In the first movie, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, retired brits take residence at a hotel in India, one they thought would be quite luxurious but soon enough, they realise just how far out of reach luxury really is at the The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. Still, they decide to stick around and that’s when the fun begins.

Most of your favourite characters played by Bill Nighy, Judi Dench, Maggie Smith and Celia Imrie return in director John Madden’s sequel to the 2011 hit.

The sequel centres around young Sonny’s (Dev Patel) dream of acquiring a second hotel. As was the case in the original film, it’s the characters played by the older cast members that are the most entertaining. Particularly Muriel, portrayed by celebrated British actress, Maggie Smith.

Dev Patel’s young and enthusiastic Sonny might get a tad grating at times, but overall, like the original, The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is a touching and fun 2 hours. It also happens to be a great reminder of what getting older can and probably should be like.

Though I prefer the original film, this sequel is fun. Richard Gere and Tamsin Greig play two mysterious characters and of course, Maggie Smith remains in true scene stealing form. My favourite moment being the ‘incident with the tea’ at the very beginning.

Happy The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel 🙂

G