An absolutely delightful and pleasurable movie to watch. Let it make your day. Superlative cast of characters taking you to an exotic location. The cream of the British acting aristocracy. Music byThomas Newman directed by Madden. No computer effects, no botox. Just a pleasure to watch and enjoy!

The audience actually applauded for the joy they had been given,

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, is an interesting movie, that have an interesting and great plot, the development is really fantastic, and the characters are incredible. This movie is really interesting.

Seven retirees travel to a lush resort in India, but discover a rather rundown result. Of course, the charms of the city work their magic and change their lives forever. The cast, including some of England's finest (Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, Billy Nighy and Tom Wilkinson), is uniformly winning and the stories are sweet, if not predictable. Younger viewers may not appreciate its mature values, but the target audience is sure to find it charming, amusing and ultimately uplifting.… Expand

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

This novelistic tour-de-force takes us to the Anglo-Indian genre of E.M. Foster's "Passage to India," but in modern, post colonial dress. It is literate, funny, and a reminder of what great acting and warm humanity can mean in a film - as opposed to robots and aliens romping in 3-D.

It's a feel-good movie that works. Carpe-diem city. It encourages you to make more of your life and to live more grandly. The cast is superb. I especially enjoy the storyline surrounding the Indian family which owns the hotel. But Maggie Smith, Dame Judy, and Bill Nighy, and Tom Wilkinson are truly outstanding. Wilkinson's journey to find his lost love was a surprising but great addition to the story.… Expand

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This is a coming of age movie for old people. Our geriatric crowd loved it, and for once the Brits avoided the sap, mostly. The locale alone makes it worthwhile, although somewhat cleansed of it's abject poverty India shines through as a colorful, noisy, energetic place for old tattered folk to find some renewal. Dench is great, and all the great actors in the cast are unsurprising, hewing to a script without too much risk that tries to mix in pathos with the humor. Now if only the Brits would make a great movie that did not fit into Masterpiece Theater!… Expand

Beautifully shot showcasing all the vibrancy of life in an Indian city; I was impressed with the look of the film. All the performances were excellent, with Judi Dench and Tom Wilkinson standing out; I thought Dev Patel was a tad underused though. I liked the fact that the writers didn

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.

The film tells the story of a group of British retirees who are finding it hard to make ends meet in England and decide that they can do better in India. The get the brochure from the aforenamed hotel in Jaipur, which advertises that it is "for elderly and beautiful people." When the guests arrive, they discover that they are the hotel's first guests and they go through all the hassles of dealing with any new business. Their story is a bit of a "fish out of water" story as they adjust to their environment, but it also depicts the character growth of not only the Brits but also of the hotel owner/manager and his family and friends. It finds both characteristics to celebrate and characteristics to make fun of in both cultures. And it has the requisite happy ending for most members of both groups, because "everything will come out all right in the end. If it is not all right, then this must not be the end."… Expand

Parts of the story you've seen many times before and are predictable (the romance between the hotel's owner and his girlfriend comes to mind) but most of the movie is fresh and eminently watchable. The acting is superb across the board as you would expect with a cast of this magnitude. The storyline of Tom Wilkinson's character is especially moving. The exotic location of India and it's wonderful people make you want to visit the country. Overall a nice movie-going experience.… Expand

This movie is like a really well made martini - certainly predictable - but thoroughly enjoyable. Delightful ensemble of seasoned professional actors who could make reading an Ikea assembly manual compelling, beautiful location for filming (only wish we saw more of it,) a nice dash of socially progressive. Uplifting and warm, it will inspire a variety of post-movie conversations about foreign retirement options for anyone over 40.… Expand

I Have a decent tolerance for sweetness in a story, so I didn't squirm when it became obvious where this was headed, and you would have to be foolish to expect otherwise from such British standards. Aside from that, this was a joy to watch. Almost every shot was planned in a way that delivered extra beauty or emotional punch. There was no sense that India was used only for background, the location was in every shot with gorgeous light, grunge and authenticity. And I am glad to be alive in a time where such elderly talent can employed as the focus of the story rather than a comic or tragic sidetrip. Revelatory, really. Humorous, touching, and intimate. My only gripe is that there were too many storylines, and I could've easily done without the romance by the younger Indian couple (the fact that their dialog was delivered in English didn't help). But to carp about this misses the point, that this was made in an EPIC manner.... the art direction and photography were STUNNING and there is plenty to enjoy in the story and quality acting. Like many movies, I only think it would've been stronger if it was 15 minutes shorter.… Expand

The film works very well overall. It's greatest strength is, of course, the amazing cast. The standouts are Maggie Smith as a hilariously racist old woman stuck in a country full of "others," Judi Dench as a still grieving widow looking for change, Bill Nighy as an unhappily married man, and Tom Wilkinson who's spent his whole life thinking of the man he once loved, who he left behind in India. These four are just wonderful to watch and they provide a lot of good humor. But then their is Dev Patel, who is less spectacular. The story follows these elderly people in India, and then randomly brings in Patel's character as another side plot, even though it breaks from the continuity of these elderly people looking for meaning in their life now that they are old and retired. I also found issue with the fact that the characters often spoke of the color and beauty of India, yet they didn't show much of it, other than many crowded streets. Lastly, the end of the movie was a mad dash to try and resolve all of the loose ends in under 15 minutes and it ended up failing. Even with these problems, the cast alone is more than capable of carrying this movie smoothly from beginning to end.… Expand

Oscar-nominated director John Madden

Wonderful how they communicate what happens in India when westerns first land there, I've never seen a movie put it so well like this one. The images, the reactions, the needed adaptations - and the spirit of each one when facing it. I liked very much the insights that go inside the seven main characters and their relationships with themselves, with aging and with what's suddenly highlighted but the colors of India. Great movie.… Expand

Had no expectations and left very pleasantly surprised. Nothing exceptional, nothing overly dramatic, yet wonderful, emotional and interesting story that should not be missed.

The actors and actresses in this movie did a splendid job. Their characters were mostly likable and believable. The story fell flat though, and the unneeded intrusion of controversial topics wasn't needed. It seemed like an artificial attempt at adding depth to an otherwise run of the mill story.

Don't get me wrong. I enjoyed the movie, but it left me with yet another reassurance that Hollywood is out of touch with the values of the majority of Americans. What's worse is that many of the more risque or controversial topics seemed tossed in solely to convince us this was indeed a "deep drama." However, at further inspection you can see this movie is about a few elderly people who are delusional to think that living out sexual fantasies will make them feel young and worthwhile. You'd think after living an entire life they'd have realized there is more to life than that.

Enjoyable movie, but not one I'd see again or even recommend. Go see something else. Save yourself some money.… Expand

A pleasant if conventional crowd-pleaser that makes great use of its seven experienced lead actors, 'The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel' is an enjoyable moviegoing treat with heartwarming performances and some great imagery of India to please our eyes. At times, the film suffers from extreme pacing problems and overall predictability (you won't find any surprises as far as plot is concerned). Along with being a bit too melodramatic, the characters' problems feel somewhat slight and the general tone of the movie is one of low stakes and leisure fun. All that being said, the performance aspect is grade-A and every actor receives a fitting vignette worthy of their talents. Tom Wilkinson's character, an aged gay man returning to India to find his long lost love, has the best side story by far and there is an air of seriousness and dramatic pull in the scenes depicting his search that is sorely lacking throughout the rest of the film. It's great to watch all of these inspired performances birthed from less-than-inspired characters (Judi Dench playing against type as a vulnerable widow and Maggie Smith as a hardened wheelchair-bound racist are some other highlighted spots), but sometimes we could use a little more heft to the story. Still, this is a very warm movie in general and is so far one of my favorites from 2012.… Expand

This movie wouldn't be as frustrating if not for the colossal waste of talent. A gathering of some of the best actors in the English speaking world are hamstrung by a script chock full of Anglo-Indian stereotypes and cliches. A disheartening missed opportunity.

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. After seeing this film advertised on TV I decided to see what the fuss was about. I began watching it although I thought there was a slow start to it I found it enjoyable to watch. However, around 65minutes into the film I had to turn the film off due to distractions (visitors) I then left it for a few days before finishing watching it. I wouldn't usually go back to a film after only half watching it but there was something different about this film that made me want to see how it finished. The film gave a insight into each characters life at the beginning which made you feel closer to the characters throughout. As I am British I found it great how I could recognise the actors/actresses. I believe Judi Dench really made this film what it is, great acting and she really shows good emotion in her speaking. Overall Wonderful film and certainly a must see film.… Expand

The high quality actors present here were deserving of a better script. A wonderful story, vibrant direction, and great cast were all let down by a below sub-par script.

From the point of view of an Indian, Dev Patel's character - and indeed the roles played by all of the Indians - is poorly conceived and entirely unbelievable. From the point of view of a movie buff, one witnesses subtle and stunning performances delivered by its lead actors (and thankfully, Dev Patel is not one of them) despite an oversimplified plot line.

One is never too old to take a risk and experience something new. This movie is a real life story of people who dare to confront their destinies and tell it's not over. It is a story that changes lives and fulfills dreams. But more than just a lesson, it is life itself with all the good and bad things.

I was surprised by this movie. I didn`t expect to like it at all, but it was a good story. I found something peaceful about this movie even though the location is terrible in reality.

Delightful in every respect, "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" is a brilliantly acted "going-of-age" tale that manages to pull off what a lot of its ensemble-movie predecessors have failed to do; it seamlessly places emphasis on and individualizes every character in its stellar roster.

This is a sweet, poignant, warmly funny, character driven movie that I can recommend highly since it is not a quick action, car chase, explosive, fight filled, special effects film. You have to devote some easy time to become familiar with these older people and yes, older people have problems of their own that are just as worthy and significant to them as ours are to us. When all too often movies are made to to provide some type of satisfaction quickly before we become bored, this film moves along slowly drawing you in to caring about these people. It takes more devoting of time by the viewer than the normal action movie but it's worth it. I wish they made more movies like this.… Expand