“Everything will be alright in the end. So if it’s not alright, it is not yet the end.” -Sonny Kapoor (Dev Patel)
A group of Brits are persuaded to travel to more affordable India and retire in a hotel that turns out to be far less luxurious than they had imagined. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is an undeniably pleasant affair. Sunny optimism aside, this inspirational slice-of-life is pabulum for the septuagenarian set. It panders to the most common desires of its target demographic without shame. If teen boys are the audience for the Transformers movies, then this is manna from heaven for the over-50 crowd.
Critiquing this tale is like finding fault in a clown‘s circus act. It means well. It only seeks to inspire warm fuzzies and to an extent, it succeeds. The cast is uniformly excellent. I freely admit I love seeing Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Maggie Smith, and Tom Wilkinson in anything. They are masters of their craft and can take even the most simplistic material and make it seem like Shakespeare. Their acting abilities certainly aren’t tested here. Lesser known, but equally talented Celia Imrie, Ronald Pickup, and Penelope Wilton also contribute significantly to the proceedings. It is because of these 7 that this almost, ALMOST, won me over. There is a scene early on where the 7 of them are sitting at an airport about to embark on what promises to be a major journey to India. It was at that moment I thought, “Oh this is going to be fun.”
Unfortunately the promise of their unique journeys of self discovery never met my expectations. The script simply isn’t as good as the cast. Each time some minor conflict arises and we’re given actual drama, the conflict is oversimplified and quickly resolved. I wont spoil the details of the trajectories of the various characters. But have no fear! All potential conflicts are consistently addressed one after the other in routine fashion sometimes within the very same scene. The plot predictably limps along to an insipid conclusion. Then there’s the hotel owner. Dev Patel of Slumdog Millionaire fame portrays the hotel’s amiable young host, whose primary goal is to provide a gracious retirement community for our group in India. Patel brings a substantial enthusiasm to a role with dialogue that has all the depth of a fortune cookie. His thick accent is so exaggerated, he’s practically a cartoon. It borders on offensive. As the story progressed, he grew so incredibly cloying, I dreaded his every appearance. Apu from the Simpsons is a comparatively nuanced character and I say that without humorous intent.
If one is willing to put up with stereotypes and clichéd events, then there is some enjoyment to be had in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. That cast goes a long way in making this much better than it should have been. However if you demand a bit more from your comfort food entertainment, you just might find yourself struggling to stay awake.
Fast Film Reviews 
Leave a comment