SOME OF THE FILM CRITICS I’ve read in the last 24 hours need to clean their spectacles and lighten up a bit. Cinema-going is greatly aided by a relaxed frame of mind, no doubt, and a couple of days off have helped me out in that department. But I’d be sad if the critics put too many people off The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. I loved the 5.15pm first showing in Penrith and would cheerfully watch it again. Cheerfully’s the word. Lovely cinematography, wonderfully rich panoply of life in fabulously colourful Jaipur, and England’s acting A-list (all of them scoring A-starred) – including a slightly different sort of role for the glorious Bill Nighy. Some memorable lines, poignancy all round, stunning Hindu funeral scene, beauty and laughter, and one or two nice surprises to wrap it all up. Dev Patel and his gorgeous girlfriend deserve to live (and work) happily ever after. “Everything will be alright in the end so if it’s not alright now it can’t be the end”. My kind of film. Now I want to fly to Jaipur and rent a motorbike (yeah, 52, how’d you guess?) – so buy a bag of dolly mixture and read the critical critics critically – afterwards