The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

This review may contain spoilers!

A rather dull film that felt more like an epilogue or footnote than a sequel. I would give The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel a 4.5/10.

One good thing to be said about this film was the beautiful music, the strong presence of Indian music blended with elements of Western pieces really stood out. I think the elements of Indian styled dancing stole the show as well in a big way.

Maggie Smith, who played Muriel Donnelly, brought such development to the bitter Muriel; as an audience we see such growth in terms of her compassion and character relationships. Judi Dench, who played Evelyn Greenslade, was quite a bit of fun to watch within the film; her escapades in her new career was an incredibly amusing subplot. Bill Nighy, who played Douglas Ainslie, was a fantastic amusing character in this film; he made his bumbling awkward role a real highlight of the film. Celia Imrie, who played Madge Hardcastle, was an incredibly thrilling performance to watch; yet her arc had such a strong emotional payoff that she played really well. Ronald Pickup, who played Norman Cousins, was probably the best source of comedy throughout the film; his erratic charm was very slapstick. Tina Desai, who played Sunaina, gave a strong performance; she challenged and complimented Patel in a way that brought out the best in them both. Rajesh Tailang, who played Babul, gave a heartwarming performance that really brought up the Madge subplot; a really nice and humble performance. Lillete Dubey, who played Mrs Kapoor, basically excelled in her performance and outshone Gere easily. Penelope Wilton, who played Jean Ainslie, gave an incredible cameo that was so good I almost placed her as best performance of the film; her cynical role really contrasted to and refreshed the film.

This film was really owned by Dev Patel, who played Sonny Kapoor. Patel had incredible chemistry with whoever was onscreen with him, enhancing a lot of scenes. His energy was phenomenal and it was obvious that he really threw himself into the role. His humour, his earnest nature and his charm all came through in a character that really stood out amongst a very strong cast.

However a strong cast does not a good film make. The plot dragged on and on, basically feeling like it went for an hour longer than it actually did. There really was no demand for a film like the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel to be made into a sequel; the first one already felt very standalone. This film felt more like a forced ending in which all the characters found romantic interests; it was a story that grasped desperately at straws. Not to mention how predictable the film was, you knew every decision and outcome at least twenty minutes before it happened and sometimes these miraculous endings were aided by an out of nowhere plot development that showed signs of lazy writing. The cinematography and editing added to this tired sequel by moving slow, taking it's time to cut and lingering far too much. It was very easy to become bored.

Diana Hardcastle, who played Carol Parr, lacked screen presence and developed a character that was challenging to enjoy or empathise with. Shazad Latif, who played Kushal, gave a performance that could best be described as cringeworthy; he was so wooden that you basically began trying to just will him out of the scene from your cinema seat. Tamsin Greig, who played Lavinia Beech, was annoying to watch; her character twist was obvious and her accent change was such a ridiculous scene. Richard Gere, who played Guy Chambers, gave a tired, monotone performance; His charm and allure has certainly faded.