The Love Guru (2008)

Director:

Marco Schnabel

Writers (WGA):

Mike Myers (written by) &
Graham Gordy (written by)

Release Date:

20 June 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

His Karma is Huge

Plot:

Pitka an American raised outside of his country by gurus, returns to the States in order to break into the self-help business. His first challenge: To settle the romantic troubles and subsequent professional skid of a star hockey player whose wife left him for a rival athlete. |

Plot Keywords:

Box Office Flop | Hindu | Critically Bashed | Box Office Failure | Controversial

US Showtimes:

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Cast

Jessica Alba	...	Jane Bullard
Mike Myers	...	Guru Pitka / Young Pitka / Teenage Pitka / Himself
Justin Timberlake	...	Jacques Grande
Romany Malco	...	Darren Roanoke
Meagan Good	...	Prudence Roanoke
Omid Djalili	...	Guru Satchabigknoba
Verne Troyer	...	Coach Punch Cherkov
Ben Kingsley	...	Guru Tugginmypudha
Jessica Simpson	...	Herself
Kanye West	...	Himself
Deepak Chopra	...	Himself
Rob Blake	...	Himself
Manu Narayan	...	Rajneesh
John Oliver	...	Dick Pants
Stephen Colbert	...	Jay Kell
Jim Gaffigan	...	Trent Lueders
Telma Hopkins	...	Lillian Roanoke
Daniel Tosh	...	Cowboy Hat
Rob Huebel	...	Frat Guy
Rob Gfroerer	...	Sickly Nerd
Robert Cohen	...	Nerd (as Rob Cohen)
Linda Kash	...	Female Reporter
Bob Bainborough	...	Assistant Coach
Gotham Chopra	...	Deepak (Early 20s)
Suresh John	...	Indian Man
Trevor Heins	...	Young Pitka
Jaan Padda	...	Young Deepak
Sean Cullen	...	Referee
Mike 'Nug' Nahrgang	...	Angry Fan
Matt Baram	...	EMT #1
Boyd Banks	...	Medic #2
Samantha Bee	...	Cinnabon Cashier
Garry Robbins	...	Biker
Peter Schoelier	...	Uncle Jack
Ben Gans	...	Goal Post Judge
Taylor Flood	...	11-Year-Old Girl #1
Alexia Filippeos	...	11-Year-Old Girl #2
Shakti Kupil	...	Sanjay
Graham Gordy	...	DJ
Michelle Marshall	...	Oprah Winfrey Voice Double (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Susana Baker	...	Flight Attendant (uncredited)
Jessica Barrow	...	Puck Bunny / Cheering Stripper (uncredited)
Sima Fisher	...	Puck Bunny / Cheering Stripper (uncredited)
Mariska Hargitay	...	Herself (uncredited)
Miranda Jade	...	Puck Bunny / Cheering Stripper (uncredited)
Val Kilmer	...	Himself (uncredited)
Dave Kiner	...	Chanting Follower (uncredited)
Brooke Stone	...	Dancer (uncredited)

Directed by
Marco Schnabel

Writing credits (WGA)
Mike Myers		(written by) &
Graham Gordy		(written by)

Produced by
Gary Barber	....	executive producer
Roger Birnbaum	....	executive producer
Michael De Luca	....	producer
Sean Gannet	....	associate producer
Graham Gordy	....	associate producer
Donald J. Lee Jr.	....	producer
Mike Myers	....	producer
Alli Shearmur	....	production executive

Original Music by
George S. Clinton

Cinematography by
Peter Deming		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Lee Haxall
Gregory Perler
Billy Weber

Casting by
Kathleen Chopin

Production Design by
Charles Wood

Art Direction by
David G. Fremlin

Set Decoration by
Gordon Sim

Costume Design by
Karen Patch

Makeup Department
Crist Ballas	....	prosthetic makeup artist
Alessondra Bastianoni	....	assistant makeup artist
Allan Cooke	....	special makeup effects artist
Joel Harlow	....	sculptor
Christine Hart	....	makeup department head
Burton J. LeBlanc	....	assistant makeup artist
Michael Marino	....	additional makeup effects
Neil Morrill	....	special makeup effects artist
Jennifer Bower O'Halloran	....	head hair department
Christopher Pizzerelli	....	makeup artist
Robert Ramos	....	hair stylist: Jessica Alba
Tricia Sawyer	....	makeup artist: Jessica Alba
Mike Smithson	....	makeup concept designer
Ron Stefaniuk	....	special makeup effects artist
Teresa Valenzuela	....	wigmaker
Stephanie Pasicov	....	makeup artist: New York (uncredited)

Production Management
Erica Kay	....	production supervisor: New York
Stuart Macphee	....	post-production supervisor
Nadia Paine	....	production supervisor
Jim Powers	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jeff J.J. Authors	....	first assistant director
Susan M. Bell	....	dga trainee
David Berke	....	second assistant director: additional photography
Penny Charter	....	second assistant director
Doug Coleman	....	second unit director
Tyler Delben	....	third assistant director
Mark Robert Ellis	....	second unit director: hockey unit (as Mark Ellis)
Alan Goluboff	....	first assistant director: second unit
Curtis Harrison	....	assistant director: hockey unit
Kathryn Hughes	....	trainee assistant director
Jonnie Katz	....	assistant director: crowd scenes
David C. Malcolm	....	third assistant director: hockey unit
Jim Nickas	....	second assistant director: green screen unit
Fatima Palhetas	....	assistant director
Eric S. Potechin	....	second assistant director
Siluck Saysanasy	....	third assistant director
Jennifer Zabawa	....	daily assistant director

Art Department
Tory Bellingham	....	property master
Ann-Marie Ferney-Tellez	....	props buyer
Jason Graham	....	first assistant art director
Jason Graham	....	graphic artist
Sanford Kong	....	concept illustrator
Matthew Lammerich	....	key scenic artist
Meaghan Lynch	....	assistant art director
Eugene McCarthy	....	property master
Garrett O'Donoghue	....	storyboard artist: Curious Pictures
Dan Owens	....	set dresser
H. Nancy Pak	....	clearance and placement coordinator
Jeff Poulis	....	assistant property master
Ron Stefaniuk	....	specialty prop designer/builder
Grant Van Der Slagt	....	set designer
Joel Venti	....	storyboard artist
Ian C. Harris	....	daily construction laborer (uncredited)

Sound Department
Bob Beher	....	supervising foley editor
Tim Chau	....	sound designer
Tim Chau	....	sound re-recording mixer
Tim Chau	....	supervising sound editor
Gavin Coford	....	boom operator
Alan Freedman	....	adr mixer
Sean Garnhart	....	sound editor
Robin Harlan	....	foley artist
Thomas Hayek	....	sound mixer: second unit
John 'Wheels' Hurlbut	....	on set Pro Tools operator
Tim LeBlanc	....	sound re-recording mixer
Michael Miller	....	adr mixer
Sarah Monat	....	foley artist
Randy Singer	....	foley mixer
Walter Spencer	....	dialogue editor
Markus Wade	....	boom operator
Gregory H. Watkins	....	sound re-recording mixer
Clayton Weber	....	first assistant sound editor
Robert Woolfson	....	sound mixer: second unit

Special Effects by
Tim Barraball	....	special effects assistant
John MacGillivray	....	special effects supervisor
David Reaume	....	special effects technician
Rob Sanderson	....	special effects coordinator
Ron Stefaniuk	....	animatronic animals and puppets creator
Daniel White	....	on-set special effects key

Visual Effects by
Spencer Armajo	....	digital compositor: hydraulx
Erik Bruhwiler	....	compositing coordinator: Hydraulx
Eric D. Christensen	....	visual effects executive producer: RotoFactory
Trent Claus	....	matte painter
Cameron Coombs	....	digital compositor: Hydraulx
Lance Lee Davis	....	digital compositor
Amy Daye	....	digital compositor: Soho VFX
Dave Dean	....	digital compositor
Julio Del Hierro	....	texture artist: Soho VFX
Joseph DiValerio	....	visual effects
Bill Dunphy	....	additional effects
Mark Scott Friedman	....	compositor
Peter Frintrup	....	producer: main title
Matthew Gilson	....	digital matte painter: Hydraulx
Robert Greb	....	digital compositor
Joshua D. Greer	....	animator: Curious Pictures
Jon Grinberg	....	visual effects editor
Shyam Gurumoorthy	....	digital compositor: Soho VFX
Martin Hesselink	....	modeler
Michael Honrada	....	digital effects artist
Chris Ingersoll	....	flame artist
Anna Ivanova	....	digital effects artist: Soho VFX
Filip Kicev	....	animator: Soho VFX
Michael Kowalski	....	visual effects producer
Daniel Kruse	....	digital lighter: Hydraulx
Benjamin Kutsko	....	Flame artist
Ilan Leizerovich	....	modeler: Soho VFX
Paul Lemeshko	....	visual effects
Erwin Lievre	....	digital artist
Erik Liles	....	visual effects supervisor
Derick Loo	....	digital artist: Soho VFX
Allan Magled	....	visual effects supervisor: Soho VFX
Doron Man	....	digital compositor: Soho VFX
Juan Melgoza	....	digital artist: RotoFactory, Inc.
Steve Mihaylov	....	digital artist: RotoFactory.Inc
Scott Minter	....	digital compositor
Hailey Moore	....	texture artist
Travis Moore	....	digital artist
Daniel A. Murray	....	software engineer
Brian Nugent	....	Flame artist
Mihaela Orzea	....	digital compositor
Bruno Parenti	....	digital compositor: Hydraulx
Clark Parkhurst	....	Flame artist
James Pina	....	digital artist: RotoFactory, Inc.
Stewart Pomeroy	....	lighting technical director
Vasisht Ramachandran	....	modeler: Soho VFX
Madhava Reddy	....	digital intermediate
Gizmo Rivera	....	compositor
David Rose	....	digital compositor
Keith Sellers	....	lighting technical director: Soho VFX
Bryan Smeall	....	digital compositor: Soho VFX
Kurt E. Soderling	....	visual effects cameraman
Frankie Stellato	....	modeler
Jeremiah Sweeney	....	digital compositor: Hydraulx
Kenny Tam	....	modeling supervisor
Wilson Tang	....	digital restoration
Radley Teruel	....	digital artist: RotoFactory, Inc.
Pat Tubach	....	compositing supervisor
Sean Wallitsch	....	Flame artist: Lola Visual Effects
Kyle Ware	....	visual effects coordinator: Hydraulx
C. Jerome Williams	....	paint artist: Hydraulx
Greg Winhall	....	compositor: Soho VFX
Shuichi Yoshida	....	digital artist: RotoFactory, Inc.
Kai Zhang	....	digital compositor
Ryan Zuttermeister	....	associate visual effects producer: Lola Visual Effects
Thomas Nittmann	....	visual effects producer: Lola Visual Effects (uncredited)
Edson Williams	....	visual effects supervisor: Lola Visual Effects (uncredited)

Stunts
Guy Bews	....	stunt performer
Matt Birman	....	stunt performer
Brad Bunn	....	stunts
Doug Coleman	....	stunt coordinator
Brad Davis	....	stunts
Neil Davison	....	stunt performer
Stéphane Julien	....	stunt performer
Allen Keng	....	stunt double
Angelica Lisk	....	stunt arranger
Steve Lucescu	....	stunt performer
Chris Mark	....	stunt actor
Duncan McLeod	....	stunt performer
Pazz Neglia	....	stunt actor
Jeffery Ong	....	stunt rigger
Louis Paquette	....	stunt performer
Edward A. Queffelec	....	utility stunts
Cheryl Quiacos	....	stunts
Steve 'Shack' Shackleton	....	stunt double: Justin Timberlake
Steve 'Shack' Shackleton	....	stunt rigger
Leo Thomas	....	stunt double
Peter Yan	....	stunt double

Camera and Electrical Department
Stephen F. Andrich	....	director of photography: hockey unit (as Stephen Andrich)
Pierre Berube	....	rigging electrician
Brendan Bresnahan	....	key video assist operator
Rocky Brown	....	rigging electric
Ciaran Copelin	....	first assistant camera
Tim Davies	....	best boy grip: New York City
Robert K. Feldmann	....	key grip: New York City
Eric Felland	....	best boy electric: Promo
Roger Finlay	....	camera operator
Michael Galbraith	....	gaffer
Mark W. Hindle	....	24 frame video operator
Paul Hughen	....	director of photography: second unit
Robert Johnson	....	key grip
Alan G. Kelly	....	camera trainee
Ari Magder	....	second assistant camera
Marvin Midwicki	....	camera operator
Sasha Proctor	....	second assistant camera
Sasha Proctor	....	second assistant camera: second unit
Marc Purdy	....	best boy grip
Herb Reischl Jr.	....	lighting technician
Ron Renzetti	....	dolly grip
Gerard Sava	....	steadicam operator
Kurt E. Soderling	....	director of photography: aerial unit
Mark Willis	....	camera operator: "a" camera
Santiago Yniguez	....	sparrow head technician
Ian C. Harris	....	additional electrician (uncredited)
Ian C. Harris	....	rigging electrician: daily (uncredited)

Animation Department
Steven Muniz	....	technical director

Casting Department
Robin D. Cook	....	casting: Canada
Matthew Honovic	....	casting assistant
Julie Schubert	....	casting associate

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Jennifer Antony	....	costumer
Ciara Brennan	....	costume supervisor
Leah Katznelson	....	assistant costume designer
Trelawnie Mead	....	personal dresser
Ahmad Zargaran	....	costume cutter
Ahmad Zargaran	....	tailor

Editorial Department
Carlos M. Castillón	....	second assistant editor
Chris Farrow	....	post-production coordinator
Tom Foligno	....	assistant editor
Samuel Huh	....	assistant editor
Richard B. Molina	....	first assistant editor
David Reon Nguyen	....	post-production assistant
Everette Webber	....	digital intermediate editor
Jordan Wood	....	dailies assistant editor
Eric Ramistella	....	digital preview colorist (uncredited)

Music Department
Mustafa Bhagat	....	music producer
Mike Flicker	....	supervising music editor
Matt Friedman	....	music editor
Rick Giovinazzo	....	orchestrator
Chris Hajian	....	music producer
Greg Hayes	....	score recordist
John Houlihan	....	music supervisor
John 'Wheels' Hurlbut	....	music engineer
John 'Wheels' Hurlbut	....	music producer
Steve Kempster	....	music scoring mixer
Jamie Lowry	....	music editor
Larry Mah	....	digital score recordist
Bryon Rickerson	....	music editor
Richard Wheeler Jr.	....	scoring crew
Gina Zimmitti	....	music contractor

Transportation Department
Regina Petrik	....	daily driver
Dave Staples	....	transportation coordinator
Ian C. Harris	....	driver (uncredited)

Other crew
Samantha Armstrong	....	script supervisor
Patrick Bevilacqua	....	production assistant
Michael Boidy	....	aerial crew
Coralie Brady	....	assistant location manager: second unit
Jas Chima	....	assistant: Marco Schnabel
Collin Creighton	....	assistant to producers
Laura DaSilva	....	office production assistant
Michael DeRoker	....	assistant to producer
Kristen Detwiler	....	assistant: Mr. De Luca
Russell Eida	....	assistant to director
Andrea Eisen	....	on-set tutor
Mark Robert Ellis	....	hockey coordinator
Jay Floyd	....	clearance administrator
Bryn Garrison	....	location scout
Ian Gibson	....	office production assistant
Jennifer L. Hamilton	....	associate choreographer
Marie-Claude Harnois	....	production coordinator
Todd M. Hofacker	....	assistant: Ben Kingsley
Morgan Hunwicks	....	travel coordinator
James Ireland	....	production assistant
Fred Kamping	....	location manager
Jordana Lieberman	....	production secretary
Sheryl Main	....	unit publicist
Aimee McDaniel	....	assistant sports coordinator
Mark McFadden	....	assistant location manager
Brad McIlroy	....	on-set caterer
Peter McKernan	....	aerial coordinator: pilot
Eleanor Mendes	....	assistant to Mr. Lee and Mr. De Luca (Toronto )
Denise Mora	....	second assistant accountant
Christopher V. Nelson	....	technical advisor
Jeffery Pong	....	assistant location manager
Kristine Regier	....	office production assistant
Dan Reja	....	technical advisor: hockey
Jesse Rupert	....	first assistant payroll accountant
Sam Sklaver	....	assistant: mr. myers
Jodi Tripi	....	stock footage researcher
Michael Vasquez	....	first assistant accountant
Cedric Warburton	....	on-set medic
Scott Trimble	....	location scout: Los Angeles additional photography (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Michael De Luca Productions
• Nomoneyfun Films
• Paramount Pictures
• Spyglass Entertainment

Distributors

• FS Film Oy (2008) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Kinowelt Filmverleih (2008) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Paramount Pictures (2008) (USA) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (2008) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Universal Pictures International (UPI) (2008) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Universal Pictures International (UPI) (2008) (Netherlands) (theatrical)

Special Effects

• Brainstorm Digital
• Industrial Light & Magic (ILM)
• Lola Visual Effects (visual effects)
• RotoFactory
• Soho VFX

Other Companies

• Digital Vortechs  Avid Editing Equipment Provided By
• Dolby Laboratories  sound mix
• Hand Prop  props supplied by
• Hollywood Title  end titles
• Lakeshore Records  soundtrack
• Packair Airfreight  international logistics
• Sportsrobe  costumes
• Star Waggons  hair and make-up trailers
• Star Waggons  star trailers
• Technicolor Digital Intermediates  digital intermediate
• Technicolor Digital Intermediates  opticals

Also Known As:

Gourou de l'amour, Le (Canada: French title)
Love Guru, Der (Germany)
Untitled Mike Myers Project (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for crude and sexual content throughout, language, some comic violence and drug references.

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

USA | Canada | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | SDDS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Sweden:Btl | Canada:G (Québec) | Singapore:NC-16 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #44134) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | France:U | UK:12A | Ireland:15A | Netherlands:12 | Finland:K-11

Filming Locations:

Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Michael De Luca Productions

Goofs:

Continuity: In Coach Cherkov's office the ceiling tile around Pitka's head suddenly rotates forty-five degrees before he leaves.

Quotes:

Jacques Grande: I'm going to make you a Quebec Pizza!
Prudence Roanoke: Oh, what is that?
Jacques Grande: Pop tart wid de ketchup. She's a good.

Movie Connections:

References Nine to Five (1980)

Soundtrack:

The Hockey Theme

Bad karma or just bad movie-making? The Love Guru is a contender for worst film ever made

I don't throw this statement around lightly. As someone who frequently reads reviews, I find that it is thrown around far too often, especially when there are so many bad movies out there. But I can say, without a doubt in my mind, that The Love Guru is the worst movie I've ever seen. It has officially dethroned classics such as Die Hard Dracula and Dark Harvest 2: The Maize. Those movies were made on minuscule budgets by no-talents. In comparison, The Love Guru was made on a huge budget by Mike Meyers, the creator of comedy classics Austin Powers and Wayne's World, which makes this train wreck of a film all the more painful to watch.

With The Love Guru, you can tell Meyers is trying to create another success along the lines of Austin Powers, but failing miserably. The thing about Austin Powers was despite being a dumb comedy, the movie had a likable, fun protagonist. In Meyer's latest outing, we get the Guru Pitka, a Charles Manson look-alike who has an obsession with penises. It's somewhat fitting that he resembles Charles Manson, a notorious cult leader, as by the movies end I had a strange urge to kill myself. Not only is the Guru creepy, he's also very unfunny. Whether he's making lame puns about "life" or talking about penises, he never manages to elicit any laughs whatsoever. It could be that his jokes are just bad. Certainly using jokes straight out of a children's joke book isn't a recipe for success. It could also be the fact that Meyers is so desperate for a laugh, he himself laughs at every joke and continuously looks at the audience, attempting to entice them to laugh along with him. You get the sense that he realizes the jokes are unfunny and the glances at the audience are his last failed attempts at getting a few laughs. Guru Pitka's character development just adds injury to the insult. One minute Pitka is being hailed as a spiritual healer who lives to help people and the next minute he's insulting a midget for no particular reason. There's no consistency to the character at all, which is what this movie is missing in comparison to Meyer's last few. Wayne Campbell and Austin Powers felt like real characters, where the Guru doesn't really have any character; he randomly does whatever moves the plot along forward.

Speaking of plot, the storyline is almost as ill-conceived as the title character. A stupid plot in a comedy is acceptable if it manages to be funny, but there's nothing amusing about a Guru's quest to go on the Oprah show. That's just plain stupid. It would help if the film wasn't filled with every cliché ever known to cinema-goers, but it is. The Guru has a self-revelation at the end and changes his greedy ways. The good guys triumph. And of course, Blur's "Song 2" plays during one of the hockey sequences, which has become the most commonly used (and groan-inducing) tune for any sports-related film.

Even if you can put aside the annoyingness of the Guru Pitka, the movie still fails to deliver anything remotely funny. The most common joke is to have a characters name resemble something vulgar, such as "Dick Pants" or some other Grade 3 level joke. The next most common is the Guru's constant repeating of "TM" after one of his catchphrases. It wasn't funny the first time, what made Meyers think it would be funny the tenth or fifteenth? There's also the repetition of jokes from Austin Powers, ranging from the plane to even the casting of Verne Troyer, the midget who made one of his only popular appearances in the Powers films as Mini-Me. Finally, there are the gags that are just plain lame. These involve elephants humping each other, the Guru wearing a chastity belt, the Guru having a battle using mops soaked in urine, the Guru sticking his head up his own ass (which is actually far less funny than it sounds), the Guru getting punched in the groin, the Guru doing battle with a rooster and the Guru engaging in two very long song and dance numbers on the Sitar, one a rendition of Dolly Parton's "9 to 5", the other a ear-splitting variation on "Space Cowboy" by Steve Miller Band. Both are in there for no particular reason whatsoever (and I really do hope it wasn't for laughs).

The other actors are fairly bad, although they really don't have much to work with. Jessica Alba continues her tradition of playing practically the same exact character, giggling and acting ditsy. Justin Timberlake is atrocious as Jacque Grande, although