It appears as though Mike Myers’s new movie, The Love Guru, has offended certain Hindu leaders by stereotyping and lampooning the Hindu culture.
In the movie, Myers plays the wacky Guru Pitka, who is hired by the Toronto Maple Leafs (in case you don’t know your sports, they play hockey–and, just for the record, “Leafs” looks much prettier on a jersey than “Leaves” would) to get their star player back together with his wife before the playoffs. The movie also stars Jessica Alba as the team…owner…? (Really?) And Justin Timberlake as a French-Canadian hockey player (which is equally believable).
Of course, it’s really no surprise that the Hindus are offended. Actually, I’m guessing that pretty much anyone with a sense of humor will most likely be offended. Heck, I was offended just by watching the trailer. I’m offended by the fact that not even the trailer is funny. As a hockey fan, I’m offended by the general lampooning of my favorite sport. I’m also a bit saddened that, after taking several years off from live-action movies, a great comedian like Mike Myers hasn’t been able to come up with any new jokes.
Okay, so perhaps certain Leafs fans aren’t actually offended by it (since the movie seems to imply that they actually have a chance of winning the Cup–something that hasn’t happened in my Leafs-fan husband’s lifetime). After all, like my husband, Myers is a Toronto boy and a die hard Leafs fan. But I’m guessing they might still be offended by the fact that the people who created the trailer don’t seem to understand that Toronto is in Canada (since the trailer announces that the world’s second greatest guru is “coming to America!”).
So join the club, Hindus. You’re in good company.
All we can do now is repeat our calming mantra and hope that the movie isn’t as bad as the trailer.
