The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Culture shock lies in store for seven cash-strapped senior Brits who board a plane from London to Jaipur, ready to embark on the third act of their lives. There's recently widowed Evelyn Greenslade (Judi Dench), retired judge Graham Dashwood (Tom Wilkinson), lonely Madge Hardcastle (Celia Imrie), randy Norman Cousins (Ronald Pickup), quarrelsome Douglas and Jean Ainslie (Bill Nighy, Penelope Wilton), and former housekeeper Muriel Donnelly (Maggie Smith), who adamantly refuses to eat anything she doesn't know how to pronounce. Their destination in India is the once stately but now dilapidated titular hotel, advertised as a retirement residence “for the elderly and beautiful” by relentlessly optimistic, if hopelessly inexperienced Sonny Kapoor (Dev Patel), whose earnest manner tries to compensate for the lack of doors, functional telephones, or plumbing, as he pursues the “forbidden” love of his life, Sunaina (Tena Desae). Adapted from Deborah Moggach's 2004 novel These Foolish Things, this bittersweet, fish-out-of-water comedic drama, compassionately directed by John Madden, is a bit reminiscent of Robert Altman's interweaving ensembles in the way these travelers' lives are radically changed as they encounter various challenges in this foreign culture. On a deeper level, the film also offers heartfelt commentary on “outsourcing” —along with customer service call centers— the elderly. Highly recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include a “Casting Legends” cast featurette (4 min.), a “Behind the Story: Lights, Colors and Smiles” production featurette (3 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are the location segments “Welcome to the ‘Real' Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” (3 min.), “Trekking to India: Life Is Never the Same” (3 min.), and “Tuk Tuk Travels” (2 min.). Bottom line: a decent extras package for a winning film.] (S. Granger)