Arts & Entertainment

Insanely funny 'Guru' fun romantic comedy

By Daniel Huron
The Daily Cougar

 When Ramu Gupta (Jimi Mistry) boards his New York-bound plane, dreams of equaling the success of his cousin are dancing in his head. Too bad for him that his cousinis penthouse and Mercedes are nothing more than lies, and the only way to survive is resorting to serving food at an Indian restaurant.

 Gupta doesnit let bigoted customers and low wages break him, though. He is focused on making his dreams of showbiz stardom a reality.

 Gupta wins a part in a film that suprisingly turns out to be pornographic. Performance stress causes his co-star Sharonna (Heather Graham) to offer up some deep advice to ease his worries.

 Later, when Gupta finds himself standing in for a wise, old and drunk guru at a party for Lexi (Marisa Tomei), he repeats the advice Sharonna gave him and wows the crowd with his knowledge. In the process, he also wins over Lexi. But to keep her intrigued, Gupta must continue to pose as the guru, and for this he needs Sharonna and her philosophy.

 Sounds complicated? Donit even worry. The Guru is anything but complicated. The film is a light, fluffy romantic-comedy filled with a slew of great one-liners. Add in a few insanely funny danc numbers and the always fun porno-title gag (How many adult film titles can you create from mainstream Hollywood titles?), and you have a more than serviceable comedy.  Although she hasnit been in a great film for years, Heather Graham is truly the center here. She begs for your eyeis attention, as always; and proves herself to be a better-than-average comic actress. Sheis zany, but when sharing her infinite wisdom with Mistryis character it feels as is sheis auditioning for a role in a remake of Full House.

Mistry is a delightful find. He brings the necessary innocence for his fish-out-of-water character.

 Tomei comes off whiny. Yes, this is who her character is, but she pushes it too far and becomes unbearable.

 Daisy von Scherler Mayer, who directed Party Girl, directs the flawed script with a light, fun touch. She resorts to melodrama too often, but usually backs it up with a gut-busting gag.
 Thereis nothing incredible in this movie. Thereis nothing deep. Itis just fun. Why complain?

The Guru
Universal Studios
Starring: Jimi Mistry, Marisa Tomei and Heather Graham
The Verdict: Cab driver, cashier and waiter jokes aside, he Guru offers up light, fluffy entertainment that, although flawed to the point of nausea, is well worth 90 minutes of your time.

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