The Love Guru
Paramount Pictures | Release Date: June 20, 2008 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
24
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 33 Critic Reviews
Positive:
2
Mixed:
10
Negative:
21
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
Christian Science MonitorPeter Rainer
What links all these characters is Myers's gift for antic, elfin burlesque. He's like a second-best Peter Sellers. Read full review
63
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
Occasional bursts of comedy keep things from becoming unbearable but whenever Myers tries to get even a little serious or advance the "plot," the desire to take a nap becomes almost overpowering. Read full review
60
Film ThreatStina Chyn
To be sure, The Love Guru is incredibly funny. Side-splitting laughter only stops when the movie does, so don't expect it to linger all the way to the parking lot. Read full review
58
Portland OregonianM. E. Russell
I still kind of find myself admiring the actor, and the film. Love Guru is insane and self-indulgent but also fully committed, and there's a surprising undercurrent of earnestness to its philosophy portions. Read full review
50
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
Piles dumb gag upon dumb gag - it's like benign pummeling. Occasionally, you just have to laugh. Read full review
50
TimeRichard Corliss
The Love Guru is a shambling, hit-or-miss thing, like an old Laurel and Hardy two-reeler. And like the situations those comics often got into, this movie is a fine mess. Read full review
50
USA TodayClaudia Puig
Enraptured by bathroom humor that doesn't even reach sophomoric standards. It's more on the level of preschool. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
A disappointment, but it's not a disaster, and that's at least something. Read full review
42
Seattle Post-IntelligencerTravis Nichols
If you're a Toronto native or a big-time hockey geek, there are enough little in jokes to probably carry you through the leaden pacing and barrel-scraping gross-out humor, but it's an awfully dull ride for the rest of us. Read full review
42
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
Newcomers to the Mike Myers experience will leave this love train early. Read full review
40
VarietyBrian Lowry
So relentlessly juvenile as to merit a new twist on the PG-13 rating -- one that strongly cautions not only those under 13 but anyone much above it, too. Read full review
40
Los Angeles TimesJan Stuart
The film's sunniest moments occur whenever song preempts all the fighting and smirking. Myers leads the cast in sitar-accompanied covers of such Bollywood favorites as "9 to 5" and Steve Miller's "The Joker," revealing a glimmer of the cross-cultural romp that could have been. Read full review
38
Chicago TribuneMichael Phillips
The Love Guru”does not bring out Myer's best, and aside from a deft early Bollywood parody, there’s nothing visually to help the fun along. Read full review
33
The A.V. ClubNathan Rabin
Myers combines his love of references, silly names, and mindless repetition by having his guru use "Mariska Hargitay" as a greeting/mantra. The first time it's employed, it's merely unfunny; by the 13th or 40th time, it's almost hypnotic in its awfulness. Read full review
33
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
Myers is trying for another of his endearingly hormonal imp-egomaniacs, but hidden behind a wavy beard, a wax-curled mustache, and an astoundingly ugly squashed fake nose, he's a little too grotesque. Read full review
30
The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt
Not only does the film stumble badly from one skit to another, the skits themselves have too much dead air. Read full review
30
Village VoiceElla Taylor
Now and again some pungent writing leaks through to poke fun at the excruciating banality of guru wisdom. But mostly it’s dreary dick jokes and elephant poop, slack directing by Marco Schnabel, and, of all fatal errors, Mike Myers, shooting for cuddly. Read full review
30
Washington PostJohn Anderson
The results are a wheezy, tired attempt to milk more laughs out of the '60s, by doing exactly what "Austin Powers" did. Read full review
30
Chicago ReaderAndrea Gronvall
This Mike Myers vehicle exemplifies American comedy's continuing slide into infantilism. Read full review
25
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Myers has made some funny movies, but this film could have been written on toilet walls by callow adolescents. Read full review
25
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
Adam Sandler can breathe a sigh of relief: Thanks to this crude, bafflingly unfunny comedy from fellow SNL alum Mike Myers, Sandler can rest assured that his "You Don't Mess With The Zohan" won't go down as the worst movie of 2008. Read full review
25
New York PostKyle Smith
The Love Guru is even funnier than "Wayne's World" or "Austin Powers." Not. Read full review
25
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
The Love Guru is a comedy like the Leafs are a hockey team. Read full review
25
Miami HeraldConnie Ogle
Insulting to anyone with a healthy sense of humor and the simple desire to laugh. Read full review
25
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
This is the first time we've seen Myers in the flesh since he committed assault and battery on Dr. Seuss, and I wish the cat had stayed in the hat. Read full review
20
Austin ChronicleJosh Rosenblatt
It recycles gags from earlier and better Myers movies and hopes that the audience won't notice because they're too busy staring at Timberlake's bursting Speedo. Read full review
20
NPRBob Mondello
None of them -- not one, not for a moment -- is remotely funny. Read full review
20
New York Daily NewsJoe Neumaier
An atrocious, idiotic 88 minutes of anti-entertainment. To borrow word-shtick from the guru Pitka, it's AWFUL as in, "Anyone Watching Feels, Um, Loser-ish." Read full review
12
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Ninety minutes pass like an eternity. Verdict: Down for the count. Read full review
10
SalonStephanie Zacharek
Offensive to Hindus. Never mind the Hindus; The Love Guru is offensive to pretty much anyone with a brain. Read full review
0
The New York TimesA.O. Scott
The Love Guru is downright antifunny, an experience that makes you wonder if you will ever laugh again. Read full review
0
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
The road taken by The Love Guru could hardly be lower, and leads nowhere. Read full review
0
SlateDana Stevens
This tale of a guru who brings joy to all who meet him is the most joy-draining 88 minutes I've ever spent outside a hospital waiting room. Read full review
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