Review Roundup: Judi Dench Stars in SECOND BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL

Judi Dench leads an all-star cast in the new Britsh comedy THE SECOND BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL, a sequel to the 2012 hit THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL. The film was directed by John Madden.

The film rejoins Sonny, a young businessman wishing to expand his properties after the success of his first venture, THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL for the Elderly and Beautiful. However, the stress of managing the property threatens his new marriage to the love of his life, Sunaina. Meanwhile, the hotel guests attemptto navigate through their own trials of love and loss as they prepare for an Indian wedding.

THE SECOND BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL stars Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Dev Patel, Bill Nighy, Richard Gere, Celia Imrie, Penelope Wilton, Ronald Pickup, Diana Hardcastle, Tamsin Greig, Tena Desae, Lillete Dubey, and David Strathairn.

Let's see what the critics had to say!

Stephen Holden, New York Times: Beyond its blindingly colorful palette, the pleasures to be gleaned from the sequel to the 2012 hit "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" derive from watching its eminent, mostly British cast ham it up while trying to inflate dramatic molehills into mountains.

Lloyd I. Sederer, M.D., Huffington Post: If life is a game of cards, the question then is do I play another hand? In The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, the resounding answer is "count me in."

Peter Debruge, Variety: So, whether or not the film is to your taste, its creators have tried to do right by the original, brainstorming a plot deserving of a sequel before constructing another "Exotic Marigold Hotel" that's hardly second-best.

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: Second Best - how's that for truth in advertising? - is basically the same movie as the 2012 original without the novelty.

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: The movie's smooth to the point of blandness, but its faces really do tell a story. And having Gere's silverly mane share the same film with Strathairn's is almost too much fabulous hair for one diversion.

Lou Lumenick, New York Post: Second best by a distressingly large margin, "The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" is a pointless sequel to an overlong but charming little comedy that was never designed to launch a franchise.

Chris Nashawaty, Entertainment Weekly: We want to lose ourselves in their soapy high jinks again and see how their exotic retirement is treating them. For the most part, the answer is "very well." They're busier and bawdier than ever, not to mention as hungry for love as a Bachelor contestant.

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: If you call your movie "The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel," lowered expectations come with the territory. Yes, there are good moments from a team of veteran British actors, but overall, this return visit to the 2012 gray-set rom-com is deadly dull.

Mark Kermode, The Guardian: Lacking the narrative clarity of its predecessor, this patchy sequel juggles too many character-threads to be anything more than episodic.

Clint O'Connor, Cleveland.com: The second go-round for "Marigold" is sweet and charming, if not scintillating. It is also a more light-hearted affair, lacking the downbeat, melancholy corners of the first film.

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