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9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Karmic Komedy, June 20, 2008
Forget about Mike Myers for a minute. Let's begin with Ben Kingsley, the Oscar winning actor who actually appears in "The Love Guru"; he plays a cross-eyed spiritual advisor from India, and his name is not a double entendre so much as it's a blatant sexual reference smushed into a single word. The sight of this man is hilarious, and yet I didn't want to laugh because I know that Kingsley has made so many better choices than this film. What possessed him to act in a film this unashamedly juvenile? Did he find the idea of nonstop [...] gags appealing? I might as well be asking myself the same questions, because in all honesty, "The Love Guru" often had me giggling like a six-year-old who heard his first dirty joke. But to call this movie a comedic masterpiece would be an insult to the very concept of comedy.
The plot focuses on Pitka (Myers), an American-born, Indian-raised guru who was taught by Kingsley's character to become an expert in matters of love. How, I'm not entirely sure; he was forced to put on a metal chastity belt at the age of twelve, and there it would stay until he learned how to love himself above all others. Be that as it may, he's now a world-renowned spiritual advisor, guiding hundreds of followers with his bits of wisdom. He even attracts celebrities like Mariska Hargitay, and that's really interesting because her name doubles as his blessing for peace, love, and tranquility. But for all his fame and fortune, Pitka feels empty inside because he's only the second most famous guru. The first, of course, is Deepak Chopra. There is, however, a way for Pitka to increase his popularity: he must heal a troubled relationship between a Hockey player and his wife, who left him for another Hockey player. If Pitka can help them, he will be secured a guest spot on Oprah's show.
This opportunity arises because of Jane Bullard (Jessica Alba), owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs; the team's star player, Darren Roanoke (Romany Malco), broke up with his wife, Prudence (Meagan Good), and as a result, his Hockey skills have been waning. This shouldn't be a problem for Pitka, who's always ready with a slew of sayings hidden within acronyms. Examples: GURU is short for Gee, You Are You, and BIBLE is short for Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth. He also has published a number of self-help books with such inspiring titles as "If You're Happy and You Know It, Think Again," and "Does it Hurt When You Do That? Don't Do That." He introduces himself to Darren by rolling in on a motorized pillow and telling him that his wife has forgiven him. Low and behold, Darren's practice shots improve dramatically; Pitka then understands that the key to Darren's success is about distraction, not merely about reconciling a feuding couple.
Thus begins a strict regiment of spiritual guidance. Darren's first big obstacle is his wife's new boyfriend, a French-Canadian Hockey player named Jacque Grande (Justin Timberlake). His talent is huge, much like his ... well, let's just say that there's a reason this man is so fond of roosters. Darren's second obstacle is his mother (Telma Hopkins), whose loveable face hides an incredibly overbearing personality. If Pitka can convince him to face her, he might be able to overcome years of emotional scarring. This, in turn, will bring him one step closer to patching things up with Prudence.
Intertwined with all of this is the relationship between Pitka and Jane, which steadily grows. Jane feels inadequate because of what she calls the Bullard Curse; the long and short of it is that everyone in the city blames her for the Maple Leafs' losing streak. As a result, men stay as far away from her as possible. I have a feeling the audience won't care about this subplot one bit--all anyone will notice are the film's back-to-back sexual innuendoes related to male genitalia. There are also a fair number of gags featuring the Maple Leafs' coach, an angry, foulmouthed dwarf played by Verne Troyer. You remember Verne Troyer as Mini Me from the "Austin Powers" sequels, don't you? The dwarf jokes in those films wore thin after a while. The same can be said in the case of "The Love Guru." Truth be told, every joke wears thin at a certain point.
But I can't deny the fact that I laughed every now and then. Consider cameo appearances by Stephen Colbert and Jim Gaffigan as sports announcers--they add nothing meaningful to the story, yet their one-liners are so outlandish that I found myself smiling. I'm not exactly proud of myself for that. I know that there are much better comedies out there, ones that don't begin and end with musical numbers and feature two elephants having sex in a Hockey rink. Again, I turn my attention back to Ben Kingsley, who chose to play a cross-eyed Indian despite his accomplished career: Did that same guilty laughter haunt him as he read the script? Was he actually tempted by the idea of telling masturbation jokes to audiences of immature teenagers? Maybe so, because goodness knows I wasn't strong enough to completely resist it. There's absolutely no good reason to see "The Love Guru," even if you think you will find it funny.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
2.5--This film seems so out of place in Mike Myers career., September 22, 2008
I thought this film was alright. Most of the story, at least what there is of one, is obviously from the mind of Myers. He is fantastic at creating strange characters and bringing them to life. The thing here is the titular character is better suited to a recurring skit instead of a full length film. The initial joke wears off long before the closing credits and much of the humor is just a variation of the same theme.
Basically Myers plays Guru Maurice Pitka, the second most famous guru, after Deepak Chopra. When the star player of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Darren Roanoke (Romany Malco) begins to falter just before the Stanley Cup the owner of the team, Jane Bullard (Jessica Alba) hires Pitka to get his game back. This plot line also demonstrates a love that Myers has for Hockey, a natural for a native born Canadian. The screenplay is full of jokes that push right up to the limits of good taste and boldly goes over that line. Most of the jokes are repetitive and while funny at first soon become increasingly annoying. Okay, the one concerning the name of Mariska Hargitay has a bit more staying power and is accentuated by a cameo by the actress. In fact this movie seems to have an inordinate number of well known guest appearances. Many of the jokes are on the level of grade school humor. One example concerns an Uncle Jack being helped off an elephant. I don't have to be explicit here; if you think back to sixth grade you've heard the joke before. It appears here that Myers was channeling his inner child while writing this script.
Director Schnabel manages to get the most out of a cast that deserves better than this. How they got an actor like Sir Ben Kensley to play a cross eyed mentor is beyond belief but as the consummate actor he is Sir Ben gives it his all. Justin Timberlake also gives a surprisingly good performance here. As a pop music sensation he is wisely going for smaller off beat roles instead of prematurely trying to carry a whole film on his own. Alba is a beautiful young woman and she actually has a great scene of comic timing but here her looks are what is showcased.
Paramount does do a great job of presenting the film to DVD. The audio and video are excellent and there are even a good number of extras. There are 11 deleted scenes if you really need to see things that were not considered good enough to make the final cut. I do have to admit I laughed at the blooper reel. It does seem that the cast had a great deal of fun making the flick. There are three featurettes that detail ever aspect of the production for those that really have to know.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
very uplifting, April 16, 2009
The film contained several great musical performances. The Song and Dance routine at the end of the film was very uplifting. You might get a kick out of the special effects used during a flashback to Guru Pikta's childhood audition to Guru School.
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