***
Hoping to expand his hotel chain,
Sonny takes Muriel to America with the hopes of securing the funds to purchase
another building. Back in Jaipur, the lives of the long-term inmates are as
tumultuous as ever.
On the back of the unprecedented
success of the first, John Madden has now decided to wing it and go ahead with
a sequel despite having no source text to fall back on, and it, unfortunately,
shows. Whilst the predecessor told the story of a group old pensioners moving
to India and adapting to their new environment, The Second … Hotel has no real plot to speak of, rather a series of
different plot lines, all of which involve the main cast acting like indecisive
teenagers when it comes to matters of the heart. Indeed, there are so many
different pairings going on that some characters inevitably get more
screen-time than others, whilst some of the threads are obviously stronger and
more endearing than others. To enliven the old formula, Richard Gere is added
to the cast as Guy Chambers, and a case of mistaken identities ensues, only
lacking the wit of a Shakespearean comedy. The jokes about aging and imminent death
become tired rather quickly, and Evelyn’s (Judi Dench) and Douglas’ (Bill
Nighy) will-they-won’t-they relationship is rather infuriating.
It isn’t a bad film by any means,
however. Dev Patel (as the hotel-proprietor Sonny) is quite simply excellent,
bouncing around the screen like an excited puppy. He and Maggie Smith are
gifted with the best dialogue, offering outstanding witticisms throughout. Bill
Nighy is as charming as ever, whilst Celia Imrie’s love story is undoubtedly
the most touching of the many on screen. It’s gentle and sweet, and the cast
are supported by a great soundtrack and lovely cinematography.
A light-hearted and wholly inoffensive
foray back into the lives of our ex-PAT friends, The Second … Hotel is undoubtedly good-natured, but it lacks the
charm, humour and originality of the first. Whilst the first was a real
pleasure to behold, the second feels as tired and as old as some of the
characters, which is a real shame. It, however, will always be a delight to see
some of our best-loved stars on screen together, and who doesn’t enjoy a good
dance-off at the end?
Comments
Post a Comment