and… -I don't know- "castrated" by Hancock(?) and the world seems content not only in labelling the film a failure but accepting this as the beginning of the end for Myers.
That seems a little aggressive. It's not like every movie he's released has been a box office sensation. In fact the ones that have held up the best over time (So I Married An Axe Murderer and the first Austin Powers film) did horribly in theaters. It would be one thing if The Love Guru shamelessly sucked; If it really missed the mark completely and was an unfunny, 2-hour, self-serving ego-trip. Then I could see petitions for early retirement getting filling up like he was Uwe Boll giving the Internet the finger. That's just not the case though.
It has been so long since Myers has been on screen as an original character (now as the sing-songy optimist, The Guru Pitka) that it was almost doomed to fail. There was an air of anticipation that, in the course of an overly-aggressive promotional campaign turned from "Yay, he's back!" to "This better be funny, jackass." I think part of that expectation hurt the film as it naturally drew comparisons to Austin Powers.
Yeah, Guru Pitka is no international man of mystery but it doesn't slow the movie down at all. In his trip to Canada to help a star hockey player reconnect with his estranged wife so that his game play will improve (That's all the plot I'm giving you!) I think Myers creates an endearing, though less quotable, loveable goofball.
That's all the plot you're getting because that's all you really need to know. That sentence really sets the stage for Myers to springboard the laughs off of, and there are plenty solid one's here, though I'm sure some of you would disagree. I could instead focus on the supporting characters, but there's not much point in going down that road either because The Love Guru is "The Mike Myers Show". Even more so than the Austin Powers movies where he was playing 3 or 4 of the main characters at any given time, there was always room for the people around him to excel. I always thought he was generous in that way - in making others look just as good as him - but in the Love Guru Myers hogs the spotlight making a crotch-stuffed Justin Timberlake and a blank but beautiful Jessica Alba become unmemorable plot pushers.
Even Vern Troyer is ineffective here, and he actually has lines this time! Troyer spent 2 films as the silent but deadly Mini-me and managed to steal half the scenes he was in. Now, in The Love Guru, he gets to cuss at will and punch people in the balls but he just ends up being another part to fill while Myers puts on his show.
I'm not blaming any of the talent - especially Alba who, with so little to do, was obviously hired primarily because of her status in Hollywood - it's just the way the movie plays out. While it didn't stop me from laughing it certainly didn't strengthen the movie.
That with a first time director, 2 too many musical numbers (why is a love guru singing "9 to 5"?) and a variety of other little problems leaves the movie somewhat uneven. It's hardly horrible though. It's hardly a career killer. It's a silly movie with a simple message that deserved a better chance. A better chance than the Leafs have of winning the cup anyway…
Rating: 6 out of 10 - Will the box office misfire send Myers back to more comfortable territory? There have been rumors of an Austin Powers 4 for a while now and it might not be such a bad idea to jumpstart a career with something that has proven it works. As long as it still works. Hey, if it's good enough for Indy it's good enough for Austin.
The Guru Pitka could potentially go down as one of Myers most infamous characters, which is a shame considering some of the weird ducks he trotted out on SNL in the early 90's. I mentioned how unquotable he is in the review. After leaving the theater I was happy with the movie but struggling for a line to quote to my friends. Even weeks later, there's only one or two nuggets I could come up with that are barely work repeating.
He is a fun character to mimic though. I've found myself the past few days mumbling to myself in the deep tones of The Guru Pitka. His sentences unfurl with a charming agenda, like a sleazy priest or that guy that ran the comic book store you went to when you first started collecting. Or that guy on The Simpsons that always says, "YEEESS!" and is "Having a STROOOKE…"
I've considered doing an entire episode of The Triple Feature in The Guru Pitka voice but I'm reasonably sure Gordon would reach through the phone and strike me.
That in fact is today's newest vote incentive! (Dude, didn't you know the incentives were back? Check out this thread on the boards to see the image you missed!.
Vote now to see Gordon punch me through the phone!
Without a doubt this is DVD worthy, which sounds bizarre when not 3 days ago I was doing some serious hemming and hawing about the DVD Worthiness of a vastly superior movie. I was kicking this around in my head on the subway ride home today - why I’d circle a poignant, near perfect piece of art on the DVD shelf and jump all over another movie as plain and predictable as the dick jokes it’s filled with – and here’s what I came up with: I have really crap taste in movies.
Okay the conclusion that I actually reached was that Wall-E is too good to own on DVD. It’s just too good. It’s the kind of movie that inspires and energizes you. It’ll make you want to be a better artist, animator, construction worker, waitress, person etc. But will it be just as inspirational if you watch it everyday? On the other hand something light and silly like The Love Guru I’ll snatch up the day it comes out and spin it like a top, laughing all the while. It won’t impact me the same way Wall-E does, but you can’t expose yourself to a profound life changing piece of art every single day, otherwise you won’t know when you’re doing it right. There’s always room for a good laugh though.
…Yeah, I probably just have bad taste in movies.
So returning to a proven project of his past might not be the best idea for Myers after all. Did you guys see this clip from MTV Movies Awards, which Myers hosted, where Wayne and Garth from Wayne’s World were reunited? No one was more excited than me (except maybe Brendan Fraser - seriously, he’s like freaking out.) but they couldn’t muster up some new material. I guess “Garth getting pubes” and “monkeys possibly flying out of someone’s butt” is technically new material for the majority of the MTV audience, too young in the 90s to see the movies on the big screen or stay up and watch the original sketches on SNL, but are the rest of us supposed to be entertained let alone blown away by the same old thing? That may be adequate for Brendan Fraser but not me, sir!
I’m being a little dramatic. It was great to see the team back together again but had they written anything new (besides the movie list) they could have sold Wayne’s World 3: Cassandra’s Revenge right on the spot.
Max Payne - Someone pointed me towards the first trailer for Mark Wahlberg's latest movie, a game to screen adaptation of Max Payne. I love the feel of it. The inner monologue, the desaturated tones, Mila Kunis, the slow motion gun firing whilst jumping through the air… but how does it hold up to the game? You tell me.
Well that's that. I hope you guys are having a good mid-week. Yeo and I are headed away on vacation this weekend so I'm really looking forward to that. Her birthday is today so send out mental well wishes. Us being gone does mean though that you won't see a Hellboy or Journey to the Center of the Earth comic from me until probably Wednesday of next week. Something to keep you busy - The JLCM Facebook Group. This is a group that's been running for a while but that I had absolutely no idea about until a few days ago. Cheers to Elena and the gang for starting it up. It still shocks and amazes me that people actually read my stuff let alone enjoy it to a degree they make groups about it. I'm very lucky.
Ok, that is all! Back to your normal Internet activities. And thank you for reading.
Live Journal/Myspace/Rotten Tomatoes/Buzz Comix/Top Web Comics/Comics on the Ipod/The Webcomics List/Online Comics/Wikipedia/Comixpedia/JLCM Map!
