The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel Stars Judi Dench Tom Wilkinson Maggie
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel Stars Judi Dench, Tom Wilkinson, Maggie... Movies for Grownups
Director: John Madden
Rating PG-13. Running Time: 124 minutes
Stars: Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson, Maggie Smith
Bill Newcott talks about movies and entertainment every week on the radio feature Movies for Grownups. It's available as a , or you can hear it as part of .
There comes a time, dear grownup moviegoer, when you must put your money where is and get yourself down to the multiplex in support of a film made just for you — and not in a pandering way, but in a , we-know-you, here’s-what-you’re-feeling kind of way. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel gets immediate points for gathering at least four of the 10 best 50-plus actors in the movies (Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, and Maggie Smith) under one tiled roof. They play British retirees of differing backgrounds who have all pulled up stakes and moved to colorful, crowded — expecting to find in what the brochures promised would be a luxurious (but low-cost) grande dame hotel. What they find, however, is a sadly decrepit shell of a place where the phones don’t work, throngs of noisy people and sputtering vehicles swarm outside, and the food is not exactly what they’re serving at Claridge’s these days. For most of them, this isn’t just leaving their comfort zone — it’s more like entering the Twilight Zone. Ishika Mohan/Courtesy Fox Searchlight Pictures Judi Dench as Evelyn and Celia Imrie as Madge in 'The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.' Yes, it’s a frankly outrageous setup, and the characters fall into rather predictable roles, but The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel still manages to mine stark truths about what it means to grow older in a world that is (literally, in this case) passing you by. Wilkinson’s character, a retired judge, seems to be making the easiest transition — he grew up in India, and his return has been spurred largely by a desire to set right some unfinished business from his youth. On the other hand, Maggie Smith’s Muriel sees herself as a short-timer — she’s just staying long enough to get a quick hip replacement (back in England she’d have to wait six months). Nighy and Penelope Wilton play a couple that find India positively disorienting, but their responses to the whirl of strange foods and indecipherable language couldn’t be more different. As a newly widowed housewife, Dench provides the film’s center: Her daily blogs, written to her worried children back home, provide the film’s narrative. There are other retirees on hand: Ronald Pickup is irascible as a youth-obsessed lothario who sees India as a place to live in denial about his age, and Celia Imrie is fetching as flirty Madge, who has run through all the wealthy men she knows in England and now sees India as a fresh field of opportunities.
Desperately trying to keep this disparate group happy is the Marigold Hotel’s owner, Sonny, portrayed with sometimes unnerving energy by Dev Patel, the heart and soul of the Oscar-winning crowd pleaser Slumdog Millionaire. That Patel wins the audience’s affection is a tribute to his remarkable appeal — after all, he plays a guy who lured a bunch of old people halfway around the world under false pretenses. One wonders, of course, at precisely what point these people decided that moving to India for the rest of their lives would be a good idea. Too bad they don’t read — a recent article suggested . But India? Not so much. Ah, but all that matters not. Director John Madden makes it clear from the start that, when the last loose chunk of plaster has fallen and the residents have finally come to terms with , everyone is going to feel pretty good about where they’ve ended up. And we’re happy, too, to have spent time in the company of some engaging folks, in a world that’s dizzyingly — and fascinatingly — different from ours. You may also like: Featured AARP Member Benefits See more Entertainment offers > See more Entertainment offers > See more Entertainment offers > See more Entertainment offers > Cancel You are leaving AARP.org and going to the website of our trusted provider. The provider’s terms, conditions and policies apply. Please return to AARP.org to learn more about other benefits. Your email address is now confirmed. You'll start receiving the latest news, benefits, events, and programs related to AARP's mission to empower people to choose how they live as they age. You can also by updating your account at anytime. You will be asked to register or log in. Cancel Offer Details Disclosures
Review ' The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel'
British retirees Judi Dench Maggie Smith Bill Nighy and Tom Wilkinson seek a new life in India
Director: John Madden
Rating PG-13. Running Time: 124 minutes
Stars: Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson, Maggie Smith
Bill Newcott Talks With Tom Wilkinson About India Aging
Wilkinson found India challenging and exhilirating. Although his character was unabashedly in love with India's colors and exoticism, Wilkinson was troubled by the enormous gaps between rich and poor.Bill Newcott talks about movies and entertainment every week on the radio feature Movies for Grownups. It's available as a , or you can hear it as part of .
There comes a time, dear grownup moviegoer, when you must put your money where is and get yourself down to the multiplex in support of a film made just for you — and not in a pandering way, but in a , we-know-you, here’s-what-you’re-feeling kind of way. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel gets immediate points for gathering at least four of the 10 best 50-plus actors in the movies (Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, and Maggie Smith) under one tiled roof. They play British retirees of differing backgrounds who have all pulled up stakes and moved to colorful, crowded — expecting to find in what the brochures promised would be a luxurious (but low-cost) grande dame hotel. What they find, however, is a sadly decrepit shell of a place where the phones don’t work, throngs of noisy people and sputtering vehicles swarm outside, and the food is not exactly what they’re serving at Claridge’s these days. For most of them, this isn’t just leaving their comfort zone — it’s more like entering the Twilight Zone. Ishika Mohan/Courtesy Fox Searchlight Pictures Judi Dench as Evelyn and Celia Imrie as Madge in 'The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.' Yes, it’s a frankly outrageous setup, and the characters fall into rather predictable roles, but The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel still manages to mine stark truths about what it means to grow older in a world that is (literally, in this case) passing you by. Wilkinson’s character, a retired judge, seems to be making the easiest transition — he grew up in India, and his return has been spurred largely by a desire to set right some unfinished business from his youth. On the other hand, Maggie Smith’s Muriel sees herself as a short-timer — she’s just staying long enough to get a quick hip replacement (back in England she’d have to wait six months). Nighy and Penelope Wilton play a couple that find India positively disorienting, but their responses to the whirl of strange foods and indecipherable language couldn’t be more different. As a newly widowed housewife, Dench provides the film’s center: Her daily blogs, written to her worried children back home, provide the film’s narrative. There are other retirees on hand: Ronald Pickup is irascible as a youth-obsessed lothario who sees India as a place to live in denial about his age, and Celia Imrie is fetching as flirty Madge, who has run through all the wealthy men she knows in England and now sees India as a fresh field of opportunities.
More Movies About Faraway Places
Desperately trying to keep this disparate group happy is the Marigold Hotel’s owner, Sonny, portrayed with sometimes unnerving energy by Dev Patel, the heart and soul of the Oscar-winning crowd pleaser Slumdog Millionaire. That Patel wins the audience’s affection is a tribute to his remarkable appeal — after all, he plays a guy who lured a bunch of old people halfway around the world under false pretenses. One wonders, of course, at precisely what point these people decided that moving to India for the rest of their lives would be a good idea. Too bad they don’t read — a recent article suggested . But India? Not so much. Ah, but all that matters not. Director John Madden makes it clear from the start that, when the last loose chunk of plaster has fallen and the residents have finally come to terms with , everyone is going to feel pretty good about where they’ve ended up. And we’re happy, too, to have spent time in the company of some engaging folks, in a world that’s dizzyingly — and fascinatingly — different from ours. You may also like: Featured AARP Member Benefits See more Entertainment offers > See more Entertainment offers > See more Entertainment offers > See more Entertainment offers > Cancel You are leaving AARP.org and going to the website of our trusted provider. The provider’s terms, conditions and policies apply. Please return to AARP.org to learn more about other benefits. Your email address is now confirmed. You'll start receiving the latest news, benefits, events, and programs related to AARP's mission to empower people to choose how they live as they age. You can also by updating your account at anytime. You will be asked to register or log in. Cancel Offer Details Disclosures