The Love Guru
Starring: Mike Myers, Jessica
Alba, Justin Timberlake
Directed by: Marco Schnabel (debut)
Written by: Mike Myers ("Austin Powers
International Man of Mystery") and Graham Gordy ("War
Eagle, Arkansas")
By Kiko
Martinez
It’s
been six years since comedian/actor Mike Myers wrapped
up his Austin Powers trilogy with “Goldmember,” and
since then hasn’t returned to the writer’s chair until
now. With “The Love Guru,” it only takes him 90 minutes
to prove that six years away wasn’t long enough.
In the film,
Myers plays Pitka, a love guru who is brought to Canada
by Toronto Maple Leafs hockey team owner Jane Bullard
(Jessica Alba) so he can mentor their star player Darren
Roanoke (Romany Malco), who hasn’t been playing up to
standard because of a broken heart. His girlfriend has
left him for Jacques Grande (Justin Timberlake), a
hockey nemesis who is famous for being anatomically
blessed.
Pitka takes
the job when he finds out that if he cures Darren, he
can land a guest spot on the Oprah Winfrey Show and
becomes as famous as real-life guru Deepak Chopra (cue
the Chopra/Oprah gags).
Mike Myers
is a child in a man’s body and sometimes children,
although they have good intentions when they stand up in
front of a group of adults and tell a joke, just aren’t
that funny. He might have a few good musical numbers
left in him, but building an entire movie on puns,
vulgar surnames, bodily fluids, and acronyms is fatal
filmmaking. Grade: D