Studio: Spyglass/Paramount
Release date: June 20, 2008
Cast: Mike Myers (x 4), Jessica Alba, Romany
Malco, Justin Timberlake, Meagan Good, Verne Troyer, Manu Narayan, Ben
Kingsley, Omid Djalili, Telma Hopkins
Special appearances: Kanye West, Jessica
Simpson, Deepak Chopra, Mariska Hargitay
D.R.A.M.A. is the name of the game for Guru Pitka:
Distraction, Regression, Adjustment, Maturity and Action.
In Mike Myers’ new comedy The Love Guru, it’s his character Guru Pitka’s mission to save a
flailing relationship between two lovers in trouble. It sounds simple enough,
but in this ensemble of quirky characters, the Guru has his work cut out for
him.
The key words to remember if you’re going to see
this film are the first two letters of Guru Pitka’s DRAMA philosophy –
Distraction and Regression. As a grown, intelligent person, it’s immediately
easy to turn up your nose at the p#### jokes, naughty names (when pronounced
correctly) and other genitalia-related humor suited for a nine-year-old.
But allow yourself to Regress, and it’s actually
not so hard to find a few good laughs in The
Love Guru
.
The story centers around Toronto Maple Leafs owner
Jane Bullard (Jessica Alba) and the team’s star player Darren Roanoke (Romany
Malco) – aka the “Tiger Woods of Hockey”- as he hits a losing streak when his
wife Prudence (Meagan Good) falls for rival Jaques “Le Coq” Grandé (Justin
Timberlake).
Of course, Jane enlists Guru Pitka to save the day,
however the Guru’s initial intentions for taking the job are not as pure as his
teachings from Guru Tugginmypuddah (Ben Kingsley). Say his name out loud… you’ll
get it.
With other character names like Guru
Satchabigknoba and Dick Pants, Mike Myers’ screenplay is riddled with some real
groiners…er…groaners, yet successfully manages to make light of the big
business of “spiritual enlightenment.” If you’ve seen any of the Austin Powers movies, then you already
know what he’s capable of when it comes to making subtle social commentary
within his silliness.
Romany Malco, who made us all laugh as the wild
advice-giving friend in The 40-Year-Old
Virgin, gives a decent performance as the earnest sports star with the
mommy complex. And his mom, played by veteran actress Telma Hopkins, is no
joke. Meagan Good gets yet another good
girl role as Prudence, but she manages to keep a straight face through her
scenes with Justin Timberlake, who is really a standout ham in this movie.
Verne Troyer is believable as the cranky Coach
Cherkov (yeah, say it out loud), as is the pleasant Manu Narayan as Pitka’s loyal,
level-headed assistant Rajneesh. Ben Kingsley is kind of disturbing in his role
as Pitka’s cross-eyed mentor (he was Ghandi after all), while Jessica Alba is mostly
likeable as the self-doubting rich girl. And her Bollywood spoof in the film is
strange, yet delightful.
Unfortunately, by the time you add in dozens of
the aforementioned silly jokes, a few self-indulgent musical performances from
Myers (which I actually enjoyed), and a couple of random elephant scenes, there
are plenty of reasons for critics to hate this movie. In fact, I may have
laughed more at some of the current reviews than I did at the movie itself.
The difference is, however, that my laughter at
the reviews was more because I relate to the “I’m too old for this sh*t”
attitude of the reviewers; while laughing through The Love Guru made me feel good… and oddly enough, enlightened.
Is this a movie for the family? Probably, because
most of the dirty jokes will go over the little ones’ heads and they can still
enjoy the movie – which means mom and dad can take a breather. Is it a good
date movie? Probably not, because p#### jokes aren’t that romantic. Is it a
good matinee flick to take a break from the ills of the world for some Distraction
and Regression? Definitely.
