This weekend THE LOVE GURU, Mike Meyers’ return to live-action feature film, made a paltry $14 million at the box office, making it the second major flop of the summer after May’s SPEED RACER.
Generally I try to avoid judging a book by its cover (or a film by its trailer, rather), but THE LOVE GURU just looked awful in every possible way. Its humor looked it might only appeal to fourteen year olds who enjoy dick and fart jokes and recycled Mike Meyers material. In other words, it looked like the kind of film that was poised to make a lot of money. After all, we do live in a word where films like NORBIT open with $34 million, and most of those horrible spoof movies (MEET THE SPARTANS, SUPERHERO MOVIE) pull in around $20 million on their first weekends. It’s time likes these where it’s pretty hard to not somehow lose faith in moviegoing audiences sometimes, and wonder what the heck all those people were smoking.
Read the rest of this entry »
GET SMART
I loved GET SMART as a kid, so when I heard that particular television show was yet the latest to receive a feature film treatment, I was wary. Then I heard Steve Carell was cast in the role of bumbling, inept spy, Maxwell Smart, and small hopes were kindled, because if anyone was perfect for the role it was him. Now that the trailer has come out, I can even say I’m a little excited, because it looks like those involved totally nailed the silly spirit of the original show. It’s also the ideal vehicle for someone with Carell’s comedic talents, if the “I’m so happy” scene doesn’t prove it. Also I’m pretty sure I’ve never heard anyone in a film ever say “We’re not people who jam staples into other people’s heads,” let alone see someone actually do that. On a totally unrelated note, when did Anne Hathaway turn into such a hottie?
Watch the trailer here.
THE LOVE GURU
It’s been five years since Mike Myers last live-action performance (I don’t really count 2003’s THE CAT IN THE HAT, because he basically was an animated character in it), so you would think the guy would make a bit of an effort to bring something new to the table in his new film THE LOVE GURU. Instead, based on this trailer, we just get the same old Mike Myer jokes recycled. Again, there’s dance numbers, the border-line embarrassing comedic use of a little person, there’s a spin on the “Mole” spiel he did in AUSTIN POWERS: GOLDMEMBER, and your run of the mill penis jokes. Sure, there are some gems here (The “Then my Mom got a job” bit, for example), but it’s all just jokes we’ve seen him do too many times before. Actually, the funniest thing going in this trailer is – of all things – Justin Timberlake’s humorous Québécois impression.
As a Canadian though, I do have to chuckle at the fact that long-time Toronto Maple Leafs fan Mike Myers found a way for his team to actually be Stanley Cup contenders, even if it’s in a fictional world. Sure, a bit hard to believe, given the current state of the team, but no more unbelievable then Jessica Alba playing their general manager or Romany Malco playing their star player (seriously, he looks ridiculous in the Leafs uniform).
Watch the trailer here.
Read the rest of this entry »
Loading ...
