# The Love Guru
*The Love Guru* is a 2008 American comedy film starring [Mike Myers](https://www.edgepedia.org/mike-myers) as Guru Pitka, an American raised in an Indian ashram who returns to the United States to build a self-help career and is hired to mend the marriage of a star hockey player. Directed by Marco Schnabel and written by Mike Myers and Graham Gordy, it was Myers's first live-action lead in an original character since the *Austin Powers* films, and it was distributed by [Paramount Pictures](https://www.edgepedia.org/paramount-pictures).[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/64687-THE-LOVE-GURU) • [2](https://www.paramountpictures.com/movies/the-love-guru)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | June 20, 2008 (wide, domestic), Paramount Pictures; PG-13 for crude and sexual content throughout, language, some comic violence and drug references[3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Love-Guru-The) |
| Running time | 87 minutes (the BBFC certified a cut of about 83 minutes for UK home entertainment)[3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Love-Guru-The) • [4](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/the-love-guru-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc00ntq4mde) |
| Principal cast | Mike Myers (Guru Pitka), Jessica Alba (Jane Bullard), Justin Timberlake (Jacques Grande), Romany Malco (Darren Roanoke), Ben Kingsley (Guru Tugginmypudha), Verne Troyer (Coach Cherkov)[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/64687-THE-LOVE-GURU) • [5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-love-guru/) |
| Box office | $13,907,130 opening weekend in 3,012 theaters; $32,235,793 domestic; $40,877,556 worldwide against a $62,000,000 production budget[6](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0811138/) |
| Critical reception | 13% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer from 175 reviews and 33% from audiences; a Metascore of 24 based on 33 critic reviews[7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/love_guru) • [5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-love-guru/) |
| Production companies | Nomoneyfun Films, with distribution by Paramount Pictures and Spyglass Entertainment[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/64687-THE-LOVE-GURU) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Pitka (Mike Myers) was left at the gates of an ashram in India as a child and raised by gurus, including Guru Tugginmypudha ([Ben Kingsley](https://www.edgepedia.org/ben-kingsley)) and Guru Satchabigknoba ([Omid Djalili](https://www.edgepedia.org/omid-djalili)). He moves back to the United States to seek fame and fortune in self-help and spirituality, vying for the top spot on television talk shows against his rival, the real-life self-help author [Deepak Chopra](https://www.edgepedia.org/deepak-chopra), who appears as himself.[2](https://www.paramountpictures.com/movies/the-love-guru) • [5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-love-guru/)
His methods are tested when the [Toronto Maple Leafs](https://www.edgepedia.org/toronto-maple-leafs) star Darren Roanoke ([Romany Malco](https://www.edgepedia.org/romany-malco)) is left by his wife, who takes up with the rival athlete Jacques "Le Coq" Grande ([Justin Timberlake](https://www.edgepedia.org/justin-timberlake)). Roanoke's slump alarms the team's owner, Jane Bullard (Jessica Alba), and Coach Cherkov (Verne Troyer). Pitka must reconcile the couple and restore Roanoke's game so the team can break the 40-year-old "Bullard Curse" and win the Stanley Cup.[8](https://www.tributemovies.com/movie/the-love-guru/15427/)
## Development and production
**Myers's long development process.** Myers described taking three or four years between films because he creates, writes, produces, and then films them; he spent roughly two and a half to three years developing *The Love Guru*. Before writing, he performed the character in small New York theaters in what he called secret shows for about a year and a half, a process he compared to the [Marx Brothers](https://www.edgepedia.org/marx-brothers) touring their material, and which he had also used for *Austin Powers*. He summarized the premise while promoting *Shrek the Third* in May 2007: "He is a Canadian raised in India, becomes a guru, and helps the Toronto Maple Leafs win the Stanley Cup."[9](https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/20237-mike-myers-on-the-love-guru) • [10](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/mike-myers-unveils-new-character-in-the-love-guru/)
Filming was scheduled to begin in August 2007, and the film opened in the United States on June 20, 2008.[9](https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/20237-mike-myers-on-the-love-guru) • [3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Love-Guru-The) The credited crew includes cinematographer Peter Deming, editors Lee Haxall, Gregory Perler, and Billy Weber, production designer Charles Wood, and composer George S. Clinton.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/64687-THE-LOVE-GURU) The supporting cast also includes [Meagan Good](https://www.edgepedia.org/meagan-good), John Oliver, Stephen Colbert, Jim Gaffigan, Jessica Simpson, and [Kanye West](https://www.edgepedia.org/kanye-west).[4](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/the-love-guru-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc00ntq4mde) • [5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-love-guru/)
## Reception
**Box office.** The film opened fourth domestically with $13,907,130, which represented 43.1% of its final domestic gross, and fell 62% in its second weekend. It finished with $32,235,793 domestically (78.9% of its total) and $40,877,556 worldwide, about 0.6 times its $62,000,000 production budget.[6](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0811138/) • [3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Love-Guru-The) The largest international markets were the United Kingdom ($2,539,175) and Australia ($2,118,102).[6](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0811138/)
**Criticism.** Reception was strongly negative. Rotten Tomatoes' critics consensus describes "far too many gross-out gags, and too few earned laughs, ranking as one of Mike Myers' poorest outings," and the site recorded 13% positive reviews from 175 critics.[7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/love_guru) Metacritic assigned a score of 24, categorized as generally unfavorable, from 33 critic reviews; A.O. Scott of *The New York Times* called it "downright antifunny."[5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-love-guru/) The British Board of Film Classification noted frequent moderate sex references and moderate language, including punned uses of stronger language in both English and Hindi.[4](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/the-love-guru-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc00ntq4mde)
## Cultural commentary and response
The film's portrayal of Indian spirituality drew scholarly and religious attention. Shilpa S. Davé, a scholar of South Asian American cultural performance, analyzes the film in her book *Indian Accents: Brown Voice and Racial Performance in American Television and Film*, arguing that Myers's performance as Guru Pitka functions as brownface and repeats stereotypes that [Peter Sellers](https://www.edgepedia.org/peter-sellers) created fifty years earlier, with the Indian guru role predicated on stereotypical cultural performances for American consumption.[11](https://academic.oup.com/illinois-scholarship-online/book/30247/chapter-abstract/257223371)
ISKCON North America issued an official statement describing the film as a satire, "a genre that typically replaces reality with contradictions and exaggerations," and encouraging the Hindu-American community to view it in that context and to draw on "the tolerance and broadmindedness that are hallmarks of our faith."
## References
1. [The Love Guru (2008), AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/64687-THE-LOVE-GURU)
2. [The Love Guru, Paramount Pictures](https://www.paramountpictures.com/movies/the-love-guru)
3. [The Love Guru (2008), The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Love-Guru-The)
4. [The Love Guru, British Board of Film Classification](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/the-love-guru-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc00ntq4mde)
5. [The Love Guru Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-love-guru/)
6. [The Love Guru (2008), Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0811138/)
7. [The Love Guru, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/love_guru)
8. [The Love Guru (2008) Plot and Synopsis, Tribute Movies](https://www.tributemovies.com/movie/the-love-guru/15427/)
9. [Mike Myers on The Love Guru, ComingSoon.net](https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/20237-mike-myers-on-the-love-guru)
10. [Mike Myers Unveils New Character In "The Love Guru", Rotten Tomatoes editorial](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/mike-myers-unveils-new-character-in-the-love-guru/)
11. [Shilpa S. Davé, "Indian Gurus in the American Marketplace," *Indian Accents* (University of Illinois Press)](https://academic.oup.com/illinois-scholarship-online/book/30247/chapter-abstract/257223371)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of 2007 to 2008 › Released in 2008*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license