A look back at a favorite movie recently viewed again on a streaming site.
I am not an avid movie theater patron, but one movie I willingly spent a few precious dollars for was The Most Exotic Marigold Hotel. My Mom, sister, and a girlfriend liked it. My brother-in-law hated it, but he and I do not share the same taste in movies. He likes lots of action, shoot-em-up or blow-em-up spectacles. I get bored after a few minutes of gangsters, car chases, or alien spaceship invasions.
My husband Steve came with me; I did not tell him beforehand what the movie was about. We approached the ticket kiosk and requested two tickets. When told the price Steve threatened to walk out, but I grasped his hand and dragged him through the lobby and into the theater.
The Most Exotic Marigold Hotel stars seniors – not the high school or college kind, but the mature type. The backstory: seven mature adults, mainly for financial reasons, relocate from their native England to a rundown hotel in the city of Jaipur, India. The individuals (except for one couple) do not initially know each other, but bond with a common living experience.
I enjoyed the movie and Steve did not not like it, but the film will not make his favorites list. It is at times slow-paced and deep – meaning people actually talk to each other for more than a nanosecond – and some viewers find the exchanges boring. They are not patient enough to sit back and relish the discourse. I doubt many young folks will find the movie captivating, either.
The Most Exotic Marigold Hotel runs two hours (and four minutes, but who is counting) and costars a stellar cast: Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Tom Wilkinson, Bill Nighy, Celia Imrie, Penelope Wilton, and Ronald Pickup. An amusing performance by Dev Patel as a young Indian hotel manager adds a humorous, light-hearted note to the movie.
Seniors will appreciate the film (unless they are more inclined, like my brother-in-law, to action-packed flicks). It probably should be required viewing for all college gerontology majors and anyone working with the ‘elderly’.
On a personal note, the idea of retiring overseas intrigues me, but it will not happen. If I were to move, however, India would not be my first (or second or third or fourth) choice. My preference would be a place less crowded. I like city and town amenities, but do not want to maneuver through crowds, traffic, and pollution in my old age. And I am not a fan of oppressive heat.
I will, however, give the idea careful consideration. I won’t relocate abroad, but hope to visit places for one or two months at a time. Perhaps it is time to start a wish list.