We went to see The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel the other night. Fun flick.
To get the “only okay” stuff out of the way…
All the main characters have life-changing epiphanies. That’s a lot of epiphanies. After the first few you’re so emotionally drained you don’t care anymore. I was hoping the last four or five wouldn’t ‘see the light’ – and slog on as miserable beings. Oh, well.
Except for the wacky, cyclonic Sonny Kapoor (Dev Patel), the Indian characters seemed like caricatures to me. His personal story (girlfriend, girlfriend’s brother, domineering mother) was likewise a bundle of clichés.
I ignored the above and immersed myself in the brilliant acting and (for the most part) writing and directing.
One of the kickoff scenes: a husband and wife visit a bland, cheesy retirement flat full of hospital-like Universal Design amenities. The wife is horrified. It mirrors a piece of mine from a few years ago:
Selling Universal Design To Baby Boomers/Aging In Place (PDF)
Another subplot involves a Call Centre. Judi Dench’s character teaches a bunch of young adults how to talk with (not to) potential customers.
Thinking about hiring expensive sales trainers? A ten-dollar movie ticket will do. Or, wait for the DVD…
When it’s available I’ll be illegally showing these two segments in my presentations. If you’re in the Universal Design or Call Centre industry (and have no scruples), so should you.
