In the age of everything-gets-a-sequel, even your Aunt’s favorite movie "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" gets a followup. The first entry was a box office hit a couple years back, particularly overseas where it roped in $90 million all on its own. And now the series is franchising and expanding, and that’s not just snarky talk from us, but the actual plot of the movie.
Yep, Dev Patel is back playing Sonny, who is eager to build his hotel business, while Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, Bill Nighy and Penelope Wilton have returned, with even more happening in their lives. Meanwhile, Richard Gere is the new face in the mix, ruining everyone’s ovaries as the fresh silver fox on the block. And bringing it all together is director John Madden, returning from his duties on this first movie. And really, it’s hard to be too upset at a film like this which knows its demographic and is aiming right for it, with no pretensions to anything else. So, maybe send this link to your parents as an early holiday gift.
"The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" arrives March 6th. [Daily Mail]
How utterly cynical to pigeonhole this and its predecessor as a "movie targeted at a specific demographic". By that logic, The Notebook was aimed at teen girls and the geriatric romantic clique. As someone who isn\’t pushing 80, not retired and still has all his own teeth I can say I quite enjoyed the first film and if this second is able to recapture the charm and maintains the excellent performances delivered by its key players then I imagine I\’ll enjoy it just as well.