by jaybob

Created on: July 04, 2008   Last Updated: July 12, 2008

"The Love Guru": The Comedy and the Compassion

Mike Myers' "The Love Guru" is a light hearted satire poking fun at real life spiritual self-help guru, Deepak Chopra. Sharing a friendship and a sense of humor for over fifteen years, Myers and Chopra came to know each other after Myers lost his father and fell into his own spiritual quest to find some meaning in his loss. Chopra's new book, "Why is God Laughing," seems to be a self-help book tailored if not specifically written for Myers himself. Ironically, it would also be around the same time that Chopra publishes his book that Myers would release "The Love Guru" to theatres around the world. For Myers, imitation is still the highest form of admiration.

After his father's death at the end of filming "Goldmember" (2002), Mike Myers descended into a natural phase that we all face at some point in our lives: a deep state of bereavement. After loosing his father, Myers found himself seeking a little enlightenment for the issues in his life. Discovering Deepak Chopra's literature, Myers quickly found a teacher in the message of this physician, philosopher, and new-age author. Eventually becoming friends, they would later share an episode of "Iconoclasts" together on the Sundance channel, speaking collaboratively on their work and personal philosophies. In Chopra's latest book, "Why is God Laughing," a self-help novel about a successful comedian named Mickey who struggles with the loss of his father, Myers writes the foreword for the book, " because he gets the joke." The parallels between the book and Myers' own experience are difficult foresee, but the theme and storyline seem to be of deep reverence for Chopra's longtime friend, Myers.

In classic Myers style, Mike eventually comes up with the character of Maurice Pitka, the love guru. After immersing himself in the recordings and videos of Chopra's self-help literature, it was only a matter of time before Myers' creative juices started flowing, and he started venting through that ever present medium: comedy. The character of Maurice Pitka, a lovable Western born but Indian acculturated self-help teacher who dreams of reaching the level of sagehood accomplished by renown guru, Deepak Chopra, the love guru is probably how Myers himself would have turned out if he had been born in another life. The character was gently groomed through appearances on stage and on TV's American Idol, and when the water seemed warm enough, Myers dived into "The Love Guru" (2008).

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