June
20Mike Myers, the Incredible Shrinking Movie Star
Here’s a curious contradiction: The movie star who talks the most about personal growth seems to be shrinking before our very eyes. In almost all of his interviews hyping his new movie, “The Love Guru,” Mike Myers rambles on about his spiritual mentors, about Deepak Chopra’s inspirational teachings and about how he’s grown as a human being. Yet what he delivers as an artist reflects a once-promising comic who seems to have run out of ideas and inspiration.
Myers has not made a new movie in five years since “Cat in the Hat,” which didn’t work. He has been the voice of Shrek, but there’s been nothing in his work to remind us of the comedic inventiveness of “Austin Powers.”
The man who once seemed like the next Peter Sellers, or at least Jerry Lewis, who once ebulliently shouted “Groovy, baby, groovy” or “Touch my monkey” has now given us a movie so stillborn that, in the words of A.O. Scott of the New York Times, “makes you wonder if you will ever laugh again.”
And the Times, by the way, carries no ad whatsoever announcing the opening of “The Love Guru.” A Paramount spokesperson explains that it’s simply a question of demographics – Myers’ movie aims for a younger audience than that offered by the Gray Lady.
One wonders if there’s also a subplot here – it’s hard to remember any major film with a major star that didn’t earn a full page ad. The Los Angeles Times, after all, carries a full-page, full-color ad for “The Love Guru.” It’s embellished by a quote attributed to someone named Scott Mantz of Access Hollywood, who feels it’s “The funniest movie of the year!” Rumor has it, it’s the first movie Scott Mantz actually saw this year.
The face-off between “The Love Guru” and “Get Smart” had been billed as the “battle of the laffers” (Variety slanguage), but the betting now favors “Get Smart” by a considerable margin. Both films hinge on the performance and public perception of their stars, Myers and Steve Carell. Therein lies a study in contrasts: Carell manages to present himself as the consummate “good guy” who still can’t quite believe his rise to stardom. Myers, on the other hand, comes across as the consummate “difficult actor” – witness last week’s stinging portrayal in Entertainment Weekly.
In his interviews, as the story points out, Myers dwells on his “dark period” following the death of his father and his seeking out of spiritual mentors. He comes across as a man who is finding it increasingly difficult to get a laugh out of life.
Alas, that syndrome also is coming across in his movies.
B.O. UPDATE: "Love Guru" finishes a flaccid fourth with $14 million.
To read more about the weekend box office, click here.
Subscribe to Peter Bart's Blog Feed
Myers should have taken over the Pink Panther franchise...as much as I love Steve Martin....Myers would have been a better fit.
Posted by: Martin, NY, NY | 6/23/2008 4:28:37 PM
Mike has given so much to our pop culture landscape over the years that it''s HARDLY fair to call him "the incredible shrinking movie star" for the sake of giving yourself an attention getting headline for you dumb blog. This guy has done everything from second city, voiceovers, SNL, movies (not to mention videos with Madonna). He''s HAD a great career whether he has a recent bad turnout at the BO or not, so I think your post simply needs one big collective: whatever.
Posted by: Jeff in Studio City | 6/23/2008 11:59:49 AM
New York Times ad means nothing for this kind of movies.
On 4/13 (Sunday), New York Times also didn't carry any ads of "The Forbidden Kingdom", which later went on becoming a box office hit in US.
Posted by: MARIA | 6/20/2008 7:25:35 PM