The Mike Myers movie so bad it killed an entire genre: “He did just what I thought he would do”
Making a movie so bad that it virtually killed his career was a blow that Mike Myers has yet to recover from, if he even wants to, but it wasn’t the first time that the actor and comedian had starred in something so bad that it was immediately designated as the very last of its kind.
Since The Love Guru was resoundingly trashed by anyone unfortunate enough to see it in the summer of 2008, when it tanked at the box office and won three Razzies for ‘Worst Picture’, ‘Worst Screenplay’, and ‘Worst Actor’, which wasn’t a good look when he wrote, produced, and played the lead role, Myers hasn’t taken top billing in a single film.
His Netflix series, The Pentaverate, is the only time in the last two decades he’s been billed first in the cast of anything, and at no point did it ever rank as one of the streaming service’s ten most-watched shows. He’s only been in three pictures since The Love Guru, all in minor supporting roles, but at least he’ll be getting that long-awaited hit when Shrek 5 arrives in cinemas in 2027.
Based on how at ease he appears to be with his Hollywood exile, the most likely scenario for Myers returning to the spotlight in a live-action capacity is that long-mooted fourth Austin Powers flick, which may or may not even happen. Nostalgia-driven sequels have been hit-and-miss to put it lightly, so perhaps he’d be better off if the shagadelic secret agent remained in cold storage.
Either way, it’s unlikely that the Saturday Night Live alum will be able to kill any more careers of genres again, but it’s almost impressive that he managed to do both. He only made it so that he didn’t get sued, and 2003’s The Cat in the Hat was so bad that in the aftermath of its withering reception, it was decreed that no more Dr Seuss adaptations would ever be given the green light if they weren’t animated.
On paper, Myers seeking to emulate another one of the era’s biggest comedy stars, Jim Carrey, by burying himself under prosthetics to play an iconic Seuss character wasn’t the worst idea in the world. And yet, it felt as if it was doomed from the start, since it was being made more out of obligation to avoid the courtroom than any sort of tangible creative passion or enthusiasm.
The eight-time Razzie-nominated picture, which only claimed one prize for ‘Worst Excuse for an Actual Movie’ left the children’s author’s widow, Audrey Geisel, so affronted that she issued an edict that all studios have adhered to for the last 20+ years: no more live-action adaptations of her late husband’s work.
“He was my last choice,” she admitted to San Diego Magazine. “He did just what I thought he would do. I know exactly where he came into it and said, ‘Let’s do this’, and ‘Let’s do that’. And it’s just recently that I feel I’m getting Cat out of my litterbox. Fox and Sony would be interested in the animated Horton Hears a Who!, but I don’t think we’re going to do another live-action.”
20th Century Fox did indeed make Horton Hears a Who!, and since then, audiences have seen The Lorax and The Grinch, with the Bill Hader-voiced Cat in the Hat scheduled for release in November 2026. Thanks to Myers, even if the greatest filmmakers in the world wanted to mount a live-action Seuss flick, they can’t.
