The Love Guru – DVD Review

By Jeff Swindoll Sep 17, 2008, 15:47 GMT

A hilarious comedy starring Mike Myers as guru Pitka in his first original character since the blockbuster hit Austin Powers. Myers plays an American raised in India by gurus (Tugginmypudha & Satchabigknoba) and returns to the U.S. in order to break into the self-help business. His unorthodox methods are put to the test when he must settle the romantic troubles and subsequent professional skid of a star hockey player (Romany ...more

Mike Myers has been off of the screen since The Cat in the Hat in 2003.  He’s been behind the microphone with the Shrek films, but not in front of the camera.  The Love Guru was eagerly anticipated and really didn’t live up to the hype.  There are some giggles but Austin Powers it ain’t.  

Guru Pitka (Mike Myers) is the second most popular guru in the world.  Pitka is second only to Deepak Chopra.  Pitka thinks that Deepak’s fame has come from his appearances on Oprah and Pitka knows that if he can get on with the chat show host that he’ll knock Chopra off the throne. 

Pitka’s agent Dick Pants (John Oliver) knows that Pitka needs a high profile demonstration of his guru-ing to catch the attention of the Oprah.  Toronto Maple Leaf’s hockey star Darren Roanoke’s (Romany Malco) wife Prudence (Meagan Good) has recently left her husband.  She’s taken up with a rival team’s goalie, Jacques “Le Coq” Grande (Justin Timberlake), and this has given Darren the shakes and he’s been on a losing streak ever since. 

The team owner Jane Bullard (Jessica Alba) knows of Pitka and wants him to work his wiles on Darren and repair his marriage so he will start playing normally again.  Coach Punch Cherkov (Verne Troyer) thinks that Pitka is full of it and isn’t afraid to let him know it.  Now all Pitka has to do is exorcise Darren’s demons and get his marriage back together, but is he doing it for the right reasons or for selfish ones?

Mike Myers’ career really hasn’t been suffering since his last onscreen appearance in 2003’s The Cat in the Hat.  He’s been the voice of the ogre Shrek and has probably made enough green to paper his living room several times over. 

The Love Guru was eagerly anticipated since the funnyman hadn’t been out from behind the microphone for so long.  The critical drubbing that the film received might have him running back to vocal work.  Austin Powers was Myers’ cinematic comedy highpoint and the Love Guru is pretty terrible. 

The weaker Goldmember actually is made to look better than this drivel.  Now is it as bad as it was made out to be by other critics?  The answer would have to be both yes and no. 

I’ve seen worse frankly.  There are some giggles and the humor rarely rises about the toilet lid.  I did have to laugh at some pachyderm pornography that graces the big finale.  Myers is made up like the love child of Peter Ustinov, Salvador Dali, and the prosthetic nose that Peter Sellers wore in the Clouseau films. 

The brand of humor brandished is what we’ve come to expect from Myers, but who really should be ashamed of themselves is Ben Kingsley.  He’s painfully unfunny as a cross-eyed guru and I’m tellin’ ya Ben they’ll be asking for your Oscar back if you keep this up. 

Stephen Colbert has some good lines and Verne Troyer is pretty amusing (his best line is in the closing credits).  I even liked some of the Bollywood production numbers, but the movie is only middling.  

The Love Guru is presented in anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions.  Special features include the 9-minute “Mike Myers and the Love Guru” which looks at the making of the film.  The 5 minute “One Helluva Elephant” shows how the production made a prosthetic elephant for the film.

The 6-minute “Hockey Training for the Actors” is about mayonnaise or maybe how the actors were trained in the art of hockey.  Next are 13 minutes of deleted scenes, 4 minutes of bloopers, 5 minutes of color commentary outtakes with Stephen Colbert and Jim Gaffigan, 10 more minutes of outtakes, and the 2 minute theatrical trailer. 

Finally there are previews for other Paramount titles and a second disc with a digital copy for your PC or portable device.  

There are some funny bits but they’re few and far between.  Anticipation was high, but the Love Guru found no love when it was finally released.  It’s a stink mop.  

The Love Guru is now available at Amazon. As of yet, there is not a release date for the UK. Visit the DVD database for more information.