The Love Guru (2008)

The Love Guru is a 2008 romantic comedy film directed by Marco Schnabel in his directorial debut. It was written and produced by Mike Myers, who was the leading cast-member along with Jessica Alba, Justin Timberlake, Romany Malco, Meagan Good, Verne Troyer, John Oliver, Omid Djalili, and Ben Kingsley. The film follows Pitka (Myers), a guru who is tasked with revitalizing the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey team.

Myers came up with the concept of a Guru character in the late 1990s. The aforementioned character was initially planned to appear in the Austin Powers franchise, but was left unimplemented. The film came from Myers' desire to make a hockey movie, expressing wish fulfillment in the film's plot. Filming commenced in Toronto, Canada in August 2007. Before release, the film's portrayal of Hinduism received divided responses from Hindu audiences, who remained cautious at the film's handling of cultural themes. Paramount Pictures, the film's main distributor, eventually enabled pre-screenings for select representatives of the Hindu American Foundation (HAF), who concluded that the film was not problematic.

The Love Guru was released in the United States on June 20, 2008, by Paramount, with the United Kingdom and Germany getting releases later that year in August and October, respectively, albeit with a different distribution partner for the latter. It was panned by critics and audiences who criticized its humor, screenplay, and Schnabel's direction, often being considered a low point in Myers' career and one of the worst films ever made. It was a box-office failure, grossing $40.9 million on a budget of $62 million. At the 29th Golden Raspberry Awards, the film won three of its seven nominations, including Worst Picture.