No love for "Guru"

For comedy lovers, the last two weekends have been plagued by sadness, as “The Love Guru” and “Get Smart” reminded viewers of all that is wrong with American comedies.\nNow don’t get me wrong – there is definitely a place for ridiculous movies. I own both DVDs of “The Best of Will Ferrell” and my library smells of rich mahogany (did I mention that I quote “Anchorman” frequently?). That being said, lewd jokes and clever one-liners do not a good movie make. \nExhibit A: Mike Myers’ latest lesson in lame, “The Love Guru.” Although Myers proved in the Austin Powers trilogy and on Saturday Night Live that he is a master of quotable sayings (“excellent” anybody?), in “Guru” he fails about as gloriously as the writer of a $62-million film can. Sans a believable story line and credible acting (Justin Timberlake co-stars), the movie relies solely on its not-too-original quips to get laughs. \nHalfway through “Guru” I was sick of the potty jokes that even the movie’s co-star Jessica Alba didn’t seem to find funny. Audiences nationwide agreed, as the movie raked in a dismal $13,907,130 in its opening weekend. \nWith rising production costs, it is no surprise that Hollywood big wigs are reluctant to invest in smaller, stripped-down (and dare I say, potentially funny) comedies, especially with “Dodgeball”’s $167,722,310 worldwide gross lingering in recent memory. But perhaps Myers’ failure will serve to qualify the recent comedy go-to formula. “Guru” proved that the recipe for success is not necessarily an SNL alumnus plus a $50 million budget. \nThough I’m sure this weekend’s disaster does not spell the end for big-budget comedies, it underscores their weaknesses. For those of us sick of Myers and company, comedy’s saving grace lies in the smaller studios and films. In 2006, “Little Miss Sunshine” racked up $100.4 million worldwide, and it only cost $8 million to produce, and last year’s surprise smash “Juno” took home $229.2 million and four Oscar nominations on a meager $7.5 million budget. \nFor lovers of clever writing and nuanced performances, “Juno” quenched a bitter thirst. News flash: Real life is funny, and manages to be so in an infinite number of ways. I am sick of being thrown the same cliched stories about washed-up sports stars or sex-obsessed middle-aged men. I want to laugh at the terrible family road trips and average joes dealing with real-world problems. More comedies should let us laugh at the flaws and missteps of real people and not of overblown caricatures. \nPerhaps the dismal performance of “The Love Guru” will force studios to rethink what their audiences can swallow. Hopefully in the end, the Guru Pitka’s great mission will have been to help allow more films like “Juno” to be born.