Do I make you feel deja vu, baby?

By Steven Zeitchik

If 2007 brought the summer of the threequel, it's hard not feel as if this will be the summer of the unintentional sequel. First Pixar's "Wall-E" raised eyebrows with its pitch-perfect imitation -- in cuteness, voice and concept -- of Short Circuit's Johnny Number 5. Now some of the new trailers for "Love Guru" make it seem as if we've seen it all before in a Mike Myers film; it's Austin Powers by way of an ashram.

In the trailer shown during Monday's Stanley Cup finals game on NBC, Myers can be seen with a reptilian act that's pure Dr. Evil and an impish cluelessness that's pure Powers. The schtick is the same; the impression is the same; even Mini-Me has taken a break from his VH1 obligations to reprise his role. The only difference is an Indian accent and more hair.

Don't get us wrong -- if you've got a character that works, milk it. Hey, Steve Martin did it pretty much through the 1980's. But it would be nice to see someone as versatile as Myers take a shot with a new persona.

Then again, you've got to hand out at least a few daring points to the studios this summer. Apart from a couple of fish-in-a-barrel nostalgia  plays -- um, we mean bold new efforts from the creators of "Sex and the City" and "Indiana Jones" -- this is a year when so many studios are forsaking the retread route and trying to create something new. "Iron Man" is already the story of the summer, a character from out of nowhere dominating the box office, while "Tropic Thunder" may not be far behind as a franchise-in-waiting or at least a big grosser.

Even with old reliables like "Dark Knight" and "The Incredible Hulk" coming up, there are still new superhero creations like "Hancock."

Let's just hope Will Smith doesn't sound like Alotta Fagina.

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