There are good movies. There are bad movies. There are movies so bad they're good (though, strangely, not the reverse). And once in a while there is a movie so bad that it takes you to a place beyond good and evil and abandons you there, shivering and alone. Watching The Love Guru (Paramount Pictures) is a spiritual experience of a sort, but not the sort that its creator and star, Mike Myers, intended. 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. In the course of those long minutes, Myers leads you on a journey deep inside himself, to the source from whence his comedy springs—and it's about as much fun as a tour of someone's large intestine.The Happening has received reviews nearly as bad. How does M Night Shyamalan keep getting funding for his films (and big movie stars to appear in them?)
Both he and Myers show what can happen when creative control is centred for too long in one person.
Ah, another beautifully crafted film review.
ReplyDeleteEven I was inspired to quote from the NYTs review & do a post on it a day ago Steve.
Mind you, I have never been a fan of Myer's work. Hated the Austin Powers shtick, just plain not funny - to me.
Yes Caz, that NYT review was pretty good too. A lot of the nasty reviews seem to find it particularly annoying that they liked Myers in the past, but now find that he really does seem obsessed with the scatological.
ReplyDeleteFor the record, I liked Austin Powers 1 quite a lot, thought the second one was pushing it too far, and didn't see the third.