Love Guru Netflix
Amie Mandy
Indian spiritual leader Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, who preached a vague philosophy of meditation, materialism and free love, attracted followers from all over the world to his commune in the city of Pune.
In the early 80s the guru allowed his charismatic personal assistant Ma Anand Sheela to buy the 64,000-acre Big Muddy Ranch in remote Wasco County, Oregon, with the intention of building a utopia for his followers, the sannyasins.
This docuseries about a controversial Indian free-love guru and his desire to establish a massive commune of followers in a tiny city in rural Oregon raises questions about cultism, tolerance, and the limits of religious freedom.
What happens when you separate identical triplets at birth? This incredible story of nature vs. nurture (and a nefarious adoption agency) chronicles the story of three long-lost brothers who reunite as adults and discover a disturbing secret about their past.
Guru Pitka is an American-born, India-trained "guru" with a broad accent and wacky facial hair -- many have questioned whether he's an intrinsically racist character. Although Pitka's message to the world is one of love, he pushes that message as a way to gain influence and prestige. Any other messages are overshadowed by the incessant bathroom humor, from elephants defecating on screen to students "training" by striking one another with urine-soaked mops. Pitka is seen pulling various objects from his anus and, in a yoga-mocking sight gag, with his own head up his anus. Other jokes rely on food and diagrams that look like male genitalia. Women are often portrayed as attractive background decor, although many female characters are also strong, assertive, and loving. Jokes play on the stereotype that Indian people work in customer support, and a diminutive character is constantly referred to as "Frodo," "elf," "hobbit," and so on.
Extensive violence throughout (generally played for comedy), including everything from on-ice hockey fight action (a blood-streaked tooth is spat onto the ice) to scuffles. The lead character suffers a bloody attack by a "guard rooster" and is later seen with the rooster's severed head in his teeth; characters punch each other; a mock-comedy bar fight breaks out; a supporting character pulls a bloody piece of glass from a gash in his forehead on-camera.
Constant crude sexual language and references, including (but most definitely not limited to) a character renowned for his endowment and references to erections, masturbation, and oral sex. The title character wears a chastity belt, which is often seen; he also has scantily clad minions. References to pet stylists who became charity workers "going from doggie style to the missionary position." References to syphilis and crude catchphrases like "eatin' ain't cheatin" and the double-entendre "Liquor up front, poker in the rear." References to youthful lesbian experimentation for comedic effect. Oral sex is mimed using a corn dog. A character is praised for her "great rack" and "bell-shaped ass." Multiple genital and erection jokes involving sound effects, whether from striking a chastity belt or the organ in question striking the floor (both mercifully unseen).
A sportscaster makes extensive references to his stint in rehab for the abuse of "peyote buttons and Frangelico." At one point, he relapses on-air. Alcohol is mentioned as a way of enhancing connection and communication. The sing-along finale includes a lyric with the phrase "midnight toker," which another character later repeats while exhaling the smoke of an unknown substance from a hookah.
Parents need to know that the many kids who like Austin Powers are going to be eager to see Mike Myers' latest ribald comedy about a wacky, catchphrase-spouting character in goofy makeup who enjoys vulgar misadventures before finally managing to triumph (especially since it costars Jessica Alba and Justin Timberlake). But this movie has a coarser feel than the Powers trio. The language and sexual innuendoes are constant, unsubtle, and over the top (expect everything from an elephant pooping on screen to references to masturbation and oral sex); there are drinking and drug references; and products and brand names are almost as prevalent as Myers' cheeky grin. That's a whole lot of iffy content to sit through for only a few laughs. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails.
In THE LOVE GURU, Mike Myers plays Guru Pitka, a self-help expert whose mystical and mischievous teachings on love and sex have made him second only to Deepak Chopra in the self-help world. Looking for the big gig that will push him to number one, Pitka takes on the job of repairing the damaged relationship between star hockey player Darren Roanoke (Romany Malco) and his ex-girlfriend -- she left him for a rival goalie, which has thrown off Darren's game and is endangering the team's chances in the playoffs. As a potential romance blooms between Pitka and the team's owner, Jane (Jessica Alba), Pitka takes shortcuts to helping Darren. Will he do the right thing and sacrifice the trappings of success to truly succeed?
For all of The Love Guru's attempts at positive messages, there's a lot of crude comedy to sit through. And while it's hard to say quantitatively whether the film is more or less crude than the Austin Powers films, The Love Guru is certainly less funny. Making fun of self-help is one thing, but Myers wants to pass on wisdom as well as make jokes about passing gas; the movie somehow feels childishly rude and curiously smug at the same time. The problem isn't that Pitka is too much of a departure from Austin Powers -- the problem, in many ways, is that Pitka isn't, from his sex-obsessed ways to his catchphrases to his silly self-confidence.
The Love Guru has a few bright spots -- there are some fun, silly musical numbers, and Stephen Colbert's woozy, boozy sports announcer is always good for a laugh. But those moments are few and far between, and anytime the movie builds up any amount of goodwill on viewers' part, it squanders it with an unfunny excrement or urine joke. Myers has entered the same realm of success as Adam Sandler -- the comedy-killing career "high" where you've made so much money that no one will dare tell you how you might make a better movie -- and the self-satisfied air of The Love Guru is an inevitable byproduct. The Love Guru wants to be smutty and funny, naughty and virtuous; it's a balancing act that Myers simply can't pull off.
Families can talk about the appeal of Mike Myers' over-the-top characters and broad comedic style. What makes characters like Austin Powers and Guru Pitka funny? Are they affectionate caricatures or stereotyped cartoons? Are we expected to laugh at Pitka because he says funny things or because his dress and accent are "funny" to Western eyes and ears? Do you think Myers' portrayal of Pitka is racist? And do you think Pitka's positive messages come through amid all of the fistfights, urine jokes, and sex comedy? Is the message more important than the medium, or is the movie's feel-good philosophy a way to try to dignify lowbrow comedy?
Described as a travel show, Down to Earth combines Bill Nye-style voiceovers with Parts Unknown-like cinematography while chronicling Efron and self-proclaimed wellness guru Darin Olien's journey to find healthy, sustainable lifestyle choices around the globe.
Their exploration takes them to Iceland, France, and briefly a water bar in West Hollywood with Anna Kendrick during the first two episodes. While there, the duo's activities, like their flimsily defined thesis, veer all over the map. We see them visit the Miraculous Healing Waters of Lourdes, make chocolate at an Omnom location in Reykjavk, tour numerous sustainable energy locations (that's where the whole tectonic plates explanation came into play), and get hot and cold stone massages at what I'm pretty sure was a Hilton hotel.
Along the way, Efron and Olien talk about the ways we can take care of ourselves and our planet, eat a lot of really expensive vegan food, do an alarming number of Gollum and Yoda impressions, and get into a heated argument with a French doctor that's never fully explained but is thoroughly uncomfortable. It's a fun enough, silly enough, educational enough trip worth taking if you love Zac or believe you have the capacity to love Zac. But you must love Zac to love Down to Earth.
It's never fully clear what we as viewers are supposed to take away from this excursion aside from some fun facts Efron reads off a script and Olien's profoundly granola vibes. The only through-line in this series I could find was that Zac Efron is in all of it, everyone around him knows how famous he is, and he's saying things about sustainability in a way that's vaguely convincing. It's not resonant, it's not revelatory, it's just a professional himbo going on a vacation paid for by Netflix. And honestly, I'm not mad at it! He had fun, I had fun, Wildcats in the house, etc.
NETFLIX GREENLIGHTS "SNEAKY LINKS: DATING AFTER DARK" SERIESToo Hot To Handle Alum Chloe Veitch to Host New Dating Experiment ShowNetflix today announced its latest dating experiment show Sneaky Links: Dating After Dark. Synopsis: Sneaky Links: Dating After Dark tests a very real phenomenon (a regular late night casual hook up) through a one-of-a-kind dating social experiment. Is your sneaky link 'the one' or are they getting in the way of you finding the one?Chloe Veitch (Too Hot To Handle breakout star, host of Too Hot To Handle: Extra Hot) will host the series. Chloe Veitch Bio and HeadshotSpicy Mari (founder of the relationship consulting firm The Spicy Life) will also join the show as a dating and relationship expert. Spicy Mari Bio and HeadshotProduction Company: ITV America, Nobody's HeroExecutive Producers: Christopher Potts and Jonty Nash (Nobody's Hero), Bernie Schaeffer (ITV America), Viki Kolar and Audrey E. Smith.Format: 10 x 40 minute episodesSeries to premiere Summer 2025. Sneaky Links: Dating After Dark joins Netflix's unmatched lineup of dating shows: Love is Blind, Perfect Match, The Ultimatum: Marry or Move On, The Ultimatum: Queer Love, Love on the Spectrum and more.As part of Netflix's catalog of 100+ games, Chloe Vietch will also appear as a 'love guru' in the upcoming Too Hot to Handle 3, coming July 22, as a host in The Ultimatum: Choices, coming later this year, and previously appeared in the Too Hot to Handle 2 game.
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