New Rental: The Love Guru

I am just going to say it. I didn’t hate the Love Guru.

I know. I know. How is this possible? It was one of the least successful films of 2008 with major critical hatred as well as little public interest.

Yet, hidden underneath Mike Myer’s tired antics are little gems of comedy, primarily from the hockey arena.

Although Mike Myer’s role as a love guru was not very amusing, and his ongoing fart and poop jokes just more of the same rolled over from Austin Powers, he also had several lovely and self-effacing moments (Note the Wayne’s World music that comes on in the car and he turns off). His inside Canada jokes were refreshing and more of what I wanted but to my dismay instead of rolling into new territory, Myers resorts back into tired sex jokes.

I felt as if Myers was relying on his 90s audience to still be there in 2008, but comic gags only last so long and even the most devoted of us need some new material.

But what makes the film worth a rental are three people. One, Justin Timberlake is Le Coq (pictured above) who once again proves his comic chops as he did on Saturday Night Live and Stephen Colbert and Jim Gaffigan as the bizarre and fantastic sportscasters watching over the hockey games.

The rest of the movie falls apart, but these moments kept me laughing out loud enough to not turn the whole thing off.