The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011)

British retirees travel to India to take up residence in what they believe is a newly restored hotel. Less luxurious than its advertisements, the Marigold Hotel nevertheless slowly begins to charm in unexpected ways.

Director:

John Madden

Writers:

Ol Parker (screenplay), Deborah Moggach (novel)

Stars:

Judi Dench, Tom Wilkinson, Bill Nighy

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 16 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Judi Dench	...	Evelyn Greenslade
Tom Wilkinson	...	Graham Dashwood
Patrick Pearson	...	Graham's Colleague
Hugh Dickson	...	Judge
James Rawlings	...	Estate Agent
Bill Nighy	...	Douglas Ainslie
Penelope Wilton	...	Jean Ainslie
Maggie Smith	...	Muriel Donnelly
Liza Tarbuck	...	Staff Nurse
Paul Bhattacharjee	...	Dr. Ghujarapartidar
Lucy Robinson	...	Judith
Ronald Pickup	...	Norman Cousins
Celia Imrie	...	Madge Hardcastle
Simon Wilson	...	Madge's Son-in-Law
Sara Stewart	...	Madge's Daughter

Storyline

Seven elderly Britons, for a variety of reasons, respond to an online ad and travel to Jaipur, India, where they find run-down hotel with a young, exuberant, and optimistic host. Evelyn, newly widowed, wants low-cost experience, Graham seeks a long-ago love, Douglas and Jean have lost their pension in a family investment, Muriel needs cheap hip surgery, Madge seeks a rich husband, and Norman is chasing women. India affects each in different ways, enchanting Douglas and Evelyn while driving Jean deeper into bitterness. Their host, young Sonny, has dreams but little cash or skill; he also has a girlfriend whom his mother dismisses. Stories cross and discoveries await each one.

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Plot Keywords:

hotel | india | retiree | marigold | retirement | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sexual content and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Spain]

Country:

UK USA United Arab Emirates

Language:

English Hindi

Release Date:

25 May 2012 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel for the Elderly & Beautiful

Filming Locations:

Royal Castle Kanota, Kanota Bagh, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$737,051 (USA) (4 May 2012)

Gross:

$46,377,022 (USA) (19 October 2012)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Blueprint Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Tom Wilkinson (Graham Dashwood) is married to Diana Hardcastle (Carol) in real life.

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Goofs

When they arrive at the airport all the members of the group already have a heavy sun tan, even though they have only just arrived in India and they did not have these tans when they were in England.

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Quotes

Douglas Ainslie: I invested our, well, my retirement money in our daughter's Internet company. She assured me that as soon as the startup actually, um, started up and the conversion from virtual to actual became sufficiently viable, then she'd be able to pay it all back.
Evelyn: I'm not sure I understand what most of those words mean.
Douglas Ainslie: Well, it turns out neither did she.

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Connections

Featured in At the Movies: Episode #10.1 (2013)

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Soundtracks

"A Touch Of Elegance"
Written by Peter Falkner
Courtesy of APM Music

User Reviews

Ignore the score and Title

Fist of all, anyone who has given this film a score of one (and some have), obviously have no sense of humour. If they are in the UK then they probably watched the film at a free viewing like I did, as it hasn't been released yet, and they have no right to slag it off seeing at it cost them jack. Once it is released to paying customers, I can assure you that this score will go up considerably.

The title can be a little off putting but anyone who has seen "Fried Green Tomatoes At The Whistle Stop Cafe" will tell you that a daft title is not a precursor to a bad film. Far from it.

I came out of the cinema exhausted. The range of emotions this movie drags out of you, and the speed it does it, is incredible and I have to thank the scriptwriters and director for that. It is a while since I saw a movie that made me laugh out loud so much and so frequently. Dev Patel's character is one of the most likable you will ever come across but then all the characters, bar one, have characteristics that just grow on you.

It's a shame that Ronald Pickup and the beautiful Celia Imrie aren't shown on the poster as they are just as responsible for the enjoyment I got from this film as the other "more famous" members of the cast.

This is a great film that will have you crying and laughing in equal measure but in the end will leave you with that really warm feeling inside that you get when you have just seen a classic.

Do not be put off by the title and ignore the current score this film has until it starts to get up to at least an 8.