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 advertised, the Marigold Hotel nevertheless slowly begins to charm in unexpected ways.

Director:

John Madden

Writers:

Ol Parker (screenplay), Deborah Moggach (novel)

Stars:

Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Maggie Smith

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 4 wins & 20 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:

ensemble cast | gay | marital problem | kama sutra | humiliation | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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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:

Jaipur, Rajasthan, India

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£2,222,051 (United Kingdom), 26 February 2012, Limited Release

Opening Weekend USA:

$737,051, 6 May 2012, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$46,412,041

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$136,836,156

Company Credits

Production Co:

Blueprint Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Bill Nighy and Penelope Wilton previously played husband and wife in Shaun of the Dead (2004)

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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: She was upset.
Jean: Oh spare me your explanation. Do you think I'm jealous?
Douglas Ainslie: I don't see why else you would have emabarrassed me... and Evelyn.
Jean: You seem to be doing a perfectly good job of embarrassing yourself. Can you imagine how ghastly it is for everyone to see you mooning around after that simpering, doe-eyed ex-housewife, taking advantage of her loneliness...
Douglas Ainslie: Look. Can you hear yourself? Can you? Do you have any idea what a terrible person you have become? All you give out is this endless ...
[...]

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Connections

Featured in Maltin on Movies: Dark Shadows (2012)

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Soundtracks

Cham Cham Chamke Chunari
Traditional

User Reviews

Very pleasant throughout, but as good as what you'd expect from such a cast

Marigold Hotel was overall a very pleasant film with a distinct feel-good factor - helped by the vibrancy of the Indian setting. Judi Dench is excellent as always, and Bill Nighy really captures the child within for this film. In fact, all of the cast were superb, although Dev Patel suffered from a little overacting! The plot is more like a moral, and explores a 'young at heart' theme throughout. I think the vision of the film is somewhat confused at times. It seems to shift from a full-on comedy to a film about ageism, and it doesn't flow as well as one would hope. Also, Maggie Smith's character (although superbly played) is a slightly far fetched transformation, so I would have liked to see more focus on her throughout the film. Overall though, a nice, entertaining piece of work. Perhaps not as good as you would expect from such a star-studded cast, but nevertheless, very entertaining!