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    Movie Review: The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

    Synopsis

    When The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel became a sleeper hit in 2012, no one would have anticipated a sequel, but along comes the 'Second Best' in the franchise — and it doesn't disappoint.

    ET Bureau
    Genre: Comedy Drama

    Rating: ***

    Cast: Dev Patel, Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Richard Gere, Lillette Dubey, Tena Desae

    Director: John Madden

    Language: English

    When The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel became a sleeper hit in 2012, no one would have anticipated a sequel, but along comes the 'Second Best' in the franchise — and it doesn't disappoint.

    With as stellar an ensemble as this one, there is little to do but go along with the shenanigans, and boy, are they filled in there, sometimes to a fault. Picking up eight months since the last time we saw these elderly folks, Sonny (Patel) and Mrs Donnelly (Smith) are now co-managers, looking to expand the outfit.

    Meanwhile, Evelyn and Douglas (Dench and Nighy) are yet to give shape to their relationship and are struggling, even as playboy Norman (Ronald Pickup) and love-starved Madge (Imrie) are taking polar opposite routes to their romances.

    Patel shines in every scene and holds his own with the acting giants. His reminders of why he takes a rollcall every morning (to ensure no one died in their sleep) and witticisms have gotten better; you can see the growth in his character almost unfold on the screen.

    Smith's Muriel is as snazzy as the Dowager Countess and 'pithe' (as Sonny describes her). A raucous and ambitious wedding is the ultimate ending (You will never unsee the sight of Gere and Nighy grinding to Jhoom Barabar Jhoom), but it is marred by too many confused and, one almost abandoned, subplots.

    While the old cast slips into their characters like a glove, the new additions (Gere and Tamsin Greig) are slightly off-beat and harder to root for. Additionally, the pacing of the film is a genuine problem with too many unnecessary things making it to the final edit.

    Director Madden has the heart, but not brevity, pat down. Dialogues, though, are sharper and more insightful than the last outing. Comparisons to the first one are a given, but the film is a breezy delight with kinks that should have been ironed out. For that, we can wait for the 'Third Best' hopefully.

    PS: The Indian rendition of 'Islands In The Stream' is a knockout.

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