The Guru | | Cast : | Heather Graham, Marisa Tomei, Jimi Mistry | | Director : | Daisy von Scherler Mayer | | Studio : | Universal Studios | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound | | Released Date : | February 14, 2003 | | DVD Released Date : | April 12, 2005 | | Language : | French (Dubbed), French (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), English (Original Language), Spanish (Original Language) | | Audience Rating : | R (Restricted) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | June 16, 2005 | | Summary | Sweet and very funny | Content
 | In this cute adult comedy, Ramu (Jimi Mistry) leaves India to seek fame and fortune in New York City, only to find the streets aren't really paved with gold. He is innocently hired to be in an adult film and his costar is the lovely Sharonna (Heather Graham), a pro who's got a heart of gold. He accidentally gains a reputation as a love guru, with the help of an air-headed socialite (Marisa Tomei), but finds true love with Sharonna.
The plot may sound silly, but thanks to the considerable charm of Jimi Mistry and the clever script, it's really quite good. Mistry plays the wide-eyed innocent perfectly, and is handsome and charismatic enough to carry off the role of media darling. Graham has her best role to date as the endearing adult film star/girl-next-door. Tomei gives a good performance as the silly rich girl without becoming tiresome. Michael McKean almost steals the show (as usual) as the sleazy movie director. The fish-out-of-water, East meets West story has a lot of laughs and some touching moments as well.
Kona |
| Rating | | | Date | June 16, 2005 | | Summary | A BOLLYWOOD STYLE ROMANTIC COMEDY... | Content
| This is a delightful romantic comedy, Bollywood style, with an excellent cast. Indian dance instructor, Ramu Gupta (Jimi Mistry), wants to seek fame and fortune. So, what better place is there to do that in than the United States? He leaves India and joins some of his friends who are already in New York and making it big, or so he thinks. He is quickly divested of that idea once he arrives and finds them working in restaurants and driving taxis. He temporarily takes a job as a waiter in an Indian restaurant, while seeking his fame and fortune.
Ramu then seeks work in a film, initially not realizing the type of film that it is. When he gets the part, he meets his co-star, Sharonna (Heather Graham), who is a lovely young woman, but finds himself unable to go through with the role, despite Sharonna's philosophical guidance, as it is nothing more than a porn film. When he goes to a high society party where his friends are working, he finds himself with an unexpected opportunity, when the hired Swami falls down into a drunken stupor just before he is to begin entertaining the guests. He is then thrust into the role of Swami. Passing off some of Sharonna's philosophical encouragement as pearls of wisdom, Ramu suddenly finds himself thrust into the role of the Guru of sex. It is at that party that he begins a relationship with the daughter of the house, Lexi (Marisa Tomei), a seriously silly, fabulously wealthy young woman who lacks direction in her life, but believe that she has found something special with Ramu.
With her connections, she puts Ramu on the fast track to fame and fortune. Still, his initial sexual philosophy came from Sharonna, so he arranges to meet with her for some more philosophical guidance, under the theory that he needs her help in order for him to be able to get over his fear of breaking into the porn business. Using her pearls of wisdom, Ramu develops a following, and Ramu, as well as his friends, find themselves traveling on a first class gravy train. In the meantime, Ramu also finds himself falling in love with Sharonna.
Sharonna, meanwhile, is leading a double life, as her firefighter fiance thinks that she is a substitute teacher. He and his family have no idea that she is a porn star, and she prefers to keep it that way. Her fiancé is a serious Irish Catholic, who does not even believe in consummating their relationship before marriage. This should have told Sharonna something right off the bat. While helping Ramu, not knowing that her pearls of wisdom are being used by him in the context of his being the Guru of sex, she, too, begins falling in love with him, only she doesn't know it, as yet.
With its Bollywood style musical numbers, this is a fun, lighthearted film that boasts an excellent cast. Heather Graham is simply wonderful in the role of Sharonna, the porn star with the heart of gold who is doing it simply for the money. Jimi Mistry is delightful as the Guru of sex, funny and sexy. Marissa Tomei is terrific as the madcap heiress, who has too much money and too much time on her hands. Christina Baranski is excellent as Chantal, Lexi's wacky upper crust mother. The film holds some surprises, but never fails to amuse. Those who like Bollywood style films, will definitely enjoy this one.
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| Rating | | | Date | April 23, 2005 | | Summary | Fun! | Content
| Heather Graham is a comic actress of impeccable timing and really wonderful presence, it's a mystery to me why she's not cast in more big movies.
Annihoo.
"The Guru" stars Jimi Mistry as Ramu Gupta, a disillusioned Indian dance instructor who comes to America to seek fame and fortune in the movies. Via a misunderstanding at an audition, a porn star with a brain (Graham in fine form) and
a wealthy society ne'er-do-anything girlfriend (Marisa Tomei), he finds himself catapulted into the adulation-filled world of a spiritual sex therapist, all the while trying to keep his twin identities secret from the ladies in his life.
This movie, while borrowing heavily from the fabulous Bollywood traditions of loud and colourful dance numbers and a sweet, simplistic plot, isn't really Bollywood - so very little of it actually takes place in India, and so very little of it has anything to do with song and dance. For all that, though, director Daisy von Scherler Mayer (what a fantastic name!!) has managed to produce what is essentially an American movie that retains the warmth and hectic vitality of the grander Bollywood romance stories.
Jimi Mistry is wonderful here; cast in a sympathetic role that plays to his expressions of wide-eyed naivete and his talent for subtle slapstick, he's charming and adsorbing enough as Ramu to make the hero of this movie a truly likeable character. Tomei is great as the jaded, shallow champagne spiritualist Lexi, and Graham shines in her role as the sensible, forthright porn star with a heart.
The only real problem with "The Guru" is that it's a little on the underdone side. It's a very standard plot saved by some highly endearing performances, but more could have been done with the staging and photography (and particularly Ramu's "Grease" fixation - it seems merely perfunctory) to make the production hop from the screen. That said, it's still a hugely entertaining sort of movie, and one that you'll definitely get a kick out of watching.
Recommended. |
| Rating | | | Date | February 23, 2005 | | Summary | maybe the worst movie I saw 2002 | Content
| I watched this movie at cinema. I expected maybe some funny india-joking. But this was plain dull. The only thing I remember was the girl I saw this with that I never wanted in the first place, but made out the whole second half of the movie because I had nothing else to do. It went straight to the videostores. |
| Rating | | | Date | February 02, 2005 | | Summary | Heart-warming | Content
| I absolutely LOVE this movie and have seen it several times. It's gotten reasonable reviews as a fairly enjoyable comedy, but it's much more than that. Yes, it's a parody of the whole indian guru thing, but there is a lot of wonderful philosophy in the thoughts Sharonna shares with Ramu. It may sound corny because it's so simplistic, but the greatest truths in life often are. The performances and the screenplay are perfect for the movie. Heather Graham and Marisa Tomei are both priceless, and those who reject their performances because they think it's silly and stupid are only losing out on a heart-warming experience that intellect alone could never create. Like the pornstar who is a wonderful, warm-hearted person inside, this movie is a gem under all that apparently corny fluff. If you open your heart to it, you will find yourself feeling suprisingly warm and fuzzy. |
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