This movie had it all. The humor that cracked me up, and the sentimental moments when it pulled at my heartstrings.
"...everything will be alright in the end, and if it's not alright, it's not the end." Sonny in "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel".
A group of Biritish retirees get duped into buying into a grand retirement in India. Once there, they disocer that Sonny, a young, idealistic Indian has coaxed them to a hotel that will be grand in the future. Dust covers most of its old, crumbling magnificence.
Sonny has problems of his own. He's in love, but afraid to say the words to a beautiful young Indian woman--who his mother does not approve of. She knows who he will marry and she already has it arranged.
Judi Dench stole the movie, her character recently widowed and running out of money, facing a complex situation in her senior years. She gets a job--the first one she's ever had, and she writes a blog so her son can follow her new life in another country. He voice narrates part of the story, and it is beautiful. Passages about life, about growing old, about people...and about the truths that we come by over the passing of years.
The cast of characters were wonderful. It was a mixed bag of personalities, all playing out in the colorful and impossibly crowded world in India.
The audience at the cinema was mostly older--50 and above. It makes me hope that the younger crowd doesn't pass this one by. They might learn a little, gain a little insight into what lies ahead, and they just might laugh out loud-- like we did..
Excellent, excellent movie. :-)
