richieandsam THE GURUI had seen this around on DVD before, but not really showed any interest. I am not a Bollywood fan and the cover of this film makes it look very Bollywood. But even though there are a few elements to Bollywood in there it is not Bollywood.The movie is about an Indian guy who leaves India to pursue a career as a Hollywood actor. When he moves to the USA he gets a break in the movie industry by starring in a porn film… this doesn't work out but he does form a friendship with a porn actress who takes him under her wing and helps him get into the porn industry… little does she know that the information she is giving him he is using to trick everyone into thinking he is a Love Guru. People are listening to his advice and he starts getting recognised for it.This is a romantic comedy but not like many others. The story is really well written. It has the typical elements of all romantic comedies, but this has a fresh feel to it. The comedy is well done, but not really laugh out loud. There were a few moments which I did laugh to, but generally the film was just amusing and fun.The characters were really well played out. The characters were believable and also likable. Sometimes I find that in these films the characters can just be annoying and not really well done. I like to connect with the characters in the film, and in this it was good. The main character was played by Jimi Mistry. He was very good in this film and I am surprised that he gave up the big movie dream to end up in Coronation Street. I thought he was better than that. Other great performances in this were by Heather Graham and Marisa Tomei. Heathers character was just complicated. Her character was just very weak and seemed confused. Marisas character was just annoying, but not in a bad way. She played the part well and had some very funny moments.There were a couple of funny musical numbers in this movie. They were unexpected and seemed out of place, but somehow worked really well. It added the Bollywood feel to the film and did make me laugh. The only part that I thought was a little out of place and did not belong in the film was the very last scene. The last scene really had me scratching my head as to what was going on. It didn't make sense and didn't belong in the film. I didn't get it.It was an entertaining film and a lot better than I thought it would be. I will give this film 7 out of 10."I talked to a real live pornstar... and she sounded naked!"for more reviews, please like my Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ordinary-Person-Movie- Reviews/456572047728204?ref=hl

CasualBuff1956 A fairly large proportion of this films detractors could not even find India on a map, and probably still believe the nation had a hand in Custer's massacre.This is a light hearted musical comedy about Bollywood meeting America, and Bollywood is all about song, dance, bright costumes and boy meets girl. The ending is always happy. If you've never seen a Bollywood movie then you need to explore new horizons, especially if you gave this a truly bad review because you are speaking from ignorance.For those Indians who hate it and use words such as 'negative typecasting', please read the second paragraph again. This film is portraying B.O.L.L.Y.W.O.O.D. and Bollywood is part of Indian culture and presented to the world, by India, as such.

Turfseer The Guru is one those pictures which is more interesting watching the film with the commentary on DVD than watching the film without it. Actually there are two sets of commentaries on the DVD: one with the director, Daisy von Scherler Mayer and screenwriter, Tracey Jackson together and another with the film's star, Jimi Mistry. There are all kinds of facts about the making of the picture that are quite fascinating (for example, the director decided to leave in a scene of a real-life paparazzi taking a picture of Heather Graham as the film was being shot!).On the plus side, The Guru has a strong cast which includes the extremely funny and talented Michael McKean (I loved him in 'Coneheads'), Christine Baranski (she was excellent in the recent Broadway production of 'Boeing, Boeing') and the very versatile Marisa Tomei who steals the show here as a spoiled, neurotic daughter in a upper-crust New York family who pursues eastern spiritualism without giving up her western decadence and sense of entitlement.Despite the potential, The Guru ends up as lightweight fare, the kind of entertainment you will soon forget about after a first viewing. While the plotting is more than acceptable, the problem is that the story simply isn't funny. This is mainly due to a lack of inspiration on the part of screenwriter Jackson. She readily admits that she intentionally softened up some of the more unsavory aspects of her story—particularly in her treatment of the porn industry, in order to lighten the overall mood. By doing so, she dumbs down her characters into sentimental cream puffs so that the humor no longer has an edge. No one clear-cut antagonist emerges for Ramu Gupta (The Guru) to oppose. Instead, the focus is more on his internal arc in which he battles the seduction of crass materialism.Even if we are willing to accept the screenwriter's distorted but 'affectionate send-ups', the Guru has a more serious problem. If you think about it, The Guru is a story that could actually happen. How many times have we heard stories about various Svengali-like figures seducing masses of gullible people? Even though the Guru is supposed to be an exaggerated tale of seduction, the method by which the seduction is executed must be somewhat credible. When the Swami passes out at the catered party and Ramu has to pretend that he is now the all-knowing Guru, he first breaks into a dance which immediately seems to mesmerize the group of pretentious New York intellectuals who have been waiting for their next spiritual mentor to open up their chakras and show them 'the light'. It's a farcical moment, not very clever, but something we're willing to accept in order to see what comes next.As it turns out, Gupta relies on his muse, Sharrona (Heather Graham), the porn star masquerading as a substitute teacher, for a string of aphorisms that somehow turns everybody into cult-like followers. The aphorisms aren't clever at all. Sharrona coughs up such profundities as "Fear is cold, it freezes up"; when we come, we let go of our fears"; "my pussy is the door to my soul". The point is that the pretentious intellectuals are so stupid that they fall for these inane pontifications. It's obvious stuff and in screenwriter Jackson's dumbed-down world, the Guru has it TOO easy seducing these buffoons. Jackson's satire has no bite since she has created no credible targets to satirize. The Guru's victims needed to be more fleshed out, real people and the Guru needed a much more clever, original and believable plan rather than merely spouting a few trite aphorisms that sway everybody to him.Toward the end of the film, the Guru jokes have worn out their welcome (they weren't funny at the beginning of the film too!). The Guru devolves into standard romantic comedy fare with Sharonna suddenly realizing that she was meant for Ramu all along. The Guru cannot be accused of not being good-natured however. In a plea for tolerance, Sharrona's fiancé realizes that he too (all along) has been in love and at the movie's end he's fallen for his gay firefighter boyfriend.The Guru was filmed on location in New York City as well as some of the early scenes on location in India. It's a colorful film, well-acted including some lively dance numbers. Nonetheless, The Guru is so lightweight that it lacks the main ingredient for comedy: laughs!!!

xredgarnetx 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.