Blu-Ray Review: The Love Guru

The Love Guru can very easily be called a really dumb movie. But unlike most dumb comedies these days, it actually made me laugh. Perhaps it is because a lot of Mike Myers’ golden lines are ad-libbed, but the humor in The Love Guru isn’t as predictable so the surprise factor goes a long way. And while I won’t say I think everyone needs to rush out to buy the movie, I do think it is worth renting at the very least.

The Love Guru is an "East meets West" comedy starring Myers, Jessica Alba, Justin Timberlake, and Romany Malco. Not counting his voice-over work, Mike Myers makes his return to the screen after a five-year absence as the Guru Pitka, who is trying to beat Deepak Chopra as the world’s best self-help guru. Pitka and his team decide that helping a hockey player fix his marriage and win the Stanley Cup will be their key to success. And it is that tale that The Love Guru follows.

Pitka is a popular relationship guru with some popular followers — Jessica Simpson, Val Kilmer, and Mariska Hargitay make cameos. His teachings don’t really follow any religion and even his greeting is made up, hence Mariska Hargitay’s appearance. Some of Pitka’s antics are the same potty humor we come to expect from Mike Myers, like the extended diarrhea noises in the bar or game of stink mop where they fight with mops dipped in urine. Of course, what would a movie about a love guru be without the guru’s own romance?

Guru Pitka is like a fake philosophy-touting Austin Powers, with similar quirks and gags as found in the Austin Powers flicks. But those work for Myers so while sex gags, catch phrases, and silly costumes aren’t new to the big screen, they still garner giggles from the audience. The plot is somewhat petty and perhaps considered racist — he’s a white dude speaking with a bad Indian accent — but if not taken seriously, this movie is still 86 minutes of entertainment. I don’t think it has hit the mark of Austin Powers, so it may not be a home run of a return to the big screen, but as I said earlier, it is a dumb movie.

Guru is on DVD and Blu-ray now. I know that Blu-ray is more expensive, but if you haven’t watched it yet you really should. Even if you aren’t someone who can spot the difference between something shot on film versus video, you will definitely notice the difference in quality seen on Blu-ray. The picture is clearer and more detailed, but at the same time smoother. The difference is similar to that of a cheap digital camera's photograph as compared to a high-quality professional photograph. That's just part of the beauty seen in the 1080p high definition transfer. And if you have surround sound set up, you're in for a treat because Guru is in Dolby Digital TrueHD — which uses surround channels to help get a crisp sound to complement the visual beauty of Blu-ray.

There are several special features on the DVD set. There are some of the typical features: deleted scenes, outtakes, and a couple of behind-the-scenes looks at how they made The Love Guru. They look at the thoughts behind Myers’ character, how they trained the actors in the hockey rink, and some of the puppetry in the movie. However, unlike many other movies out there, all the special features are also presented in high definition. I think the neatest feature is the second disc in the set, though. It is a digital copy (it’s protected, folks!) so you can easily put the movie you purchase on your computer, iPod, or other portable device so you can watch it whenever or wherever you want. I know I like the ease of putting a movie I’ve spent money to buy on my iPod instead of having to also buy it on iTunes to be able to watch it at the gym or on a plane.