FanHouse The Love Guru

Say, when is that Mike Myers comedy that mixes humor about spiritual self-help with NHL-endorsed hockey hi-jinks supposed to hit theaters?



Ah, thanks. As "The Love Guru" creeps closer to a multiplex near you, reviews have started to filter in from advance test screenings of the film -- in which Myers plays Pitka, a guru who attempts to mend the broken heart of a star player for the Leafs after his wife begins dating L.A. Kings star Jacques Grande (Justin Timberlake).

So is the flick any good? Do we have another "Austin Powers" on our hands, or a cinematic hockey atrocity on a "Slap Shot 2" level? Ain't It Cool News offers some muted praise and potential trouble for one of the summer's biggest comedies.

Continuing my role as NHL FanHouse's resident cinephile, here is the first trailer for the new Mike Myers comedy "The Love Guru," which has a hockey-centric plot with officially licensed references to the NHL. This film seems to play like Myers's "Austin Powers" series, what with the group dance scenes and the Verne Troyer and the immediately quotable catchphrases ("Lock it down ... break the pickle.") I laughed a few times, liked a few things -- including Romany Malco as a lovelorn NHLer getting pummeled around the rink, and Justin Timberlake's appearance as his arrogant French rival. But I'm still a little weary about building a comedy around this "Pitka" character, which seems more "Goldmember" than Wayne Campbell.

Spoiler Alert: The hockey action features the Leafs against the LA Kings, so I imagine the movie is really about Steve Stamkos.



Previously on FanHouse:

• Sexy Babe, Sexy Beast Join Mike Myers Hockey Comedy
• Timberlake to Star with Alba in Hockey Flick
• Jessica Alba: World's Hottest Hockey Owner

This is the teaser poster for the new Mike Myers comedy "The Love Guru," which is due out this summer. We've been covering its journey to a sticky-floored theater near you here on FanHouse for four reasons:

• 1. There's always the chance that this film will produce an iconic comedic figure like Austin Powers or Wayne Campbell rather than an annoying and then completely forgettable creation like "The Cat in the Hat."
• 2. Jessica Alba is in the film.
• 3. The NHL, and hockey in general, play a central role in the plot.
• 4. Jessica Alba is in the film.

The great Jeremy Smith of CHUD.com provides the details:

The Love Guru is about an American child named Pitka whose upbringing in an Indian ashram prepares him for life as one of those self-help kooks. Pitka's expertise is called upon to help resolve marital discord between Darren Roanoke, the star center of the Toronto Maple Leafs (Romany Malco), and his wife. When Roanoke's wife takes up with Jacques Grande (Justin Timberlake), a rival player from the Los Angeles Kings, the Maple Leafs' star falls into a slump. The only way for the Leafs to salvage their season is for Pitka to reunite Roanoke with his wife. I'm already in stitches.

Aw, c'mon. To be fair, Romany Malco was comedy gold as Jay in "The 40-Year-Old Virgin." And if Timberlake has an extended music video about giving his lady a phallic gift "In a Penalty Box," we're in business. But more than anything, this film could be the tip of the iceberg for the NHL's takeover of Hollywood. More on that, and a larger "Guru" poster image, after the jump.

Believe it or not, there's actually a strong history of smokin' hot eye-candy actresses perfecting their craft in Hollywood hockey movies. Like Melinda Dillon -- yes, Ralphie's mother from "A Christmas Story" -- running about four pages of dialogue with Paul Newman while her "major awards" are exposed in "Slap Shot." There was Cynthia Gibb in "Youngblood," who would have made more of an impression had Rob Lowe not been prettier than she was back in 1986. Let's not forget Mary McCormack and Lolita Davidovich (what the hell ever happened to her?) in "Mystery, Alaska."

For his upcoming hockey comedy "The Love Guru," writer/star Mike Myers has already delivered one undeniable babe to continue that tradition: Jessica Alba, who will play the hottest owner in NHL history. Add to that list the comely lass you see to your right: Meagan Good, who has been featured on "Roll Bounce," "Stomp the Yard" and, most recently, New York Jets running back Thomas Jones. For her role in "The Love Guru," Black Voices has the details:

"In the comedy, "The Love Guru" (Myers), Pitka is an American who was left at the gates of an ashram in India as a child and raised by gurus. He moves back to the U.S. to seek fame and fortune in the world of self-help and spirituality. His unorthodox methods are put to the test when he must settle a rift between Toronto Maple Leafs star hockey player Darren Roanoke (Romany Malco) and his estranged wife, played by Good. After the split, Roanoke's wife starts dating L.A. Kings star Jacques Grande (Justin Timberlake) out of revenge, sending her husband into a major professional skid..."

Mike Myers? Funny. Justin Timberlake? Funny, as long as the punchline ends with "...in a box!" Ben Kingsley, who has also just been cast in "The Love Guru"? Not exactly a model of comedy, unless you're talking about the fact that he went from "Gandhi" and "Schindler's List" to playing The Hood in the live-action version of "Thunderbirds." Kingsley, according to Entertainment Weekly, will appear as "Guru Tugginmypudha, the ashram leader who teaches the title character (Myers) how to love himself." (What, you expected subtle nuance from the mind that brought the world Fat Bastard?)

Previously on FanHouse:
Timberlake to Star with Alba in Hockey Flick
Jessica Alba: World's Hottest Hockey Owner