Movie Review: The Second Best Marigold Hotel #LoveBlooms

There are times when you leave a theatre and you just know they're planning a sequel and you wonder why.  Then there are those rare times when you wish you could spend a bit more time with the characters you just enjoyed so much.  The Best Marigold Hotel falls in the latter category and thankfully with the release of its sequel this weekend we can visit everyone once again. Ok this is going to start out a bit morbid but it's true just the same.  There is a large set of incredible movie stars that won't be with us much longer.  I believe that any chance we get to watch them share their craft is precious.  When an opportunity like The Second Best Marigold Hotel comes around and many of our favorites are featured how can you not want to spend 2 hours with them? It is not necessary to see the first movie to enjoy this sequel but I do recommend it. The story picks up just a few months after the end of the first film.  With the success of his Home for the Elderly and Beautiful we find Sonny (Dav Patel) in the US with Mrs. Donnelly (Maggie Smith) trying to raise funds for a second hotel. The investment group promises to look into it and will send their "guy" to check it out.  Shortly after their return to India which also marks the beginning of Sonny's wedding celebrations two new guests check into the hotel: Guy Chambers (Richard Gere) and Lavinia Beach (Tamsin Greig).  Sonny who is a bit stressed at the moment believes Guy is "the guy" the company sent.  We also catch up with the rest of the residents and their relationships.  Evelyn (Judi Dench) is starting a new chapter in her life when she accepts a job, yet is tentative on taking the next step in her relationship with Douglas (Bill Nighy).  Douglas' wife returns (Penelope Wilton) expecting to find the two immersed in a love affair and wants a divorce.   While this and more goes on we get to see India the beautiful and the rough.  There are incredible shots including painted elephants walking down a road followed by a scene with garbage in the roads and over-crowding. The festivities leading up to and including the wedding are obviously those of the very wealthy via Hollywood yet the traditions shine through. There aren't many movies today that feature this age group.  Just as I think older movie goers should see the occasional teen movies I feel visa-versa is also true. I thank the Harry Potter series for introducing many of these greats to younger audiences.  I just adored this movie. As there really isn't much out right now I would recommend seeing this on the big screen so you can enjoy the beautiful cinematography. My Grade: A-

Next Movie:  Cinderella YEAH YEAH plus it will have a new Frozen short.  We might go to the first showing Thursday night as there's no school Friday!  We've been waiting for this since the first preview was shown during Maleficent
Previews ~ 8 and 5 were brand new!! Gotta love premiere weekend The links will take you to the movie's official trailer and might not be appropriate for all. NEW While We're Young March 27 Ben Stiller ~ maybe depends what else is out Longest Ride April 10~ Nicholas Sparks = DVD Disney's Monkey Kingdom April 16 ~ Love Disney Nature Films NEW Far From the Madding Crowd May 1~ LOVE epics like this NEW Aloha May 29 ~ Big Release weekend Maybe Love Mercy June 5 Brian Wilson Beach Boys ~ depends if I've caught up on Big Summer Releases NEW Mr. Holmes June 15 ~ Definitely Pan July 24 ~ Hubby's even psyched about this one