At the time of this writing “The Love Guru” is running at 15% at Rotten Tomatoes. I’ve written about how this movie is being held up as an example of Mike Myers’ descent into mediocrity. I don’t need to rehash any of what I said there about the man himself, but what to say about the movie?
In short, I laughed at it. It’s juvenile, it’s facile, but it’s funny. The Character “Guru Pitka” is juvenile, it’s what he does. He uses low-brow humor to put the people around him at ease. It’s the depth of this character that the critics are missing, they are trying to find a tortured clown in there and missing the joyful clown that the character is. One can only admire a character who is so unbound by the world that they can punch a little person with no obvious regret or misgivings. Would that we would all feel so free, especially in the way the two forgave each other immediatley.
Yes, it was improbable and often insulting, but it was Comedy! Real comedy. One Liners, penis jokes, fart jokes, Elephants Making Love in the Air Canada Centre! Why are people down on this movie? It’s a great “straight” comedy. No need for subtext or veneer, just obvious puns and slapstick, it’s acceptable when “new” comedians do it, right?
Perhaps that is why this movie has failed at the box office, it isn’t new. It’s familiar like an old shoe and perhaps old shoes aren’t what people want.