Love Is Fleeting

Illawarra Mercury

Thursday July 17, 2008

KILMENY ADIE

THE LOVE GURU (M)

Starring: Jessica Alba, Mike Myers and Justin Timberlake.

The Love Guru is a puerile cinematic effort that may receive a few giggles from a tween or teen audience but raise little more than a reluctant smile from an adult audience.

The movie tells the story of Guru Pitka (Myers) who was left at the gates of an Indian ashram as a young child.

Pitka's path of spiritual enlightenment has seen him return to his native America. Here his focus is on his own enlightenment (the removal of his metallic chastity belt) as well as on celebrity and reaching the status of the country's number one guru.

Pitka's work is big business and he is sought by the owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs Jane Bullard (Alba) to turn the team's fortunes around.

The ice hockey team has been on a downward spiral, made worse by the separation of thestar player Darren Roanoke and his wife.

Roanoke's ability has been lost and is not helped by the fact Prudence has started a relationship with LA Kings star Jacques Grande (Timberlake).

Pitka - with a promise from his manager of a spot on Oprah and a chance to knock real-life figure and one-time classmate Deepak Chopra off his number one position - takes on the challenge of reuniting the couple.

Pitka's character is typically Myers with plenty of anatomy gags, raised eyebrows and a few musical numbers thrown in for good measure.

Alba looks lost throughout the film and as though her only direction was to smile, look pretty and develop a romantic attachment to Guru Pitka, which demands a major stretch of the audience's imagination.

Furthermore, one can only imagine what went through Kingsley's mind when he signed on to play Pitka's teacher Guru Tugginmypudha.

Interestingly, the film's outstanding performance comes from an unlikely quarter in the role played by pop-star-come-actor Timberlake.

© 2008 Illawarra Mercury

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