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THE GURU

No one in The Guru gets away without looking a bit foolish — from wealthy white Americans in search of exotic spiritual advisers and poor Indian immigrants pounding Budweiser in front of a big-screen TV to a porn director who wishes he could get back to documentaries. But director Daisy von Scherler Mayer (Party Girl) and screenwriter Tracey Jackson leave you feeling mighty fine about the human race and all its ridiculousness. Jimi Mistry (East Is East) plays Ramu, a charming Indian who moves to New York hoping to become an actor but finds himself waiting tables and unwittingly auditioning for an X-rated movie. When Ramu is mistaken for a "guru of sex" by Lexi (Marisa Tomei), a society woman, he realizes he can gain money and fame going the erotic Deepak Chopra route. But first he needs sexual wisdom, which he gets from a porn star (Heather Graham) in exchange for buying her an $800 cake for her wedding to a naive, devout Christian. The sharpest humor comes out of the film’s many converging cultures. When the New Agey Lexi purrs to Ramu, "You must use a lot of candles in India," he responds, "When the electricity goes out."

BY MARK BAZER

Issue Date: February 13 - 20, 2003
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