A visitor from the mysterious East arrives in New York -- not to offer the wisdom of the ages, but to make it big as a dancer in this "fish-out-of-water" comedy. Ramu Chandra Gupta (Jimi Mistry) grew up in India on a steady diet of movie musicals, particularly local Bollywood spectaculars and vintage American song-and-dance films. Ramu grew up with the dream of one day making it big as a dancer, and in time he found a job as a dance instructor. However, Raimu believes his destiny lies in the
United States, and he leaves India behind to relocate to New York City. Unfortunately, Ramu's bright new future isn't exactly awaiting him, and he's soon sharing an overstuffed apartment with distant relatives in Queens while working in an Indian restaurant. An audition for a film director named Dwain (Michael McKean) turns out to be a tryout for a porno movie -- a role Ramu does not get when he fails to rise to the occasion. However, he does make the acquaintance of one of Dwain's "starlets," Sharona (Heather Graham), with whom he soon finds himself infatuated. Ramu gets a job entertaining guests at a party catered by his relatives when the performer originally booked is incapacitated. While Ramu's Bollywood-style dancing goes over well enough, he makes a deeper impression on Lexi (Marisa Tomei), an enthusiastic but half-bright student of Eastern philosophy who regards Ramu a font of wisdom as well as a hot date. Ramu quickly becomes the toast of New York's upper crust, and scores an agent, Josh (Rob Morrow), but how long will it be before folks realize Ramu is rather low on the enlightenment scale? And can he find happiness with Sharona while Lexi is still in the picture? The Guru also features Christine Baranski and Malachy McCourt. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
Devoid of life, intelligence, humor, and anything else that could entertain even the most undemanding viewer, this film is a perfect example of something that should have been shipped to landfills, not multiplexes.
Belos figurinos, boas seqüências musicais (embora em número insuficiente para servir como referência a Bollywood) e Marisa Tomei de lingerie - estes são os pontos fortes do filme. Os pontos fracos? Todo o resto.
. . .a noble effort to bring the thrills of Bollywood to America, but this magic carpet never quite gets off the ground because it traffics in too many cinematic clichés. . .
There's not a whole lot of heft to von Scherler Mayer's romantic comedy with ethnic Indian entanglements; it's like overdone naan, too flaky and ephemeral for its own good, but still somehow appetizing.
... those modest virtues can't prevail against the coarse jokes and shabby ethnic stereotypes of Tracey Jackson's disjointed script, Daisy von Scherler Mayer's unsteady direction, or the unflattering cinematography.
The film lacks any big laughs and you'll probably forget you saw it an hour later. It has its moments and its sweet but is let down because of its water thin plot and lack of anything we haven't seen before.
December 4, 2011
Michael Miller
Super Reviewer
I like Jimi Mistry a lot but I found this to be disappointing really. Starts off great but soon becomes tiresome.
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