• Summary: "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" follows a group of British retirees who decide to "outsource" their retirement to less expensive and seemingly exotic India. Enticed by advertisements for the newly restored Marigold Hotel and bolstered with visions of a life of leisure, they arrive to find the palace a shell of its former self. Though the new environment is less luxurious than imagined, they are forever transformed by their shared experiences, discovering that life and love can begin again when you let go of the past. (Fox Searchlight Pictures) Expand
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 25 out of 35
  2. Negative: 1 out of 35
  1. Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    May 2, 2012
    88
    We suspect that the film will be about their various problems and that the hotel will not be as advertised. What we may not expect is what a charming, funny and heartwarming movie this is, a smoothly crafted entertainment that makes good use of seven superb veterans.
  2. Reviewed by: Mike Scott
    May 18, 2012
    60
    An uplifting and colorful crowd-pleaser, it's built on a wealth of cinematic contrivances -- all designed to make sure things, indeed, turn out all right in the end -- but the result is just too good-natured to begrudge.
  3. Reviewed by: Michael O'Sullivan
    May 3, 2012
    38
    A blandly middling crowd pleaser.

See all 35 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 15
  2. Negative: 0 out of 15
  1. Open your bag of popcorn, take a sip of your soda and get ready to spend enjoyable time some of the cream of the crop British actors in â;The Best Exotic Marigold Hotelâ as they create the magic only they can. They are lured to a retirement destination in Jaipur, India, by a brochure promising them a luxurious time at the hotel run by Sonny (Dev Patel of âSlumdog Millionaire) which has seen much better days. Though he wants to bring the place back to its glory days his mother wants him to return home to Delhi and marry the girl she has picked out for him instead of Sunaina (Tena Desae) the girl he loves. Evelyn Greenslade (Judi Dench) is a recent widow left destitute by her husband and forced to sell her apartment while Douglas and Jean Ainslie (Bill Nighy and Penelope Wilton) are an unhappily married couple who lost their money backing their daughter in a business. Muriel Donnelly (Maggie Smith) is a cantankerous older women who has come to India to get a hip replacement since it is cheaper than in England and Graham Dashwood (Tom Wilkinson) has returned to find a love he lost 40 years ago. Margie Hardcastle (Celia Imne) is looking for a husband while Norman Cousins (Ronald Pickup), with a pocket full of Viagra, is looking for sex. Another star of the movie is India itself in its noise, poverty, colors and beauty photographed by Ben Davis letting you discover the city and country as the characters do. Directed by John Madden and the screenplay written by Ol Parker the movie is sweet, funny and at times unexpectedly moving. Many times you know what is coming and, yet, something completely different happens. Each actor and actress brings that something special that they have been bringing to movies for years and the routine becomes outstanding. There are many funny quips that you have to discover for yourself along the way while the theme of the movie is repeated at the beginning, middle and, in case you missed it, at the end. It is worth listening to and remembering. âThe Best Exotic Marigold Hotelâ will give you more than most movies do today especially the sure, easy looking, meaningful performances. See it! Expand
    • 1 of 1 users said yes
  2. 9
    Great cast playing off one another effortlessly and a nice story. The audience applauded at the end, people genuinely happy that they had gone to see the movie on it's first day out. Expand
    • 3 of 3 users said yes
  3. Some good lines - all of which were in the trailer - and competent perfomances fom some of Britain's best actors can't make this any more than a tepid, but reasonably entertaining, time-killer. It could have been something much better. Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes

See all 15 User Reviews

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Showtimes

AMC Loews Georgetown 14 Washington
1:20PM
4:30PM
7:30PM
10:40PM
AMC Tysons Corner 16 West McLean
10:25AM
1:15PM
4:05PM
7:25PM
10:15PM
E-Street Cinema Washington
1:15PM
2:30PM
4:00PM
5:15PM
6:45PM
8:00PM
9:20PM
AMC Courthouse Plaza 8 Arlington
2:40PM
3:40PM
6:20PM
9:10PM
Cinema Arts Theatre Fairfax
9:50PM
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