BEFORE: I'm back in the office for another Saturday - later today I'm going to the grocery store for chips, dips, pretzels, a cheese tray and perhaps some microwavable snacks. When the cashier asks me if I'm getting ready for the big game, I'll say, "Oh, is that THIS weekend? No, this is just a snack."
My February chains are usually devoted to romance, and there may be a bit of that in this film, but in a few days that subject will really kick in. Either way, I'm counter-programming, since I ran out of football films a while back. I passed on this film when on a plane to San Diego in 2012, it just didn't fit in with my chain then. Spacey hands off to Judi Dench, who carries over from "The Shipping News" and brings it across the goal line for a field goal, or something.
THE PLOT: 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.
AFTER: Well, if I carry my thinking about my life and career forward, I've got to start dealing with the fact that in a few years I'll be 50. And I've got no plans for my retirement, other than to hopefully be alive to enjoy it.
This worked out well, because this film carries a similar theme as "The Shipping News" - that it's never too late to change your location, change your situation, and try to start again. Or maybe start to try again, whichever. Oddly, the theme of repairing a piece of property carries over as well.
Surprised to find that India is to Britons what Florida is to Americans - I bet a lot of Brits are surprised by this too. I mean, sure the weather in India might be better than London's, but that's about it. However, we learn that each person or couple in this film has a different reason for moving to India - since the movie opened with a bit with one character having trouble with an Indian-based customer service rep, I thought that maybe she moved to India to find that telemarketing company, sneak into their call center and start bashing in some heads. But they didn't go that way, maybe it's for the best.
There's something charming about this film, once they finally got past the jokes about what happens after white people eat Indian food. With a top-notch yet graying cast such as this, it almost resembles an episode of "The Love Boat", minus the boat. If you're under 30, "The Love Boat" used to be a show set on a cruise ship where a bunch of old movie stars like Charo and Ethel Merman would get the credits necessary to maintain their SAG memberships, and usually they'd come on board as singles looking for romance, or as married people who'd find romance with new partners. I think they rebooted the show once already, but it's probably due to come around again, both to explore the new story possibilities of same-sex relationships and also help promote the floundering cruise industry.
But it's hard to portray a character who's got strong opinions on race in the right way, and I'm not sure this film took the right tack. I found it hard to cheer for a woman who can't trust a black doctor, or treats Hindus like they're lesser people. One point off for that, even though she showed signs of redemption late in the film.
Bill Nighy's had quite a year - in the last few months I've seen (or heard) him in "Love Actually", "Jack the Giant Slayer", "Rango", "Total Recall", "Shaun of the Dead", "Wrath of the Titans" and "Arthur Christmas". I expect that occasionally I'll see an actor several times in a row without planning it, but he should give his agent a bonus, he's been pretty busy lately.
It seems a sequel is in the works - I'd support that. It beats turning the thing into a BBC sitcom, I suppose.
Also starring Tom Wilkinson (last seen in "The Patriot"), Maggie Smith (last seen in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2"), Penelope Wilton (last seen in "Shaun of the Dead"), Dev Patel (last seen in "Slumdog Millionaire"), Celia Imrie, Ronald Pickup, Tena Desae, Lillete Dubey.
RATING: 6 out of 10 cricket bats
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