Le gourou et les femmes

Not many people will be attracted to The Guru; if for no other reason that the movie poster (or DVD box, if you will) would suggest that of an Indian film that may be too ethnic for the casual moviegoer. And that is too bad, for The Guru is one of those small gems of a film that through word of mouth will eventually get its due as an entertaining, light comedy.

Directed by Daisy von Scherler Mayer (1998, Madeline), the movie stars Jimi Mistry as Ramu Gumpta, an young Indian man that moves to America in hopes of obtaining the American dream; that of fame, fortune and celebrity. His hopes are soon dashed however, when he realizes that the land of opportunity is not awaiting his presence with open arms, and he must find work as a waiter and then a reluctant actor in porn films in order to pay his quarter of the rent.

As chance would give, Ramu finds himself at an upper class house party where a guru has been hired as the entertainment. When the guru passes out due to excessive drinking, Ramu assumes his role and uses logic obtained on his movie sets to enliven the guests in the first of three musical numbers within the film. At this gathering, a young, compulsive female named Lexi (played by Academy Award Winner Marisa Tomei), falls for the guru's sexual teachings and soon uses her connections to get him set up with one-on-one client visits and eventually television spots.

But alas all is not well in guru land. The teachings and mutterings by Ramu are actually words from a porn actress named Sharona, (played with normal ditziness by Heather Graham), who thinks that she is giving him lessons on how to be a better porn star and asks only that he tells no one of the information they share. Later Ramu must is put in a ‘we-can-see-this-coming-a-mile-away' scene where his teachings to a mass audience are witnessed by Sharona and he must try to win her back after betraying her trust.

The Guru is very light entertainment, but it delivers by offering nothing more than a few laughs and musical numbers that will have your feet tapping the floor. There are plenty of ethnic jokes and stereotypes (Indians driving cabs, ha ha), but nothing offensive or off color. Daisy von Scherler Mayer keeps things lively by providing us with just the right amount of sex, music and humor to keep us enthralled.

The Guru is by far a perfect movie and a 7 out of 10 would be about the proper rating if I was asked to rate it on such a scale, but considering the amount of comedies out there and the lack of laughs they provide, I think you will agree that The Guru will at least keep a smile on your face for 90 minutes. Thumbs up!

There are times when one should think much thematic depth and dramatic exposition in a motion picture. But this is not that film. Though, it is one hell of a entertaining flick.

I say, throw your artistic caution to the wind! Accept "The Guru" for what it is, a light fluffy movie that can charm your socks off anytime.

This is one of the most entertaining feel-good film I have seen in a very long time. Thank God (or Ganesha, with all due respect) for giving us this confection of a guilty pleasure.

Fantastic, go see it!

I enjoyed it ... I didn't go into the theatre with super-high expectations, and its not Academy Award material obviously, but it made me smile for a couple of hours, tap my toes to the (too infrequent) musical numbers, and enjoy the eye candy that is Jimi Mistry :-D A pleasant piece of fluff and I always like the opportunity to see the very funny Christine Baranski (underused in Chicago).

THE GURU tells of a an Indian dance instructor (Jimi Mistry) who comes to the U.S. to become a movie star. His first gig is in a porn film, where he meets porn actress Heathe Graham. She teaches him a thing or two, which he puts to excellent use as a phony guru performing at a posh birthday party for the very spoiled and libidinous Marisa Tomei. She falls for him and they have lots of sex. He teaches her everything he learns from Graham, and Tomei eventually becomes a celebrity herself. What happens to our pretend guru makes up the rest of this reasonably funny movie, which includes some big musical interludes done Bollywood style. Graham and Tomei are both incredibly sexy in this adult comedy. The British actor playing the supposed guru is woebegone in a pleasant way, but I must admit a little of him goes a long way. Keep your eye on the two gals and the musical numbers.

An homage to Bollywood, "Grease" and possibly Dr. Ruth, "The Guru" could be listed prominently in a cinematic encyclopedia under the heading of 'cute cute cute'.

As a child, Ramu is seen enjoying john Travolta and Olivia Newton-John singing "You're the One That I Want", which began his love of dance, music and Americana. He moves to the US as an adult to live with his cousin but the streets are not paved with the proverbial gold be had envisioned and when his career as a waiter is short-lived, he answers a want-ad requesting an actor. Much to his discomfort, the movie turns out to be pornography and he is, uh, unable to fulfill the requirements but he does become friends with his co-star, Sharona. She is sympathetic to his plight and begins giving him sexual advice so that he can become a full-fledged porn star. But he takes this advice and becomes a sexual guru who eventually charms Upper East Side socialites, most notable Lexi, and Sharona feels betrayed.

Needless to say, its all okay at the end, and so will you be, if you just enjoy it for what it is. I like the movie far too much to point out the logistic problems, but they are there.

I loved the musical numbers, all the actors are very well-cast, and some of it is hilarious. I liked Daisy's "Party Girl" a lot and after seeing this, I'll make sure to check out her other movies. 8/10.