The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

After seeing the film the week of its release, I waited for The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel to become available on DVD, and had to place an order for this true gem. My immediate reaction had been that this is a movie that I wanted to see over and again, if just for the pure pleasure in seeing people who can prove that it's good to be over sixty and be able to explore new horizons. For me, this is unquestionably one of the best movies of the year. Director John Madden's comedy about English retirees in India is a fascinating mix of both the familiar and the exotic. Ol Parker's screenplay is an adaptation from British author Deborah Moggach's book These Foolish Things (2004), and the casting is true perfection. It begins in the UK with brief sketches of seven British senior citizens, which sets the stage. We find Evelyn Greenslade (Judi Dench) on the phone in her London flat, trying to communicate with a robotic operator at an Indian call center. She's a recent widow and is forced to sell her home after learning that her deceased husband had misused their life savings. It's Evelyn's blog entries, read aloud as narrative, that set the film's timeline. There's Muriel Donnelly (Maggie Smith), a xenophobic, crabby shrew, a never-married retired housekeeper bound to her wheelchair. She needs a hip replacement, and makes the trip because in India the surgery will be cheaper and doesn't require a month long wait. Douglas and Jean Ainslie (Bill Nighy and Penelope Wilton) are an argumentative couple that sank their nest egg into their daughter's failing start-up company. Madge Hardcastle (Celia Imrie) and Norman Cousins (Ronald Pickup) are two singles looking for a change from the older British dating scene. Graham Dashwood (Tom Wilkinson) is a retired judge with a guilty past who grew up in Jaipur, and is returning there for the first time since his youth. All seven are drawn to "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel for the elderly and beautiful" in Jaipur, India, based on an advertisement inspired more by the proprietors' hopes than on reality. The seven seniors travel to India, and as we find out, the hotel is anything but the Best or Exotic. It's here at the Marigold Hotel that they meet their host, Sonny Kapoor (Dev Patel), a naïve, completely disorganized yet highly enthusiastic young man. Must admit that I had to stifle my laughter in the theater and again when viewing the DVD, watching Sonny trying to explain to his guests that the hotel has no working telephones and that some rooms are without doors, something that had been neglected ahead of time. He is the film's comic lead, and his often-hyperactive performance often borders on pure slapstick. His exclamation was perfect: "Everything will be all right in the end... if it's not all right then it's not the end." Sonny is under extreme pressure from his arrogant, domineering mother to give up the hotel as a lost cause and go along with an arranged marriage in Delhi. But complicating matters, Sonny is in love with Sunaina (Tena Desae), a call center worker. It gets interesting (and a bit ironic) when Evelyn takes a job in the call center instructing the workers how to speak to British people on the phone... classic Judi Dench. Watching Muriel's gradual transformation from a racist and crabby shrew to a caring and sensitive woman may have stretched credibility a bit. But considering the never-married housekeeper background of her character, it's something that few besides Maggie Smith could pull off so well. The overall plot is beautifully interwoven with the subplots, and viewers will be treated to some mild surprises. Without dropping any spoilers, watch for Douglas (Bill Nighy) having a blast exploring the nearby temples and such, yet that does have its results with his wife. The antics of Madge (Celia Imrie) and Norman (Ronald Pickup) in their quests for romance are hilarious in parts. Graham (Tom Wilkinson) offers a touching performance on many levels as he proceeds with his personal quest. If there was any disappointment at all for this viewer, it was the hope that somewhere and at some point, Bill Nighy would break out of playing his role as a browbeaten husband and burst into that mad aging rocker that he did to well in Love Actually , but we can't have everything. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is lively, irreverent and enjoyable when Maggie Smith and Penelope Wilton are doing their crabby senior citizen performances. It produces some real laughs and offers truly brilliant performances from a highly experienced cast. Peppered with its pungent illustration of Jaipur's jam-packed streets and the rest of the scenery, it's a heartwarming, captivating and even inspiring leisurely paced comedy. Its optimism and claim that it's never too late to leave your comfort zone and explore new horizons makes it a joy for all except diehard gerontophobics. 9/24/2012

This is a quirky tale of a group of retirees who have decided to relocate sight unseen to The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel in India. Their journey begins with a brief synopsis of why each of them is leaving England and going to India. Each story is funny, and people can relate to these people's situations. Upon their arrival, culture shock sets in. Some can accept it and some can not. One of the characters, Muriel, played so adeptly by Maggie Smith, is prejudiced against Indians, so her injection into India provides many laughs. Her remarks are priceless. Muriel expresses what many people only feel and keep to themselves. Upon their arrival, the guests are greeted by Dev Patel, the owner of the hotel. He is the young actor who played the hero in Slumdog Millionaire. His comic gestures, timing, and hilarious welcome to the guests are a pleasure to watch. He delivers funny lines with such seriousness that makes what he says even funnier. His intentions are so good for these people, but he stumbles over his words, which makes his welcome even funnier. Dev Patel is the best host/owner/manager of this establishment. Patel's "Welcome Dinner" is hilarious. His intentions are so pure and sincere, but his words are so funny. He calls the hotel a place for "the elderly and beautiful," and for people "who are long in tooth" and "heard the chimes at midnight." Everyone is in shock. The food is atrocious, but he prepared it lovingly with his most "loyalest" and best friend, Young Moossi. When someone falls over at the table and gets crowded by the other guests, Dev Patel rushes through saying, "Let me through. My brother is a doctor!" This comedic dinner doesn't get much better than this! The entire cast is brilliant. These actors are at the richest point in their careers, and it is a joy to watch them. Each character has his or her reasons for going to this hotel, and their stories unfold most amusingly. Each actor plays his or her part to perfection. The casting was superb. Everyone can relate to their situations. The deadpan and the hysterical actions are extremely amusing. I have watched this movie over and over because I discover something new every time I watch it. I would recommend this movie for anyone who wants to sympathize with the plight that seniors may face in retiring to a foreign country. This is the best movie that has come along in a long time! I would NOT miss it! ENJOY!

My favorite movie. Great cast. Fun movie.

I had my doubts in the beginning ---- even though I adore Dame (and incomparable) Maggie Smith, Dame Judith Dench, Celia Imerie (I LOVE his woman!), Tom Williamson, Bill Nighy & Mr. Pickup... whose first name eludes me at the moment ---- but, it turned out quite well. I gave in to the urge to watch it one more time before my rental expired. I found I enjoyed it even more. Owning the movie, I now watch it.... of course, only in order to show others who have not seen it(!) ..... often. Great film! Charming, witty, funny, sad --- to the point of tears in two deserving scenes ---- romantic. Speaking from experience ---- the film offers an intelligent and spot-on(!) telling of the physical, psychological, sexual and often tragic results of not having died yet! Many of those close to 'the elderly (or much worse..... elderly AND infirm (and it takes so little to be labeled "infirm" after having been labeled "elderly!") in geographic proximity and by genetic (family) bonds ---- make no effort to conceal their opinion that you have out lived your usefulness and your necessity, i.e. you are no longer wanted or needed.... you are, bluntly, no more than a nuisance... at best; At worst: You are an unwanted dilemma to be dealt with, straining the patience of the ones you carried & cared for (physically and financially), raised, and brought into adulthood ---- or what passes for adulthood today. This film addresses this in an easily understandable manner ..... so that everyone can grasp the truth. There is also a youthful romance that crosses class boundaries.... which in India seem to be even more ridiculous and unkind than in the US and, apparently, Britain. SO it is a film the young and the not-so-young can enjoy. Highly recommended. The cast alone makes this film worth a look! (The cast is why I watched in the first place ----- I adore them all ---- but, the British ladies of the cast ( I am shamed by not being able to remember the names of two of the ladies) are among the best in their profession --- the best of yesterday, today, and ---- without a doubt! ---- tomorrow! Go Girls!

Good movie, engaging, funny and interesting. Takes the viewer on an adventure in India through the lens and point of view of each character in a way that really makes you think about how one reacts to new and/or very different cultures. Gave me a new awareness of how easily one can go into a new situation or place where we have already tacked up pre-set expectations for how things will be or should go, and perhaps even have let cutlural stereotypes creep in regarding a culture or its people. Watching this film made me think about these things. As I saw some of the characters begin their experience, entering into India and its cuture, but these ladies in particular were coming in already weighed down by their own sets of expectations and others bulging with stereotypes about India itself, its people, its food, and even their accomodations. In one case the character was just plain racist to begin with! But observing them all from day 1 til the end of the film, during their experiences in India and at the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, it was a great study in human adapability. Some were bogged down at first and disappointed that what they had imagined the experience would be like was definitely not what they got....pre set expectations ripped away. And while some of them adapted, let go of those expectations, stopped trying to make new ones, dropped the sterotypes, and in one character's case, finally dropped those negative racist ideas about India and its people. It was only then, when those characters dropped all that baggage, left it behind and just embraced the adventure, that they began to truly see and experience India, it's culture, it's people, its customs. For those charcters in the film who let go and actually wanted to experience the real India, they found it a place of dazzling beauty, bursting with bright colors, many new and interesting places and things to be explored and experienced. They found a country full of amazing people and realized those sterotypes served no purpose other than to cause hurt and were happily discarded. The one character who never made any efforts to embrace the adventure, see the culture, meet new people or try new things and carried her baggage and negativity the whole time. ...she was the only one who was miserable. I think it was smart to showcase that contrast in the film, it really drove the message home, and also added extra layers to the plot. By watching her stay negative, complain constantly, refuse to try anything and miss out on the entire experience...caused her to be the only one who wasn't changed for the better. In sharp contrast however, her husband did tbe opposite. He got out there and experienced everything he could, tried to squeeze every drop out of his daily experiences....and you could see it change him, he come into the man he wanted to be. And in the end, his wife was the one that set him free, finally getting honest that neither had been happy in a long time and their marriage was a shell. She set him free, because by her leaving him there in India and telling him it's over, he didn't have to do what I think he would have done otherwise out of loyalty...tried to stick it out with her. So they both got what they wanted, and perhaps needed, in the end. The overall point is to just jump in, experience it all eyes open. Embrace the spontaneous, roll with it when things don't turn out exactly as planned, get out there, see new places, immerse yourself in new cultures, see what this world has to offer. We have such a small drop of a lifetime compared to eternity. Let's use what we have to explore, to find joy, to experience the new, the unknown and the known. To seek personal growth through learning new things, meeting new people, helping others, seeking the beauty in the world, both in the big things and the small. And don't forget to laugh and not take everything too seriously!

This is one of our very favorite movies. One of the reasons that I bought it so that we could watch it anytime we wanted what more can I say? I could watch it over and over.

This Anglo-Indian movie has perhaps the best older British actors playing characters making major changes in the twilight of their lives by moving to Jaipur, India. Judi Dench plays a widow whose late husband put her in such debt that she not only had to move to a less expensive place but find a job. The couple played by Bill Nighy and Penelope Wilton (Mrs. Crawley of “Downton Abbey”) lost their savings, at least temporarily, when he lent all their savings to their daughter for a start-up business. While he is open to new experiences and new people, she is bitter and unwelcoming to life’s adventures and questioning the continuation of their 40 year marriage. Ronald Pickup’s character is looking for a woman to spend the rest of his life with—or at least a few nights, while Celia Imrie’s character came to find a wealthy husband. Maggie Smith plays a retired housekeeper/caretaker who needs a hip transplant and can get one in India much quicker and cheaper than in England; she just doesn’t like Indians. Tom Wilkerson’s character suddenly retired as a high court judge and came to India where he was raised to find his friend and only love from 40 years before. They all saw the advertisement of a beautiful hotel in Jaipur, India catering to seniors. Instead, they find an ancient, crumbling hotel not ready for them, run by a young dreamer and eternal optimist who inherited the hotel from his father, also a dreamer. His mother arrives bringing a practicality that tries to crush his dreams and separate him from his true love as well as his work. Dev Patel as the proprietor is a wonderful actor who holds his own against the scions of British acting. There is sadness, breakup, and surprise developments as some grow while others don’t make it. A lot of true life is shown as well as the colorfulness of India. Thus, the movie is a character study, a travelogue, and a lesson on great acting without realizing it. One can buy into the characters and be absorbed into the story. This little film is truly worth watching.

This is a touching story about a group of mostly youngish senior citizens who've decided to make a huge change in their lives and leave England to live at a resident Hotel in a city in India. The hotel isn't all that they expected but their individual experiences of discovering a new place and culture that is 180 degrees different than the culture in which they had lived is fascinating. I'm a huge fan of Bill Nighy, Judi Dench, and Maggie Smith, so that influenced my rating. It's definitely character driven, and the characters are also in the city and the hotel itself. The story of the young man (delightfully portrayed by Dev Patel) who is managing the hotel for his family and how he interacts with the guests as well as how he deals with the traditional expectations placed on him BY his family is another aspect that gives this movie depth. The sites and sounds, the cinematography and so much more make this a great film for people who aren't expecting a formulaic Hollywood Blockbuster. I think it helps if you're familiar with the cast, which also includes Tom Wilkinson, another wonderful actor. It's actually been awhile since I viewed the movie, and haven't had a 2nd look yet, as I just ordered it two days ago. I am thrilled to have found this movie at a great price as I knew when I rented it that I would HAVE to own it someday. I would like to add that I live in the US and in addition to having a nearly 56 year love affair with movies, starting at age 3, I particularly enjoy English period pieces and this is a different genre than a traditional period piece since it's present day but these great actors as well as a wonderful script and story took me on another journey. Being a person who may never have an opportunity to travel the world, movies have been my window and this one doesn't disappoint.

Ein toller Film! Der Film lebt durch die tollen Aufnahmen des "Marigold Hotel" und die Straßenszenen in Indien. Sehr gute schauspielerische Leistungen in Top-Besetzung. Gerne empfehle ich dazu auch den Teil 2!

This is a gentle masterpiece, a truly superb film which sways back and forward between gentle comedy and proundly moving scenes of grief and loss with a delicacy rarely seen in film. A group of senior citizens, strangers to each other, but united by their uncertain future at home in England - through reasons financial, medical, spiritual and romantic - take the leap from buttoned-down Britain, and find themselvs plonked in the middle of Jaipur - hot, sweaty, chaotic, bewildering. To make matters worse, the hotel they've been seduced to turns out to be more of a fallen ruin that the palace of the brochures. So how do they cope with change? And how does this shockingly different world shape their futures? With an ensemble cast like this, you would expect something great - but the whole of this incredible group of actors more than adds up to the sum of its parts. The incomparable Judi Dench leads the cast, and also narrates brilliantly - "Is it our friend we are grieving for, whose life we knew so little? Or is it our own loss that we are mourning? Have we travelled far enough... that we can allow our tears to fall?" she asks in one breathtaking moment. I don't think there has even been such a mesmerising actress. Much the same for Penelope Wilton, marvellous in bringing real depth to what could have been an unsympathetic role - passive-aggressive and disappointed, socially aspirant and socially awkward, who blames her loving husband for her inadequate position in life. Nighy is also great as the husband, pushed to breaking point, but determined to put a good face on things, whatever the circumstances. The scene where he finally bites back is fabulous. Tom Wilkinson's character - for me at least - forms the emotional core of the film; if Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is about the notion of home, his is the character who embodies it most fully (I'll say no more than that). And he is phenomenal, in a beautifully-written role. Light relief comes from Ronnie Pickup and Celie Imre, both lovely as the randy singles seeking a last hurrah, as well as Dev Patel who is cute (if twee at times) as the perky manager whose optimism can almost prop the falling hotel up on its own. And Maggie Smith as a grouchy racist with a dicky hip is exactly what the (Indian) doctor ordered... It's beautiful, it's lovely - and I found, wonderfully reassuring - to have a story told about ageing, in which life continues to offer new beginnings and new challenges. And to know that even the most rigid soul can be shaped by new experiences and surroundings. I know that one day I, and so many of the people I love, will all face forks in the road like these - and I only hope that this gorgeous film will inspire more of us to open our hearts and follow the new, rather than sink into the quicksand of the well-trodden path.

Super story. Excellent cast. This is a movie for older people. Don't get it if you are twenty years old, you won't "get" it's meaning. This is the story of various people, older, looking to move in to a safe, different, happy kind of place to finish up their lives. There is a good mix of people with various complications. It's very good and certainly out of all the characters each of us can relate to one or more of them. They see an ad for a lovely hotel, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, in India offering cheap accommodation to older folks to go and spend their latter days there. What goes on is funny, poignant, adventurous, and exciting. Their lives are given a boost by the injection of a different culture, a culture they were all apprehensive about but that works for their good. It is a heart warming movie and I have watched it 3 times and enjoy it every time. Great actors. Highly recommended..

One of the best movies I've watched in a long time. Everything about is beautiful, the actors, the scenery, the colors, the sounds. I'll be watching it again and again.

Great fun. The interweaving stories are all interesting and keep the movie moving along. Features some of my favorite actors as well. Well worth a second viewing.