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By Sandra Olmsted

Returning director John Madden brings life to this sequel of the 2011 surprise hit, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, and does it well because the characters, who came to India to die, have found new ways to live and new chances at love and meaning. Although originally not conceived as a franchise, the original and this sequel succeed because the audience likes the characters played by a cast of renowned talents from Britain, India, and now America. With this stellar cast, it barely needs to be said that the acting is fabulous. Also, The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel doesn’t merely repeat the plot of its successful prequel, Madden and screenwriter Ol Parker extend the theme of living life to the fullest and give their characters meaningful dilemmas.

The film opens with Sonny (Dev Patel) and his co-manager Muriel (Maggie Smith) in Los Angeles pitching Sonny’s dream to expand the hotel and partner with Evergreen, a retirement home corporation. During the pitch, Evergreen investor (David Strathairn) whose philosophy, “Leaves don’t need to fall,” says he will send a hotel inspector to check out Sonny’s establishment. Shortly after Sonny and Muriel return home, Guy (Richard Gere), an author looking for a peaceful place to write, and a middle-aged Lavinia (Tamsin Greig), who is checking out the accommodations for her mother, arrive at the Marigold. Sonny suspects that Guy is Evergreen’s inspector and kowtow’s accordingly, but could he be wrong? Could it be Lavinia? Or maybe even Kushal (Shazad Latif), who unexpectedly arrives back in India just in time for Sonny and Sunaina’s (Tina Desai) wedding preparations and seems to be wooing Sunaina? As he over does impressing Guy, Sonny neglects Sunaina and the wedding preparations, such as rehearsing their wedding dances.

Meanwhile other couples at the Marigold, are having their own romantic problems. Evelyn (Judi Dench) concentrates on her job of buying textiles while avoiding commitment to Douglas (Bill Nighy) who works as a tour guide despite his inability to remember any historical details. Norman (Ronald Pickup), who run the ex-pat club and bar, discovers he is “catnip” for women and wishes to be free of Carol (Diana Hardcastle) at the wrong time and place, even though they are trying monogamy. Madge (Celia Imrie), who also works at the ex-pat bar, easily juggles two wealthy locals, but has her heart finally discovered it wants something or someone else? When Guy shows interest in Sonny’s mother, Mama G (played Indian actress Lillete Dubey), Sonny isn’t sure how he feels about using his mother to ensure his business success or about her having a real relationship.

Between the Chilla pancakes, excitement over the wedding, and the business and romantic problems, Madden plays up wonderful one-liners that provide plenty of laughs for those paying attention to the dialogue and not just the beautiful travelogue cinematography of India. He also provides a peek inside the marriage rituals of India, which apparently include Bollywood-style dances at huge parties.

Other themes involve interracial relationships and the wisdom of elders. Based on Deborah Moggach’s novel from which the first films gets its name, The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel isn’t “second best” at all and should especially delight silver audiences while offering much to younger audiences. including a grandkid friendly rating of PG.Running 122 minutes, The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, a Fox Searchlight Pictures release, opens March 6 in St. Louis theaters

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