The Love Guru (PG-13)
Naughty Mike Myers comedy has little to love.
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- Studio: Paramount Pictures, Paramount Pictures
- Directed By: Marco Schnabel
- Cast: Mike Myers, Jessica Alba, Justin Timberlake
- Running Time: 90 minutes
- Release Date: 06/20/2008
- Video/DVD Release Date: 09/15/2008
- Genre: Comedy
- MPAA Rating: PG-13
- MPAA Explanation: crude and sexual content throughout, language, some comic violence and drug references.
Parents need to know
Families can talk about the appeal of Mike Myers' over-the-top characters and broad comedic style. What makes characters like Austin Powers and Guru Pitka funny? Are they affectionate caricatures or stereotyped cartoons? Are we expected to laugh at Pitka because he says funny things or because his dress and accent are "funny" to Western eyes and ears? Do you think Myers' portrayal of Pitka is racist? And do you think Pitka's positive messages come through amid all of the fistfights, urine jokes, and sex comedy? Is the message more important than the medium, or is the movie's feel-good philosophy a way to try to dignify lowbrow comedy?
Message
Social Behavior:
Guru Pitka is an American-born, India-trained "guru" with a broad accent and wacky facial hair -- many have questioned whether he's an intrinsically racist character. Although Pitka's message to the world is one of love, he pushes that message as a way to gain influence and prestige. Any other messages are overshadowed by the incessant bathroom humor, from elephants defecating on screen to students "training" by striking one another with urine-soaked mops. Pitka is seen pulling various objects from his anus and, in a yoga-mocking sight gag, with his own head up his anus. Other jokes rely on food and diagrams that look like male genitalia. Women are often portrayed as attractive background decor, although many female characters are also strong, assertive, and loving. Jokes play on the stereotype that Indian people work in customer support, and a diminutive character is constantly referred to as "Frodo," "elf," "hobbit," and so on.
Consumerism:
Lots of real-world brands, including professional sports teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs and the L.A. Kings; TV shows like The Electric Company, Oprah, and Law and Order: SVU;products like Altoids; Dell Computers; Cinnabon; Pop-Tarts; Frangelico; Depends Undergarments; and magazines like Marie Claire, Newsweek, and Men's Health.
Drugs/Alcohol/Tobacco:
A sportscaster makes extensive references to his stint in rehab for the abuse of "peyote buttons and Frangelico." At one point, he relapses on-air. Alcohol is mentioned as a way of enhancing connection and communication. The sing-along finale includes a lyric with the phrase "midnight toker," which another character later repeats while exhaling the smoke of an unknown substance from a hookah.
Violence
Extensive violence throughout (generally played for comedy), including everything from on-ice hockey fight action (a blood-streaked tooth is spat onto the ice) to scuffles. The lead character suffers a bloody attack by a "guard rooster" and is later seen with the rooster's severed head in his teeth; characters punch each other; a mock-comedy bar fight breaks out; a supporting character pulls a bloody piece of glass from a gash in his forehead on-camera.
Sex
Constant crude sexual language and references, including (but most definitely not limited to) a character renowned for his endowment and references to erections, masturbation, and oral sex. The title character wears a chastity belt, which is often seen; he also has scantily clad minions. References to pet stylists who became charity workers "going from doggie style to the missionary position." References to syphilis and crude catchphrases like "eatin' ain't cheatin" and the double-entendre "Liquor up front, poker in the rear." References to youthful lesbian experimentation for comedic effect. Oral sex is mimed using a corn dog. A character is praised for her "great rack" and "bell-shaped ass." Multiple genital and erection jokes involving sound effects, whether from striking a chastity belt or the organ in question striking the floor (both mercifully unseen).
Language
Frequent strong language, including "ass," "penis," "dinkbag," "bitch," "prison bitch," "doggy style," "s--t," "crap," "prick," "hos," "dump," "whizz," "nutsack," jackoff," "pubes," "balls," and "a--hole." Thanks to Pitka's accent, the phrase "can't face" is confused for a crude phrase comparing someone's face to female genitalia.
Common Sense says
What's the story?
Reviewed by James Rocchi
Is it any good?
The Love Guru has a few bright spots -- there are some fun, silly musical numbers, and Stephen Colbert's woozy, boozy sports announcer is always good for a laugh. But those moments are few and far between, and anytime the movie builds up any amount of goodwill on viewers' part, it squanders it with an unfunny excrement or urine joke. Myers has entered the same realm of success as Adam Sandler -- the comedy-killing career "high" where you've made so much money that no one will dare tell you how you might make a better movie -- and the self-satisfied air of The Love Guru is an inevitable byproduct. The Love Guru wants to be smutty and funny, naughty and virtuous; it's a balancing act that Myers simply can't pull off.
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