The Love Guru - C+

In theaters. Rated PG-13, 88 minutes. Trailer.

Ever since I watched my first Wayne's World sketch, I have been a Mike Myers superfan. With his first film, Wayne's World (B+) he showed he could be a star and even though the Wayne's World 2 (B-) wasn't as funny he still stayed in the pantheon. So I Married An Axe Murderer (A-), though widely ignored, was a pitch perfect romantic comedy (except for the last 15 minutes) . The Austin Powers (1-B+, 2-B, 3-C+)series made him a superstar. Since then (other than Cat in the Hat and the Shrek series) he has been mostly dormant, and I went into Love Guru expecting lots of belly laughs and a dumb story. Click below for more GURU:

Myers stars as Guru Pitka, an American born Indian guru competing with Deepak Chopra as the #1 guru in the world. Across the pond, the Toronto Maple Leafs' star player, Darren Roanoke (Romany Malco) lost his game because he left his wife and she is now dating Jacques 'le coq' Grande (Justin Timberlake). The owner of the Leafs (Jessica Alba) brings in Guru Pitka to reunite Roanoke and his wife in order to restore his game and propel the Leafs to the Stanley Cup. Along the way, Pitka falls for Alba and he and Roanoke bond while Pitka wars with the crass coach of the Leafs (played by Verne Troyer (mini-me).

So, obviously the story was not what got this into the B zone. Myers' genius for situational comedy and the numerous laugh out loud moments along the way are responsible for that. If you aren't a fan of Myers, this will be a C or C- for you, and there are lots of gags that don't work (elephants humping on a hockey rink?). That said, the 'nuts' sequence is hilarious, the bookend voiceover gags are perfect, and the small roles from Ben Kingsley and Justin Timberlake are original and funny in their own right.

I hate to say it, but Myers' comedic moment has probably passed. He was the funniest guy alive in the 90's, but the flavor of comedy and the public's tastes (including my own) have shifted to a more biting, knowing type of humor, a la Ricky Gervais and Sacha Baron Cohen. I like Myers best as himself, like in Ax Murderer, but he clearly is more comfortable in wild caricatures than a regular comedic role.