More than enough great gags to forgive the abundance of stinkers

Rating: 10/10 (12 January 2015)

I both love and hate this movie. My perspective may be atypical because I don't watch television, follow hockey or read People magazine. I had never heard of Deepak Chopra or Mariska Hargitay before seeing the film and wouldn't recognize Oprah Winfrey if I were seated across from her. Mike Myers's Guru Pitka character is not likable or sympathetic and the romantic angle is not credible in the least, although Jessica Alba seems entirely sincere. Many of the jokes are insipid, some of the homoerotic humor is cringeworthy and a few jokes are pushed too far. But the film offers an abundance of humor at various levels. Ten minutes of this film offers more gags than many comedies offer in their entire length. I especially enjoyed the pop tunes played out of context, the music/dance numbers, the parody of Bollywood films, Ben Kingsley, the sportscasters, Verne Troyer's office, the animal travel cages and the notion of Canadian hockey team dependent on a black superstar. Other parts were extremely stupid, such as the cotton candy, Judi Dench and yoga bits. But there are more than enough gags that hit the mark or reasonably close to overlook the enthusiastic and energetic efforts that fell flat.