“The Love Guru” – Joanna Langfield reviews
The Love Guru Now, I’m no expert, but wouldn’t you think a movie about an evolved spiritual advisor would share the love, rather than just keep its self-important star on screen for virtually every scene, performing repetitive fart jokes? I mean, I’m just asking. Mike Meyers goes full throttle here, as Guru Pitka, an insecure self-helper, whose goal in life is to take over Deepak Chopra’s position as the world’s number one guru. What does he need to add to his scorecard in order to dethrone the King? An appearance on Oprah, of course. Interestingly, while several celebrities did show up for good natured cameos in this film, Oprah herself did not – her voice over is performed by a credited impersonator. While Meyers’ script (he also produces) does include a few promising jokes, the story itself flops all over the place. There’s a tenuous hockey championship, a couple of love stories and a very pretty, if ridiculously cast Jessica Alba, who has all the chemistry with Mike Meyers as one would think. Even though he’s not officially the director, (“credit” goes to first timer Marco Schnabel), Meyers keeps himself center stage throughout. Surprisingly, he seems completely unsure of what to do when he gets there. Floundering, the usually dead on comic resorts to body function references, wild mugging and running-time filling song performances. Why Sir Ben Kingsley accepted his sort role as a cross-eyed teacher is beyond me. The only co-star who shines is Justin Timberlake, cast as a hockey star whose most outstanding attribute hangs between his legs. Sporting a Quebec accent (and, apparently, an extra sock or two), Timberlake nails every scene he gets to share. I will always love Meyers’ for his sharp and smart work with characters as diverse as Wayne Campbell, from Wayne’s World, Linda Richman, in SNL’s Coffee Talk, Steve Rubell in Studio 54 and, iconically, Austin Powers. No one can bat 1000 every time. I suppose a true love guru would see the best intentions in this sad misfire and assume Meyers’ best will rise again.
