Review of The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2015) by Jim H — 08 Oct 2015

Sonny attempts to buy another hotel while his guests have their own interpersonal dramas.

If the first film was all charming plot and aphorisms, the second one is all aphorisms with a hackneyed plot. As a result, the aphorisms seem much less deserved: this film is not good enough to preach. Douglas and Evelyn's stalled courtship has no plot events, Sonny's rivalry is underdeveloped, a problem easily solved but stretched out because it must fill the film's running time, Norman's plot is ridiculous and the climax is too easy, and the mystery evaluator is so predictable that I'm rather insulted this film felt the need to include that story-line. The performances are all wonderful, which is no wonder considering the talent involved, but obviously, that's not enough.

Overall, The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is a distant second to anything else you could spend two hours doing.