EVERSWEET AT "THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL

EVERSWEET AT "THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL

“The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” is aimed directly at those people of a certain age who have retired, or are about to retire or need some positive motivation to believe there is life after retirement.

Society’s interest in caring for its older population is so strongly at the center of this generally charming fairy tale that reviewers often spend more time talking about the movie’s sociology than the movie itself.

So let’s do a bit of both.

This is not the most charming example of that particularly unique British film genre in which some of the UK’s finest elder actors portray characters vigorously determined to fight against the dying of the day. But “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” is still pretty good.

John Madden as director never pretends his script from Ol Parker is anything but predictable, freely telegraphing his intentions so far in advance there is never a risk anyone will be shocked by the element of surprise.

With pride, Judi Dench, Tom Wilkinson, Maggy Smith, Bill Nighy, Celia Imrie, Ronald Pickup and Penelope Wilton bring out the humor, pathos, sentiment and inspiring courage deep down in their roles. Only the most stout-hearted cynic would insist on maintaining a sour disposition while watching these senior citizens triumph over their problems while living in a rundown hotel in Jaipur, a sprawling city filled with India’s colorful culture and…yes…its anguished poverty.

Evelyn (Dench) is the most central figure with the best lines as the disappointed widow of a man who lost his entire fortune then died without telling Evelyn a thing about it.

Muriel (Smith) is the bitter, racist and unmarried domestic who devoted her entire life to serving others. Nighy and Wilton play a badly married couple, Douglas and Jean. He is always trying to see the bright side, she forever complaining about something.

Madge (Celia Imrie) and Norman (Ronald Pickup) are the adult equivalent of adults who have been ridden hard and put away wet. But both are still determined to run again. Though they have nothing in common, they often end up together because they are socially aggressive.

The most sympathetic is Graham (Wilkinson), a retired judge whose face and body bear the weight of a career spent deciding the fates of others. Graham grew up in Jaipur and hopes to reconnect with a childhood friend.

Representing India is the appropriately named Sonny (Dev Patel, who played the harried contestant in “Slumdog Millionaire.”) Sonny  is the young man who dreams of reviving the decayed hotel that has been in his family for many generations. Eternally optimistic, he seeks elderly residents from Great Britain with promises of affordable luxury.

So we settle in and watch each of their stories begin with problems in England and endure hellish snags in transportation to Jaipur before each of them finds a happy resolution in their own way. Putting a smile on each one does take some extra time toward the end, but by then they have all won us over completely.