The Guru

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The Guru ★★½ 2002 (R)

Naive dance instructor Ramu Gupta (Mistry) leaves India to pursuit stardom in New York. After being fired from his job as a waiter, he auditions for a movie company, but it turns out to be for a porn film. Unable to perform despite coaching from Sharrona (Graham), a porn starlet, Ramu is fired from this job as well. As luck (and script) would have it, he's rehired by his former boss to replace the drunken swami that was scheduled to appear at a party for socialite Lexi (Tomei). Regurgitating his porn co-star's advice, Ramu becomes a hit as a sex guru. Soon Ramu is the toast of the town as the mystical sex therapist (think Deepak Chopra as Dr Ruth). The movie has some genuinely funny moments, but suffers for trying to be both a light-hearted romantic comedy and a social satire. 91m/C VHS, DVD . GB FR US Jimi Mistry, Heather Graham, Marisa Tomei, Michael McKean, Christine Baranski, Rob Morrow, Malachy McCourt, Dash Mihok; D: Daisy von Scherler Mayer; W: Tracey Jackson; C: John de Borman; M: David Carbonara.