Movie Review - The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2012)

Starring Judi Dench, Tom Wilkinson, Bill Nighy, Maggie Smith, Penelope Wilton, Celia Imrie, and Dev Patel

Directed by John Madden

Old people say the darndest things!  Sometimes they poke fun at the youth.  Sometimes they discuss their sex life for yucks.  And then there's always the humorous racist ones who've never moved out of the dark ages.  And each of these types of elderly folks has taken up residence at The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel in India.  Join them for two hours peppered with moments of laughs, but very little story or substance.  But if Viagra is on your (or your significant other's) bedside table, this may be just the movie for you!

There are some great performances here from very talented British folks.  Judi Dench, Tom Wilkinson, and Billy Nighy are just a few of the notable long in the tooth stars on display and they all attempt to make director John Madden's film as watchable as possible.  Those three celebrities and several others take on the roles of aging British citizens who, in their old age, decide to travel to India either wanting a change in atmosphere or for monetary reasons or for seeking discounted medical help.  They all settled on staying at The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel run by the young Sonny Kapoor (Dev Patel) thanks to the establishment's lovely brochure promoting luxury accommodations for the elderly, but upon their arrival they realize Sonny may have misrepresented his rundown complex.  Still, as the group settles in, they realize that India has so much to offer that it my even turn the most racist of people (Maggie Smith in a one-note role) into the most magnanimous by film's end.

The film's problem is that it's entirely too simplistic.  We are well aware of where all these folks' stories are going to end up from the very beginning (with the exception of Wilkinson's character who, although he goes through a rather touching story arc, felt oddly out of place with the rest of the film's overall tone).  There's no depth here and that would be fine if the film didn't attempt to strive for deep meaning.  Whimsicality is perfectly acceptable...they just should've gone for that here rather than trying for something more.

Then again, I don't really think The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel was made for me.  Were I forty years older and heading into my seventies, I might have gone gaga over it, but I have not reached the milestone of needing to wear Depends so I'm not the film's demographic.  Yes, I realize that there's flippancy in that last statement, but I really mean no disrespect to the film's audience.  There are people who will love this movie and it's great that the filmmakers behind this decided to (successfully...at least from a box office standpoint) appeal to an under-represented audience.  But perhaps because I wouldn't be allowed to check in to the Marigold Hotel, this one just didn't prove successful for me.

The RyMickey Rating:  C