Parents' Guide to

The Love Guru

By James Rocchi, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 15+

Naughty Mike Myers comedy has little to love.

Movie PG-13 2008 90 minutes
The Love Guru Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

age 15+

Based on 2 parent reviews

age 15+

Extremely funny but somewhat very inappropriate comedy actually has a few good messages!

Parents need to know that this comedy is very raunchy, but really funny! There is tons of jokes about sexual intercourse, masturbation, genitalia, and lots more. Plus there is one scene where 2 elephants have sex on a hockey rink, which is pretty graphic, but meant for laughs. There is also a bit of comic violence, including images of bloody teeth, a rooster attacks the main character, and he also bites off the rooster's head. There is also moderate swearing, (bitch, sh-t, asshole, hell, damn, balls, ass, and more are used). and there is drug references as well. So yeah, this movie is not for younger audiences.

This title has:

Too much violence
Too much sex
Too much swearing
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
age 14+

No One under 17 premitted!!!!

there is way too much sexual conrtent in this movie, I am 39 and it was embarcing me, and my husband hen we watched it 30 min in we turned it off if, we wanted x rated we would ask for x rated,

This title has:

Too much sex
Too much swearing
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (2):
Kids say (11):

For all of The Love Guru's attempts at positive messages, there's a lot of crude comedy to sit through. And while it's hard to say quantitatively whether the film is more or less crude than the Austin Powers films, The Love Guru is certainly less funny. Making fun of self-help is one thing, but Myers wants to pass on wisdom as well as make jokes about passing gas; the movie somehow feels childishly rude and curiously smug at the same time. The problem isn't that Pitka is too much of a departure from Austin Powers -- the problem, in many ways, is that Pitka isn't, from his sex-obsessed ways to his catchphrases to his silly self-confidence.

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.

Movie Details

  • In theaters: June 20, 2008
  • On DVD or streaming: September 15, 2008
  • Cast: Jessica Alba, Justin Timberlake, Mike Myers
  • Director: Marco Schnabel
  • Inclusion Information: Latinx actors
  • Studio: Paramount Pictures
  • Genre: Comedy
  • Run time: 90 minutes
  • MPAA rating: PG-13
  • MPAA explanation: crude and sexual content throughout, language, some comic violence and drug references.
  • Last updated: February 23, 2023

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