Rabelasian Guru

Rating: 7/10 (24 June 2008)

Jeeze-louise, the IMDb reviewer cries after reading through the almost universal condemnation of this movie. Did everyone have a bad day the day they saw it? Don't take their ill humor to heart and see this movie. I sat through 'Get Smart' yesterday with a willing grin on my face waiting for a laugh...it wasn't there. What was there is a competent Maxwell Smart saving the world and getting the girl which made its humor earnest not anarchic. The willing grin became a dyspeptic grimace as plot and heroism replaced comedy.
That experience made going to 'The Love Guru' potentially an exercise in masochism...here we go again, I thought. A non comedic comedy.
And, indeed, a shaky start had me concentrating on counting the number of Peanut M&Ms in the yellow bag I had bought along with a diet coke because I'm counting calories as well. OK, penis jokes, flatulence, a midget, cross eyes...tedious tedium again? Then, twenty minutes in, the sheer exuberance of Mike Myers with rapid fire penis/flatulence/midget/cross eyed jokes, Bollywood dance numbers, love of hockey, love/hate of Canada, use of celebrity to attract celebrities to play roles in this movie overcame all and I went with the comedy.
Mike Myers is shameless, who knew? He is over the top, quelle surprise! He is cross cultural and topical in allusion and jokes, what a nightmare!
Let him go, accept that it is a Mike Myers film. Let an ashram, sitar, elephant, Oprah, chastity belt, tasteless, adolescent,Deeprak, motorized carpet hockey movie wash over you. Let your inner self be itself, admit that if even every fourth penis joke is actually funny, in a movie with 4.2 million of them that is still a million laughs.