Anything that is “second best” is usually not as good as the one that came in first.
That is sadly the case with the aptly named “The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,” the follow-up to the 2011 hit. It is not nearly as good as “Best,” but “Second” certainly has it charms.
Much of the cast returns, led by Maggie Smith as Muriel Donnelly, a Brit who retires to India only to find a new life as the business partner of Sonny Kapoor (played by Dev Patel). For those who might forget, Muriel and Sonny joined forces in the first film to develop and maintain the hotel named in the film’s title. This time around, the story focuses on Evelyn Greenslade (Judi Dench) and Douglas Ainslie (Bill Nighy) as they awkwardly try to figure out a way to become romantically involved. Evelyn found a second career as a fabrics buyer, and Douglas, well, he’s still married to Jean (Penelope Wilton). Meanwhile, Norman (Ronald Pickup) has become inextricably the object of the affection of various women, which surprises and frustrates him. He toys around with the idea of leaving his girlfriend Carol (Diana Hardcastle), and even believes that in a drunken stupor, he may have taken out a hit on her. And all the while, Sonny, who is the middle of various ritual parties leading up to his wedding, tries to impress an American retirement company in hopes of gaining investment in his business in India.
So much of “Second Best” is manipulated cheese–forced relationships and stilted jokes about growing older. The visiting retirees live rather insular lives–mingling with the natives seems to be more of a novelty than a lifestyle. Maybe this will work for the target audience, but the overly sentimental and cloying material is condescending if not downright insulting in places. The only character that works is Muriel played by Maggie Smith. Many viewers probably know Smith from television’s “Downton Abbey,” but she’s won two Oscars, including one for best supporting actress in 1979 for Neil Simon’s “California Suite,” another comedy with a large cast. Smith makes Muriel matter and standout in a film that is otherwise light fluff.
It bears repeating that there’s a lot of plot in “Second Best” and most of it is ridiculous tomfoolery. The courtship of Evelyn and Douglas is sweet, but artificial. Sonny, the always watchable Dev Patel (who appears in two movies opening this weekend), proves to be terribly annoying with his stereotypical Indian accent and mannerisms. Patel just can’t help himself as he gives his all in an endless stream of fast-paced dialogue seeming clever at first but overstays its welcome. Other subplots understandably lack development because there are so many characters. A new character played by none-other-than Richard Gere shows up causing things to get even more sappy and phony. But Maggie Smith, who is so sincere as Muriel, manages to make the film bearable as it comes to an emotional conclusion leaving you with a small, but definitely present, lump in your throat.
Editor’s Note: This review first appeared online and in print at the Times-Herald.