The Guru
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Movie Reviews of The Guru
Movie Review: Extremely laughable spoof
Summary: 4 Stars
This movie lived up to all my expectations.It is incredibly stupid, with a laughable plot, and spoofs everything from the porn industry, to musicals, to religion, to Bollywood, to the American Dream.
I LOVED IT !
A young man from India, played by Jimi Mistry, influenced since childhood by American musicals, especially "Grease", is seduced by the promise of wealth in America, but finds the dream somewhat elusive when he finally arrives.
Stereotypically, he lives in an apartment with three other men, and works as a waiter in an ethnic restaurant. When this doesn't pan out, he makes an unremarkable non-entry to the porn industry, and meets the porno queen with the heart of gold, brilliantly portrayed by Heather Graham, who teaches him her version of the mysticism of sex.
Luckily, he accidentally makes contact with another set of stereotypes - rich, bored Americans seeking mystical solutions to their unfulfilled lives, and thanks to the power of alcohol, becomes the next Sex Guru, spouting the teachings of Sharona the porn queen. Marisa Tomei, as Lexi, a rich girl seeking spiritual gratification, carries her part very well, to the point of looking skeletally anorexic. Christine Baranski's lifted face is frightening to behold, but plays the warm, loving, maternal figure to perfection. (Just kidding)
The dance numbers are a violent clash of East and West, bringing the choreography of Indian movies to an all time low. There should have been A LOT MORE of them. Singing and dancing can make true Indian screen productions last up to 3 hours, and this movie was just too short.
As the plot would have it, people are not always what they seem, and both the Porn Queen and her good red-haired Catholic fiance, unbelievably named Rusty, are living double lives. Of course, the hero and heroine fall in love, leading to a strange and surreal ending.
Highly recommended to the irreverent.
Movie Review: Insane Fun and Wildy Creative.......but a very cliche ending
Summary: 4 Stars
The Guru is a little film that snuck up in theaters during the bleak month of Janurary that offered a colorful and fun filled comedy romp about sex. I have to admit, I had fun watching this movie. The first time seeing it I really didn't laugh too much, just smiled a lot. A few weeks later one of my friends hadn't seen it so I agreed to go watch it again. I must say I laughed very hard the second time around. The comedy gets better once you can fully appreciate how good some of the performances are. Merissa Tomei was SO FUNNY in this. When I saw Anger Management, which she was also in, I was so angry at the film's creators for not making more use of her! She really shows her excellent comedic ablities in The Guru. It's amazing to think of her in dramatic roles (In the Bedroom for example), because she's a fine actress in them, but this is a total turn around for her. She can play practically anything.
The other actors do a good job as well. I especially like Christine Branaski as the upper class snob mother. She was a hoot. The cast is nice all around.
The major complaint I have is with the finale. Was it cute? Yes. Was it sweet? Yes. Did it belong in The Guru? NO! For a movie so creative, funny, and original (its not in every movie indian dancers belt out songs from Grease in Bollywood fashion), that the cliche "catch the girl and stop the wedding" finale simply did not fit. I would have liked an ending that could live up to the rest of the movie.
I also admired that the film didn't have to rely on gross out sex gags. It is a sex comedy, but with wit and sophistocation.
Now, overall, The Guru is an enjoyable film that I like more each time I watch. I reccommend it as an interesting rental, however I liked it enough to purchase it. See for yourself what The Guru of sex has to offer!
Movie Review: "Follow Your Inner Beat" ~ "I Think It's One Of Those Dervish Spiritual Trance-Dance Things"
Summary: 4 Stars
Newly arrived Indian immigrant Ramu Gupta (Jimi Mistry) hopes to discover his own piece of the American dream in the urban sprawl of New York. It doesn't take long for Ramu to discover that opportunities are not easy to come. However events take a sudden and hilarious turn for the better when he is embraced by high society as an enlightened sex guru which leads to instant fame and fortune.
Lots of silliness but lots of fun too! Jimi Mistry is absolutely delightful as Ramu. Also wonderful performances by Heather Graham as the the streetwise yet vulnerable porn star Sharonna and Marisa Tomei as the insecure, obsessive socialite Lexi.
The storyline is a bit uneven here and there, but the cast is so endearing and the music so infectious you won't care. If you are uninitiated into the wonderful music and dancing to be found in Indian films 'The Guru' will definitely serve as an enjoyable and insightful introduction into this genre of cinema. Once the music takes you over you'll be hooked for good.
-5 Stars- for the Music and Dancing / -4 Stars- for the Storyline = -4 1/2 Stars- Overall!
Movie Review: A great guilty pleasure!
Summary: 4 Stars
I love good satire, and a lot of things come under fire here. From the New Age craze and its wide-eyed gullibility when it comes to anything from the "exotic East", to the way Indian people are portrayed in film and television (or rather, the way they are ignored), "the Guru" touches on things that I've been noticing the last few years and been a bit bothered by.The musical sequences are fantastic good fun. In some ways, this is a terrible movie. Some of the dialogue is awful, and characters are often more like caricatures. (There are a few great one-liners, though, you have to admit.) But it's funny and fun to watch and sends up some issues that nobody else in film has ever seemed to want to talk about or acknowledge. I've never seen anything like it. That alone is something worth praising in the genre of all-too-often-stale-and-formulaic romantic comedies. There are the usual formulas here, but not at all in the ways you'd expect, and there's lots more going on too.
Movie Review: Fluffy and funny
Summary: 4 Stars
I admit, I get hooked easily. This time, it was the opening scene, a dance class full of women in beautiful saris. The dance was the Macarena, and I almost fell off my chair laughing.After that, the movie gets off to a slow start, with Our Hero (Ram) moving to America, the land of opportunity. The opportunities aren't quite the ones he expected, or even really wanted. The first was thrust upon him when a faker of a fakir falls down drunk just before a performance. The second happens when he fails to get up for another kind of performance.
Heather Graham does a great job as a warm-hearted woman of debatable morals. Marisa Tomei also does a great job as a warm-hearted woman of debatable judgement. No spoilers, but everyone ends up happy.
It's sweet, silly amusement. It takes a while to get going, but it's worth the wait.