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The
Love Guru Before
you go any further, I have one question for you. What do
you really want from a Mike Myers movie? In Wayne’s
World he gave us a memorable character over a formula
story and infused it with a lot of pop culture references
and jokes. He did the same for the whole Austin Powers trilogy,
and some would argue the same for his So I Married an
Ax Murderer. One could also argue that all his endeavors
were full of laughs and quotable parts, even if the overall
product turned up flat. With Myers' latest venture, The
Love Guru, he returns to form, good or bad, to give
us what we’d expect.
The
Love Guru is the story of American born but Indian
raised Pitka (Myers in all aged facets) who’s the
second best Guru in the world and who’d love to be
the best. He’s hired by Toronto Maple Leafs Owner
Jane Bullard (The satisfyingly hot, yet stone-faced Jessica
Alba) to patch up the broken romance between star player
Darren Roanoke (The yet to find his voice Romany Malco)
and his hot chocolate sundae of a wife Prudence (Meagan
Good).
It seems
that heartbroken Roanoke is off his game as the Leafs enter
the Stanley cup playoffs, and the much to prove Jane needs
a win to stay off the angry Toronto fans and step out of
the shadow of the team's previous owner, her late father.
Pitka himself, it seems, has something to prove as well,
as he learns that if he can bring the two estranged lovers
back together, he’ll receive a spot on Oprah where
she’ll no doubt proclaim him Guru numero uno.
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Like
the rest of Myers' movies, this is the foundation that is
set to launch all the comedy off of and so begins the barrage
of sophomoric humor and potty jokes. The pop cultural satire
comes in the form of our country’s need for self help
exploration and our infatuation with old world philosophies
and cures. Pitka is dressed in traditional Indian garb and
jewelry. He rides elephants instead of cars. He lives and
operates out of a fantastic ashram in the heart of Los Angeles
and has loads of devoted followers, including the trendy
celebrity or three. He’s also got a book for just
about any situation, and luckily for us, a wise answer for
anything.
The
potty jokes come from Pitka’s interpretation of the
self help method and his wild use of inappropriate acronyms
and trademarks. He’s also a little bit of a sexual
troublemaker and anytime he can make a suggestive joke he
will. Just ask his Uncle Jack.
As a
movie, The Love Guru is fine. It’s not high
art, and noone is going into it expecting that. It has laughs
all over the place. Unfortunately, sometimes they can be
few and far between some of the establishing plot points
of the film.
Like
most Mike Myers films, it has funny characters and a lot
of quotable lines. Justin Timberlake steps in as Roanoke’s
rival Jacques “Le Coq” Grande, and turns in
an SNL version of a Canadian. Verne Troyer returns
with a speaking role as the Leafs' feisty McNugget of a
coach, Punch Cherkov, and Stephen Colbert is hilarious as
recovering addict/sports announcer Jay Kell.
The
Love Guru is a silly leave your brain at the door type
of movie and it’s meant to be just a fun trip to the
movies. Its main plots are rushed, underdeveloped and really
just there so Mike Myers can mug for the camera. Myers has
fun with Eastern Indian cultures and celebrates the Bollywood
in us all, and even gets Jessica Alba dancing in a sari.
Treasure that thought.
Other
highlights include the Stanley Cup coverage animations,
Roanoke’s unconventional hockey style and a trip to
the Special Victims Unit.
Many
may write off this movie off as a lazy attempt at comedy
by Mike Myers and some even call it the end of his career,
but just like the first Austin Powers, which initially
sat still with me the first time I saw it, The Love
Guru will find its audience who will undoubtedly enjoy
the laughter and keep repeating the best bits all summer
long.
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