From Deseret News archives:
The Mystic Masseur
Mystic Masseur, The
Film review
Dumber still was his decision to direct the film a fairly dull adaptation of some highly regarded material (a best-seller by Nobel Prize-winning author V.S. Naipaul) himself.
At times, the movie feels as if it is desperately trying to shift gears veering from drama to comedy (in that regard, it fails badly) and its characters aren't appealing enough to hold our interest.
That includes the title character, Ganesh (Aasif Mandvi), a young man living in one of Trinidad's Indian communities shortly after the conclusion of World War II.
Though both his family and members of the community are expecting him to follow in the footsteps of his late father, a beloved physician, Ganesh wants to be a writer something that doesn't go over well. Worse, his initial efforts in this regard are not successful, but by practicing his skills as a masseur and seer, he rises to prominence, furthering both his writing and political careers.
In fact, the only times the film really comes to life are during scenes with venerable Indian actor Om Puri, playing Ganesh's hypercritical father-in-law. But even that's offset by a painfully unfunny cameo by Merchant-Ivory regular James Fox.
"The Mystic Masseur" is rated PG for scattered use of profanity and ethnic slurs, as well as one surprisingly vulgar gag (sexual in nature). Running time: 112 minutes.
E-MAIL: jeff@desnews.com
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Cast: Aasif Mandvi, Ayesha Dharker, Om Puri, Jimi Mistry
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