Well, for a tempest in a teapot the controversy over Mike Myers' comedy The Love Guru seems to be heating up by the day. CJ Report confirmed that the British Film Institute has responded to Hindu protests, and has issued a statement that the prestigious institution will "not be screening this title nor will be involved with a possible release of it." Now this doesn't mean the film will not be shown in the UK, but the BFI's refusal to support the film must come as a blow to Myers, a committed anglophile.Guru is the story of an American-born guru who returns home to help coach a lovelorn hockey player with a struggling marriage. Sure, it looks silly, and a little stereotypical, but so did The Party and a lot of people seem to like that movie. According to CJ Report, "Hindu groups have recently been approaching film distributors associations, exhibitors groups, regulatory bodies, government ministries, theater owners, etc., in various parts of the world urging them not to distribute/screen The Love Guru till Paramount Pictures makes necessary changes to it." Paramount still maintains that they will screen the film for Hindu audiences, but they have not agreed to make any significant changes to the film.
OK, so maybe The Love Guru is not the best poster child for creative freedoms, but allowing religious groups to determine what is acceptable for audiences is a little frightening for this secular gal. Imagine a world where every film had to pass the standards of a group of 'spiritual censors' -- a world without Life of Brian? No thank you. Regardless of what you think of the film, to allow religious groups to affect the release could have some pretty serious ramifications for other films in the future.
Do you think Myers has crossed a line? Or should he be allowed to make his film as offensive (and apparently unfunny) as he wants?
1. I'm not familiar with the British ratings system, but if it's like ours here in the US, it ain't censorship; it's just a forced boycott.
The real problem that ought to be on everyone's minds is that we, as the American (and global, I suppose) public, we are forced to endure washed up sad-sacks like Myers and M Night [last name] in their latest sure-fire flops. Some people need to STOP MAKING MOVIES.
Posted at 9:26PM on May 13th 2008 by KnifeyJames