I took myself to the early showing of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel this morning and was pretty much the only person under the age of seventy in a packed theater. Most of the other theater goers were on a outing from a nearby retirement home. I eavesdropped on their conversations while have post movie coffee next door, most of them did not seem to be embracing their golden years like the characters in the movie. I heard a group of them talking about hating "the home" and generally being pissed off that their children didn't visit them, not just more often, but never. Admittedly, this put a bit of a damper on the high I was riding exiting the movie.
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotelwas nothing short of charming. It's witty and has an amazing ensemble cast. I was laughing the entire way though. It's just a feel good movie and in my opinion, we don't have enough of those. This isn't to say that it lacks depth or shies from serious topics, it has plenty of weight and manages to balance out the humor. It has a great message of embracing change and challenge at every stage in life. I left the theater smiling. There is never such as thing as too much Maggie Smith, love her!