The Love Guru (2008)

User Rating:

3.9/10   

Director:

Marco Schnabel

Writers (WGA):

Mike Myers (written by) &
Graham Gordy (written by)

Release Date:

20 June 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance | Sport

Tagline:

His Karma is Huge

Plot:

Pitka an American raised outside of his country by gurus, returns to the States in order to break into the self-help business. His first challenge: To settle the romantic troubles and subsequent professional skid of a star hockey player whose wife left him for a rival athlete.

Plot Keywords:

Guru | Hockey | Chastity Belt | Stanley Cup | Ice Rink

Awards:

3 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Mike Myers	...	Maurice / Guru Pitka / Young Pitka / Teenage Pitka / Himself
Jessica Simpson	...	Herself
Jessica Alba	...	Jane Bullard
Kanye West	...	Himself
Justin Timberlake	...	Jacques 'Le Coq' Grande
Deepak Chopra	...	Himself
Rob Blake	...	Himself
Meagan Good	...	Prudence Roanoke
Ben Kingsley	...	Guru Tugginmypudha
Romany Malco	...	Darren Roanoke
Verne Troyer	...	Coach Punch Cherkov
Manu Narayan	...	Rajneesh
John Oliver	...	Dick Pants
Stephen Colbert	...	Jay Kell
Jim Gaffigan	...	Trent Lueders

Also Known As:

Der Love Guru (Germany)
Untitled Mike Myers Project (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for crude and sexual content throughout, language, some comic violence and drug references.

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

USA | UK | Germany

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Ireland:15A | USA:PG-13 (certificate #44134) | Singapore:NC-16 | Finland:K-11 | Netherlands:12 | UK:12A | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Canada:G (Québec) | France:U | Sweden:Btl | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Argentina:13 | South Korea:15 | New Zealand:M | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

During the scene where Guru Pitka and Rajneesh are singing More Than Words, the man waving a lighter on Guru Pitka's "hybrid pillow", is a real member of crew. He also appears at the beginning of the movie, after Guru Pitka sings "9 to 5" when he takes his pillow off camera.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Jacques 'Le Coq' Grande walks in to serve his special Quebec pizza, his top lifts up to show his stomach and you can clearly see parts of the stuffing sticking out from the top of his Speedo.

Quotes:

Jacques Grande: Don't look at me with that tone of voice or I will punch you in the shirt!

Movie Connections:

References "Punk'd" (2003)

Soundtrack:

More than words (instrumental)

An Opportunity Wasted by Self-Indulgence

Mike Myers is a talented guy, but this vehicle is an embarrassment. The funniest parts are gleefully juvenile, but they are, unfortunately, outnumbered by gags that are simply juvenile or, worse yet, juvenile and mean-spirited. For example, some of the jokes directed at Verne Troyer's character sound like they were uttered by a 15-year-old classroom bully, not written by an intelligent man in his forties. I'm all in favor of offending PC sensibilities whenever possible, but do it right: cracks about Keebler elves show are just stupid and artistically lazy.

More scenes of young Pitka might have explained better how he grew into the adult he became, and Rajneesh could have been fleshed out a bit. I suspect that a lot of character development and back story were left on the cutting room floor. What should have been cut were the cameos that were either pointless or self-referential without being truly funny.

The plot wasn't exactly Citizen Kane quality, but it could have worked with better writing. After all, if anything cries out for satiric treatment, it's the self-help and New Age movements. With such target-rich subject matter, how did Myers manage to make such a dud? I think that it's a case of plain self-indulgence. Jim Carrey and Robin Williams are two other talented, over-the-top funny men who do some of their best work when they show restraint and don't play themselves. Someone should have reined in Myers on this one.

For his penance, I suggest that he lay off comedy for a while and do a few dramatic roles - including supporting ones - as he did (quite well) in "54." Williams and Carrey have shown other dimensions of themselves in dramatic roles, and I'm sure Myers can, too.