Review of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2012) by Magnificentm — 28 May 2012

The film works very well overall. It's greatest strength is, of course, the amazing cast. The standouts are Maggie Smith as a hilariously racist old woman stuck in a country full of "others," Judi Dench as a still grieving widow looking for change, Bill Nighy as an unhappily married man, and Tom Wilkinson who's spent his whole life thinking of the man he once loved, who he left behind in India.

These four are just wonderful to watch and they provide a lot of good humor. But then their is Dev Patel, who is less spectacular. The story follows these elderly people in India, and then randomly brings in Patel's character as another side plot, even though it breaks from the continuity of these elderly people looking for meaning in their life now that they are old and retired.

I also found issue with the fact that the characters often spoke of the color and beauty of India, yet they didn't show much of it, other than many crowded streets. Lastly, the end of the movie was a mad dash to try and resolve all of the loose ends in under 15 minutes and it ended up failing.

Even with these problems, the cast alone is more than capable of carrying this movie smoothly from beginning to end.