The Love Guru starts slow, But Picks Up Speed, Laughs and Points for Originality

* * * (out of 5)

I won't oversell this movie. It is not for everyone. Half the audience was cracking up and the other half were sitting silent. You have to be a Mike Myers fan and more importantly an Austin Powers fan to appreciate this film and its very silly humor. But my friend Harry and I are were part of the laughing half and we had a great time. We saw the "1 Star" reviews in all three New York tabloids, but except for a few critics, you can't trust reviewers when it comes to comedy. For those with short memories, the NY Daily News gave 2 Stars to Caddyshack, Airplane and The Jerk when they came out. It gave Stripes and Meatballs 1 1/2 Stars. Obviously all five are comedy classics. How's that for getting it wrong almost every time.

The first 15 minutes of The Love Guru are a little rough to get through. It's like watching an experimental comedian and he's just not catching on. Myers makes a joke about putting a penis on a table that thuds so bad, Harry and I looked at each other, like "Oh my god, what are we in for?" But once he meets the coach, played by Mini-Me's Verne Troyer, the jokes starts flying higher and landing much better.

Myers might be the most adventurous of all the great Saturday Night Live alumni. He makes his characters charming and silly at the same time. His new role as Guru Pitka is a funnier Deepak Chopra. People, many of them rich and successful, come to this guru with their problems and issues and listen to his words of wisdom to try and make sense of their lives. When a Toronto Maple Leaf hockey player loses his wife, he also starts to lose his way on the rink and the team's owner, played by a stunning Jessica Alba turns to Guru Pitka to try and get the player's mind back in the game and his wife back in his life. 40 Year Old Virgin's Romany Malco is pretty good as the wounded player, but his nemesis, the goalie Jacques "Le Coq" Grande is played for big laughs by Justin Timberlake. His dancing alone is hysterical, especially the "Water Sprinkler."

Myers throws out about 100 double entendres and some miss and others hit big. The gross out humor is extra gross. But some of the best moments come in the broadcast booth of Hockey Night in Canada with Stephen Colbert as a recovering drug addict and of course, Myers' brilliant songs on the sitar. His version of "9 to 5" was an unexpected treat, especially with the Bollywood-style dancing maids. In fact, all the Bollywood scenes are winners. The success of Mike Myers is that you don't often get his comedy the first time, that's why repeat viewings help him gain success and increase his box office receipts. This character and movie might become another Austin Powers for him, or it could be another "So I Married an Axe Murderer", a funny movie that only his true fans appreciate. Be at Peace, Mariska Hargitay!

The Freditor