Endorsement: The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

I'm not up for a full review but before I forget, I want to add my endorsement to that of thousands of others, especially those others who are over, say, about age 60. Last night we watched the most enjoyable human nature flick I've seen in a long time: John Madden's The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. Reviews on Netflix point out its strengths (which are many, including impeccable acting and delivery of brilliantly written lines, and filming on-site in India - with minimal sound editing to allow an enchanting backdrop of birdsong for instance) and flaws (there are a few, like stereotyping, however successful, of all of the personalities). The essence of the story is that a failing hotel in Jaipur restyles itself as a destination for British retirees, and a motley cast of seniors responds to its overblown, exaggerated, oh-so-appealing advertising only to find a badly-managed, rundown accommodation awaiting them. The hotelier, Sonny Kapoor, (Dev Patel) cheerily assures them, "It will all work out in the end. If it hasn't worked out, it isn't the end." Marigold follows on another of my favorite movies, Outsourced, in its efforts to humanize citizens of India for the West, and to illustrate for the characters, on behalf of the viewers, that our humanity is not so very far apart after all. The movie is truly funny, very colorful, sweet and charming, and (spoiler alert) it has a very happy ending.