March 14, 2015 -- While no doubt determined to make a sequel worthy of the original film, the makers of this movie ended up with a film that comes in second best by a long shot. It achieves mediocrity only because of the talent and charm of the actors carried over from the original film.

This story starts shortly after the time line of the first film. The opening scene features two of the actors (there are several others) reprising their roles from the first film, Dev Patel as the hotel owner, Sonny Kapoor, and his business partner and resident, Muriel Donnelly (played by renowned actress Dame Maggie Smith). They are in America seeking financing for a second hotel. While this opening scene is mildly funny, it seems a bit extraneous.

After this hurried excursion, we get back to the hotel, which has been fixed up, but before we get back in touch with the residents again, two new characters appear, Guy Chambers (played by Richard Gere of “Arbitrage”) and Lavinia Beech (Tamsin Greig of “Shaun of the Dead”). Both arrive as new guests of the hotel at the same time, but Sonny suspects that Chambers is there to secretly evaluate the hotel for possible expansion. He lavishes attention on Chambers and ignores Beech.

Another subplot involves yet another new character, Kushal (Shazid Latif) who seems to be getting a little too friendly with Sonny's fiancée, Sunaina (Tina Desai). Kushal is also interfering with Sonny's plans to purchase a second hotel. He's supposed to be a friend of Sunnia's family, but really doesn't seem like much of a friend. Yet another subplot involves a one-eyed Tuk Tuk driver who might be aiming to run down one of the hotel guests, Carol (Diana Hardcastle).

Evelyn Greenslade (played by Dame Judi Dench, simply one of the best actresses in the world) is embarking on a new career as a fabric buyer, while her friend Douglas Ainslie (played by the ever-charming Bill Nighy of “About Time”) wants to marry her but hasn't gotten the nerve to ask. Ainslie is working as a tour guide, even though he can't remember any facts about the tour sites he working. He gets help from a young boy who reads a script to him via a transmitter.

Yet another romantic pairing emerges when Chambers falls hard for Sonny's mother (played by Lillete Dubey). Madge Hardcastle (Celia Imrie) is still looking for a husband. She works with Norman Cousins (Ronald Pickup) at a nearby social club that has fallen on hard times. Madge now has three or four eligible bachelors to choose from. She discusses her options with her faithful driver, Babul (Rajesh Tailing). Oh, and Muriel Donnelly gets some disturbing news from a doctor, and Ainslie's wife and daughter show up from England unexpectedly, too.

As you can tell from this brief summary, there are a lot of characters and a lot of subplots in this film. In an attempt to get face time for all these fine actors and to service all the subplots, the film rapidly jumps from one scene, and one subplot, to another. There is enough going on for a four hour movie, but the attempt here is to do everything in half that time. The charm of the first film was that the characters in the hotel formed a kind of family, supporting and enforcing each other. In this film, that family is fractured, split into different stories in different locations. I got the uncomfortable feeling of being repeatedly tossed into a succession of loosely-related stories.

The film's time line is confusing in relation to the first film. Some things have changed a lot, as if months have passed. Other things have not changed at all, as if no time has passed. Nevertheless, good luck to anyone who is trying to figure out what is going on if you haven't seen the first film. Well -- even then ... This film rates a C.

Click here for links to places to buy or rent this movie in digital formats, or to buy the soundtrack, posters, books, even used videos, games, electronics and lots of other stuff. I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

Copyright © 2015 Robert Roten. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.

Robert Roten can be reached via e-mail at .