‘Second Best’ sums it all up
Print Edition
IF you’re going to do a movie sequel that doesn’t quite measure up to the original and seems cobbled together, well, OK. Many filmmakers have done the same.
But actually putting the words “Second Best” in the title? Now, that’s just asking for unflattering comparisons.
This isn’t to say that “The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,” — so named after an actual hotel in the movie — won’t appeal to the same fans who flocked to the first film. And it’s hard to quibble over the value of spending two hours with the likes of Judi Dench and Maggie Smith. Indeed, Smith’s exasperated rant over the state of lukewarm tea in the United States is alone worth the price of a ticket.
But much of the film feels like a hastily arranged class reunion, where you show up but have less to talk about than last time. You still have some fun, but, like a cup of lukewarm tea, it’s definitely second best.
The sequel brings us back to Jaipur, India, a few years after the British retirees first made their home in the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, where they discovered that although the place wasn’t as luxurious as advertised, it was full of life — and life lessons.
Sonny (Dev Patel), the ambitious and very talkative co-manager, is his usual hyperactive self, taking roll call every morning of the elderly residents, who’ve all settled into some sort of productive activity.
There’s the widowed Evelyn (Dench), now a textile buyer for an overseas company. There’s her would-be beau, Douglas (Bill Nighy), who’s trying to summon the guts to declare his love, while serving as the least-qualified tour guide in all of India. There’s romance-starved Madge (Celia Imrie), dallying simultaneously with two rich suitors, and there’s Norman (Ronald Pickup), the playboy who’s now seeking a different kind of happiness.
Sonny is too obsessed with his plan to pay attention to his impending wedding — an obvious source of frustration to his fiancee, lovely Sunaina (Tina Desai).
The film leads to that final wedding scene. Without spoiling much, we can tell you the colors are gorgeous (check out Sunaina’s red sari). And as for the obligatory dance sequence — it may be obligatory, but it’s huge fun. Keep your eyes on Patel: he’s having a ball, and it’s infectious.
If the rest of the film were this appealing, it wouldn’t feel “second best” at all.
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