Fans of the spy-spoof franchise will no doubt be queuing in their droves to spend 90 minutes being entertained by Myers' new creation, Guru Pitka –– but they are likely to leave disappointed.

Myers plays an American orphan, raised in India by gurus. He then returns to the States as a self-help therapist hoping to achieve celebrity status.

If you believe the rumours, the reason for the long delay between films is Myers' insistence on perfecting his new comic creations on a number of live audiences in intimate comedy clubs.

On the evidence of The Love Guru, this is either pure fallacy or incredibly ineffective.

The central character is possibly the worst thing about this dire movie and Myers seems to be simply rehashing the charming, buffoon role, which served him so well as Austin Powers.

But while Powers is charismatic, Guru Pitka is simply unlikeable and unfunny. And while the humour is based on the same formula as Austin Powers –– slapstick violence and bawdy word play –– it falls dismally short of its far superior forerunner.

The slapstick comes in the form of pint-sized Austin Powers veteran Verne Troyer being abused, while the immensely talented Ben Kingsley degrades himself as cross-eyed Guru Tugginmypudah, who teaches his students lessons by having them hit each other with urine-soaked mops.

While this was exactly the kind of humour I was expecting from The Love Guru, it is done so heavy-handedly it fails to even provoke a smile, let alone the belly laughs Myers was no doubt expecting.

Director Marco Schnabel's sense of comic timing leaves a great deal to be desired as he laboriously spells out every joke –– clearly pitching his film to the lowest common denominator.

The lazy script and badly conceived central character contribute to make The Love Guru a laugh-free comedy which is bound to leave a sizable dent in Myers' credibility –– but based on this performance, probably not his ego.

When the credits finally did roll on this painful, seemingly endless pile of tripe, I was left to reflect on the hour and a half of my life I had just wasted.