The SECOND Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is definitely worth seeing. I liked it almost as much as the first film. My loyal reader Olga thought she liked it even better than the first one!

Like the first film, it follows the lives of British retirees looking for a less expensive (and more interesting) place to spend their twilight years. This one continues with Sonny (Dev Patel), his gorgeous fiancee Sunaina (Tina Desai) and their plans for yet another Anglo-Indian retirement home. It also shows the bumpy ride they have toward their wedding. I don't think I will spoil it for you by saying that the film ends with a wonderful wedding dance, Bollywood style.

The best thing about this film is of course the fab British cast. How can a movie with these amazingly talented actors be anything less than delightful? Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Celia Imrie, Penelope Wilton...it just goes on and on! Director John Madden returns as well (Shakespeare in Love) to steer the ship.

I am afraid to say the worst thing about The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel was Richard Gere. I don't know if it was the juxtaposition with the talent above, but his acting seemed very second rate. When he was attempting to woo Sonny's mother, I didn't believe a word he said! Am I being too hard on him? Did anyone else like him in this????

So the bottom line is to just go and see this. Enjoy the wonderful costumes, scenery and the not too heavy story line. It is just the kind of date film my husband and I enjoy and I'm sure you will too!

Cheers!

Belle 2014

I finally got to see Belle a few weeks ago with a group of girlfriends. I can highly recommend the film, although it is not without it's faults. Having said that, this is a DVD which will be welcomed into my collection when it is released. And I hope there are loads of extras as my main gripe was the film was TOO SHORT!

Dido Elizabeth Belle Lindsay was the "natural daughter" of British Naval Officer Captain John Lindsay and Maria Belle, a West Indian slave. Born in 1761, her father brought her back to England in 1765, taking her to the home of his uncle William Murray, the 1st Earl of Mansfield and his wife Lady Elizabeth to be raised with another niece Elizabeth Murray who was about the same age (photo of the painting which immortalizes the friendship above).

Lord Mansfield apparently doted on Dido and as Lord Chief Justice was best known for his Judgement in Somersett's Case in 1772 which basically stated that a slave brought to England who left his master's service could not be recaptured and removed from English soil. This ruling eventually opened the door to the suppression of the slave trade by Parliament in 1807 and the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833.

So, obviously the story practically writes itself. It was a tale which had to be told. The acting is great and the sets and costumes are the most incredible eye candy. So what is my beef? It is TOO SHORT! At only 107 minutes long, there is not enough character development to truly pull you into the story. It is almost as if the script writer Misan Sagay feared fictionalizing too much of this amazing story, so she just stuck to the facts. Harrumph! However she did a fine job with what is there. I was just left hungering for more.

So by all means, see it and judge for yourself. Like I said, I will wait hopefully for the DVD and PLEASE may there be many deleted scenes and extras to justify the purchase. I will also go to visit Kenwood House when I am in London later this month. I'd like to see the house where Dido and her cousin were raised (as well as the Vermeer and other great art works) on Hampstead Heath.

You know Kenwood House, it's the grand white house in Notting Hill where Hugh Grant goes to see Julia Roberts filming a costume drama- I think it was a Henry James adaptation. Anyway, here is the link for the trailer for Belle:
http://youtu.be/Wtdk6owFj2o

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel for Mother's Day

For Mother's Day I was taken to see The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. Not by my children of course, but by the man who made motherhood happen, The Squire as he is affectionately known. And it was wonderful. Magical one might say.

Ready for adventure at The Marigold Hotel

A group of British retirees who cannot afford to live well in England decide to "outsource" their retirement to India. And mayhem ensues.

Based on the novel These Foolish Things by Deborah Moggach (screenplay writer of Pride and Prejudice 2005) one wonders why director John Madden (Shakespeare in Love, Mrs. Brown) didn't have Deborah adapt her own book for the big screen. I think she might have done a better job, but I am quibbling here. I loved the film and I will definitely purchase it, to be watched on very hot days and on very cold days!

Judi Dench and Celia Imrie in Marigold Hotel

Judi Dench plays a recent widow who had trusted everything to the husband who left her without a home or enough money to live on in the end. Of course, she ends up landing on her feet and blogging about it!

Judi Dench with Tom Wilkinson and Bill Nighy in Marigold Hotel

Tom Wilkinson's character was not in the book but was introduced into the story to hint at India's British colonial roots. A High Court Judge (one assumes he could afford a better hotel and is slumming it) who grew up in India but has never returned since he left in disgrace to attend University in England. I won't tell you any more but his story is a lovely addition to the film.

Dev Patel with Tena Desae

Dev Patel's character Sonny is the scatterbrained dreamer who is trying to make his father's vision of the hotel come true. Beautiful girlfriend from a different social class, disapproving mother...you know how it goes.

Maggie Smith in Marigold Hotel

Maggie Smith is delightful as a bigoted Brit who has to travel to India to avoid a six month wait in England for a new hip. I think I loved her story the best and she obviously had fun with the role.

The Squire loved Bill Nighy the best, quite rightly. What a joy to watch. He is such a character!

Ravla Khempur, the real Marigold Hotel near Udaipur

The real hotel, called Rayla Khempur is apparently much nicer than it is portrayed in the film and is available for stays if the film made you want to see the beauties of India. Wild Frontiers (wildfrontiers.co.uk) has put together a 10-night Marigold Hotel Rajasthan Tour which takes in locations from the film, as well as Agra, Pushkar and Delhi.

So please go and see the film. Just look at the amazing cast and you know you will love this film. Yes the ending is a bit pat and cliche but you want a happy ending right? If you are like me you will leave the theatre with a smile and a craving for Indian food. If you are like The Squire, you will love the film but shudder and say that you will never ever travel to India (or indeed China he says). :)

Downton Abbey Season 2: Episode One

Downton Abbey Season 2

Well, after waiting patiently since this time last year, it is finally here! I hope you were able to catch the season opener of Downton Abbey. I made sure I was plastered to the TV screen at 9 o'clock. We are two years later and the Great War has been taking its toll on the whole of Europe, Downton Abbey included. Matthew and Thomas are at the front and Lord Grantham and William are champing at the bit to get to the action. The Dowager Countess is manipulating things behind the scenes as usual, and everyone else is trying to do their part and to keep up with the changing times.

Lady Sybil learning to cook in Downton Abbey Season 2

Lady Sybil has been trained as a nurse in York, and has come back to work in the Downton Hospital, helping tend to wounded soldiers sent back from the front. She has even learned basic cookery skills which makes her mother proud.

The Earl of Grantham and his heir presumptive- Downton Abbey Season 2

Matthew is now Captain Crawley (my, sounds like Vanity Fair now doesn't it?) and the Earl has been given an honorary title and kept at home to "help boost morale". Ouch!

Lady Mary heartbroken- Downton Abbey Season 2

Lady Mary has seen Matthew and his new fiancee Lavinia Swire, which has made her realize her true feelings for Matthew. Poor Lady Mary. Longing glances abound.

Lavinia Swire Downton Abbey Season 2

Matthew Crawley's fiancee Lavinia Swire is one of the more interesting of the new characters this season. What is her hidden secret?

Sir Richard Carlisle and Lady Mary- Downton Abbey Season 2

Sir Richard Carlisle is Lady Mary's new beau this season. Will he be her saviour or will he be just another in the long line of Mary's ex-suitors? Points to anyone who recognized Iain Glen as Mr. Preston from Wives and Daughters. He still makes my skin crawl!

Maggie Smith as Violet, Dowager Duchess in Downton Abbey Season 2

While we have other new characters such as the new Valet Lang, the cheeky new housemaid Ethel and Bates's evil wife Vera, the best lines still come from Dame Maggie Smith as the delightfully haughty Dowager Duchess Violet.

Violet: Oh that's a relief. I hate Greek drama. When everything happens off stage.

Violet: Ridiculous! You're not Toad of Toad Hall.

Violet: Amputation in the dining room? Resuscitation in the pantry? I forbid it!

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So, here's to another great season of Downton Abbey. Thank goodness for ITV and PBS Masterpiece Theater for giving us something to look forward to during the long winter months ahead.  I am so glad now that I didn't watch this online in the fall. It was worth the wait!

P.S. My husband, who I affectionately refer to as The Squire, watched this with me all last year and at the very end of the first episode of season 2 said:

 "What is this, a soap opera?"

To which I replied: "Um....yes!?!?" He is usually pretty perceptive, but I think the costumes threw him off. Yes, honey, this is truly a soap opera in costume, and I'm enjoying every moment.

Wives and Daughters 1999

Justine Waddell, Keeley Hawes and Francesca Annis in Wives and Daughters

I can't believe I haven't blogged about Wives and Daughters yet. This is one of the best British period dramas ever, bar none! Written by the talented Mrs. Gaskell and adapted by the almost equally talented Andrew Davies, this production nears perfection.

This is the story of Molly Gibson (Justine Waddell), the daughter of a country doctor who gets an unpleasant surprise in the guise of a silly and manipulative step-mother (Francesca Annis). Thankfully she also gets a pretty step-sister (Keeley Hawes) who grows quite fond of Molly although the motives for her actions are not always as pure and her feelings not as easy to read as her new sister's.

Bill Paterson as Dr. Gibson with his beloved Molly (Justine Waddell)

The loving father daughter relationship between Dr. Gibson and Molly is wonderfully played by Bill Paterson and Justine Waddell. The viewer really feels for Molly when her role as the most important female in his life is usurped by such a ninny as Hyacinth Clare Kirkpatrick (Francesca Annis).

Michael Gambon as Squire Hamley

Squire Hamley: I'm not saying she was very silly, but one of us was silly and it wasn't me.

Anthony Howell is easy on the eyes as Roger Hamley

Mr. Gibson: Women are queer, unreasoning creatures and just as likely as not to love a man who's been throwing his affection away.
Roger Hamley: Thank you sir, I see you mean to give me encouragement.
Mr. Gibson: My encouragement is neither here nor there, if she can stomach ya, I dare say I can.

Keeley Hawes as flighty Cynthia and Iain Glen as the hateful Mr. Preston

Cynthia Kirkpatrick: I didn't sell myself. I liked you then, but oh, do I hate you now!

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As I was watching this, my husband (I have taken to calling him The Squire) was popping in and out of the room as is his wont, when he started recognizing actors. "Hey, that's the dad from Miss Potter. There's the mom from Miss Potter! There's Isobel Crawley from Downton Abbey! Lady Catherine de Bourgh! Mr. Collins! Mary Bennet! Michael Gambon! Chloe from MI5! Sgt. Milner from Foyle's War! Mrs. Jennings from Sense and Sensibility! The Welsh guy from Coupling!"

It was kind of hilarious as he kept recognizing actor after actor. And this was only hours after he had just ID'd the dopey Lol Ferris from As Time Goes By as Mr. Gardiner from Pride and Prejudice 1995, which I had failed to see in previous viewings. He's getting good! Which just shows how many of my period dramas he has sat through. Or popped in and out during, always demanding a plot update when he reenters the room. Well, perhaps he is paying attention after all!

Molly Gibson in the rain

In short, I can conclude by saying this has to be in the top 5 period dramas of all time so if you've never watched this one, please do so soon, and if you have seen it, you may want to cuddle up and watch it again if you need a Molly and Roger fix. Molly is so adorable and that man can make a microscope look sexy! Well, that and the cravat of course...

Downton Abbey- Silly old photos of the actors

Downton Abbey Season II

Well, word is that the new series of Downton Abbey is brilliant. Hmmmmmm....I wouldn't know as I am being good and waiting until the darkest days of January for this wonderful show to reappear on PBS.

So in the meantime, I am amusing myself by posting silly old photos of the stars. Here is the one which started me off:

Mr. Bates?

OK, Brendan Coyle (Mr. Bates) with floppy Hugh Grant hair from the 1990s. I don't know whether to laugh or whether to ...mmmmm....not bad actually ....kinda sexy...and the guy in the back looks mighty jealous of that hair!

Then I tried to find an old photo of Julian Fellowes, illustrious writer of Downton Abbey. I Googled "old photos of Julian Fellowes" and even "Julian Fellowes with hair" and all the photos looked like they were taken last week. Apparently this guy has always been bald, chubby and middle aged. So I settled on this one:

Julian Fellowes as Monarch of the Glen

Not sure if it is the hat (tam?) or if it is the pompous look on his face, but it gave me a little giggle! After all,  this is the man who used the word grandiloquent in his Emmy speech!

Then I ran into the same problem with Hugh Bonneville (aka the Earl of Grantham). Even way back to Notting Hill in 1999 where he played the adorable Bernie he looked basically the same as he does now. So I had to settle on this photo:

Hugh Bonneville as Mr. Rushworth in Mansfield Park

OK, whoever thought up the bouffant hairdo to make Hugh Bonneville look totally ridiculous as the air-headed Mr. Rushworth was brilliant. I would have run off with Henry Crawford too if I were Maria!

Jim Carter? Really?

And I wouldn't have recognized the baritone voiced Jim Carter (Mr. Carson) from this photo in a million years! The mustachio is magnifique!

Now, "Where are the ladies?" I hear you crying. Well here is the baby faced Elizabeth McGovern (Cora, the Countess of Grantham), who apparently has always had a penchant for period drama:

Elizabeth McGovern in Ragtime

As you see, I had to choose a cropped version of this photo from Ragtime. There are many photos online with full frontal nudity (Elizabeth!) but I'll try to keep it PG13 here at the Jane Austen Film Club.

Maggie Smith in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

Now as Maggie Smith (Violet, the Dowager Countess) has been gorgeous throughout her entire career (including now) I had to settle for one with sixties hair that reminded me of my mother when she was young. Yes, this was the Jennifer Aniston hairdo of the day back then. Everyone had one!

Penelope Wilton

Penelope Wilton (Isobel Crawley) is another lady who looks good in almost any photo. So here is her false eyelash look from the 1960s I think. What a glamour shot!

And as for all the younger ones, well...they just look normal in all of their photos because they haven't aged yet and the styles haven't changed enough for a giggle. But just you wait...

Victoria and Albert 2001 starring Victoria Hamilton, Jonathan Firth and Penelope Wilton

Victoria and Albert 2001 starring Victoria Hamilton, Jonathan Firth and Penelope Wilton

After watching the end of South Riding tonight on PBS, which I thoroughly enjoyed by the way, I popped Victoria and Albert in the DVD player. Penelope Wilton did an amazing job in both of these miniseries'. She is a true force of nature in this as Queen Victoria's mother The Duchess of Kent battling for control with her daughter, the future Queen of England.

Victoria Hamilton as Queen Victoria and Penelope Wilton as her mother The Duchess of Kent

Victoria Hamilton, as well as sharing her character's name, really seems to capture the young girl grappling with her transition from girl to Queen to wife. In one scene where she stands up to her mother the Duchess and Sir John Conroy, the grasping Irishman that The Duchess relied on, Victoria is shaking with anger and fear at her new found power. Woweee.

Jonathan Firth (yes, Colin's brother) and Victoria Hamilton in V&A

Jonathan Firth, the younger brother of the more famous period actor Colin Firth, does a fabulous job of conveying the trepidation with which he approached this marriage and his frustration to carve out a role for himself in Victoria's life and in service to his new homeland. The tenderness with which he bathes Victoria's temples on their wedding night really makes the heart skip a beat. No wonder Victoria never got over his death. They even fight with an undercurrent of sexiness. He may not have loved her at first, but they sure seemed to have developed a great relationship and this miniseries makes you feel as if you were a fly on the wall watching them fall in love. Oh, those Firth brothers!

Lord Melbourne played by Nigel Hawthorne

The supporting cast is a dream, with Nigel Hawthorne as Lord Melbourne, Victoria's first Prime Minister and advisor in her early days. David Suchet is brilliant as the Saxe-Cobourg family mentor and behind the scenes man Baron Stockmar, who pulled the strings to achieve the match between the famous pair.

Diana Rigg as Baroness Lehzen

Diana Rigg as Victoria's governess and friend Baroness Lehzen, Peter Ustinov as Victoria's uncle and predecessor King William IV (aka Billy the Sailor King) and even Crispin Bonham-Carter, everyone's favorite Mr. Bingley as Lord Frederick Standish...the list goes on and on.

So if you have never seen this wonderfully crafted miniseries, and you are still craving more royalty after that little wedding a few weeks ago, this one is a great one to see. Although the photography and costumes were better in the more recent film, The Young Victoria, this one has more heart.

For this and more of Queen Vicky, you can try these films, and by the way, I vote for Victoria as the name of the firstborn of William and Catherine. What say you to that? OK, not if he is a boy. How about Albert for a boy's name?????