The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel(2011)

Alright, so i missed the session for the film i wanted to see this week(Life in Movement), and ended up being delighted with something different instead.
The best Exotic Marigold Hotel a bit of a who's who of British cinema with Tom Wilkinson, Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Ronald Pickup, Celia Imrie, Penelope Wilton and Maggie Smith, and one from your younger generation with Dev Patel. The film has a simple setup, Through different circumstances, a group of elderly British citizens book in to spend the rest of they're twilight years at 'the best exotic marigold hotel for the elderly and beautiful', owned and operated by a young India man (Patel).

It's easy to dismiss this film based on the trailers, as another paint by numbers story, with most/all the funny bits in the trailer. That's not necessarily the case, and although the reasonably sized ensemble cast does end up meaning aspects of the story don't get as developed as they probably should, and as is typical of these stories, things become all too clear to the audiences well before the film's plot points reach they're check points.
But the film works, by the strength of its cast, and some of the characters have some nice story arcs. The stand outs are the always brilliant Tom Wilkinson and Maggie Smith. They're characters really have opposing arcs, with Wilkinson's one being more emotional, and Smith's being of acceptance. I would say that i'm a little disappointed  that Dev Patel's character doesn't get more screen time, his story gets wrapped up nicely still, but it does't feel as developed as it could be.
The film also seems to stylize India a bit, we see it through a slightly filtered lens, there's no doubt that it can be a majestic country, and has beautiful buildings (the titular hotel looks like a nice place to explore), but they've thinned out the crowds, and and emphasized the colors.
All in all, Director John Madden has delivered an enjoyable film, but not an especially special one. By maybe thinning out the cast a little, and expanding some of the stories, the film could have been something special, but it just lacks that extra spark to make it worth coming back to.