young and the beautiful over the adventures of the mature and the elegant. Every so often, though, a film or TV show with a veteran cast reminds Hollywood that there’s a huge market hankering for stories that reflect more seasoned lives.
“The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” did just that. The 2012 indie feature about an attractive, plucky group of retirees discovering joy in a scrappy hotel in India was a renegade hit, mostly thanks to scene-stealing pros such as Maggie Smith and Judi Dench. After it earned more than $136 million during its spry international run, producers called for more, hence the unspectacularly titled “The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.”
While this breezy outing does feel very much like a sequel, with returning screenwriter Ol Parker throwing the usual obstacles and misunderstandings into the mix, the John Madden-directed dramedy is still a pleasant way to spend two hours. “The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” digs up complex issues — sex and death — but never gets too heavy-handed about them, and that’s refreshing.
What makes it a worthy extension has a lot to do with the presence of Maggie Smith. The two-time Academy Award-winning actress and “Downton Abbey” star is once again hilarious as Muriel Donnelly, the cranky, unfiltered co-owner of the first Exotic Marigold Hotel. Whenever the film careens into preciousness, she slaps it in the face. Her rant about what Americans consider tea is priceless.
Lucky for us, “The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” spends a lot of time with Muriel and her eager-to-please co-partner in the hotel biz, Sonny Kapoor (a charming Dev Patel). The overly ambitious Sonny and the more realistic Muriel concur that it’s time to open an extension of their popular hotel and head to America to seek the financial infusion from an investment firm (headed by David Strathairn). The goal is to buy another property near their current one.
Naturally, complications ensue. Sonny grows increasingly jealous of his exasperated fiancee Sunaina’s (Tina Desai) handsome family friend (Shazad Latif). And Sonny’s relentless pursuit of the property threatens to overshadow his upcoming nuptials, as he focuses on impressing writer Guy Chambers (Richard Gere), the new hotel visitor who Sonny suspects is an inspector for the American firm. Meanwhile, he ignores another new check-in, Lavinia Beech (Tamsin Greig), who says she’s looking for a place for her mother.
As Sonny accommodates Guy’s every whim, familiar hotel residents grapple with their own dilemmas. Evelyn (Dench) must decide whether she’s going to take on a full-time job that will require her to travel and be away from Douglas (Bill Nighy). Both are smitten with each other, but their affection is complicated again by the arrival of Douglas’ bitter, negative ex, Jean (Penelope Wilton). Meanwhile, the flirty Madge (Celia Imrie) must decide what to do about two well-heeled suitors, and Norman and Carol (Ronald Pickup and Diana Hardcastle) deal with sexual attractions outside of their relationship, one of the film’s edgier aspects.
The most compelling romantic encounter is a new one, a budding romance between Guy (Gere) and Sonny’s mother, Mrs. Kapoor (Lillete Dubey). Gere is an ideal addition to the cast, his smooth, handsome presence upping the stakes and pepping up the proceedings. The widowed Mrs. Kapoor plays hard to get, and it is Guy’s wooing of her and her son’s shock that mom is desired by a man that makes their relationship so interesting.
But these various narrative threads require glue, and screenwriter Parker finds it in the upcoming nuptials, which culminate in a big, joyous Bollywood dance number that will surely put a smile on your face. Yes, it’s a little cheesy, but so what?
Madden, who directed the first film, brings his trademark airy touch to “The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.” While the film is charming, the specter of death looming in the background makes the experience bittersweet.
The sequel’s best moments happen in the too-limited exchanges between Dench and Smith. The playful put-downs between these two very dissimilar characters make the film light up, and the actresses are so perfect together, we wish they were on screen together more.
Still, the time you will spend in “The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” will be well spent. If the first film felt like snuggling up with a warm blanket, this one is like sipping a warm, comforting cup of tea.
