Reviews for The Pink Panther
Review - Pink Panther, The
Why I saw this movie: I’ve seen all the Peter Sellers’ Pink Panther Movies several times and think they are hilarious. I like Steve Martin. And Sally and I wanted to see a movie before we went out to dinner at The Village Squire in Crystal Lake.
What I expected: I expected not to like it. Peter Sellers was so good at the role that it was hard for me to imagine anybody, even an actor as good as Steve Martin, could fill his shoes.
What I liked about it: There was a scene with a globe that was pretty funny. There was a second, very quick scene with the same globe that was very funny. And the Clive Owens cameo — where he played 006 (he was considered for 007 but didn’t get the part) — was very, very funny.
What I didn’t like about it: Sellers played the character with outrageous innocence — as thought he had no idea what an idiot he was. Martin can’t quite pull this off. He’s always hamming it up. There were some glaring plot holes too, like why Xania travels to New York.
Plot: A famous soccer coach is murdered and his Pink Panther diamond disappears. Inspector Dreyfus decides to get the bumbling Clouseau to come to Paris to work on the case so that he (Dreyfus) can solve it unbothered by the media and get the credit. Clouseau is aided by Ponton and Nicole, his secretary. He concentrates on Xania, the soccer coach’s girlfriend and follows her to New York and back. He makes a fool of himself and is dismissed from the case, but figures out the solution and shows up to solve it (it was the soccer team’s trainer who didn’t like the coach making fun of him). Xania had the diamond because the coach gave it to her just before the game. Clouseau is a hero.
Bottom line: It wasn’t the worst movie I’ve ever seen. It had its chuckles. Perhaps if the original Pink Panther movies weren’t around to compare this one to, it would have been funnier. I gave it a 6.
Recommendation: Perhaps, if you find a copy someday in your library that you can check out and watch for free, and if you are in a mood to do no thinking whatsoever … I wouldn’t recommend spending any money to see it.
What I expected: I expected not to like it. Peter Sellers was so good at the role that it was hard for me to imagine anybody, even an actor as good as Steve Martin, could fill his shoes.
What I liked about it: There was a scene with a globe that was pretty funny. There was a second, very quick scene with the same globe that was very funny. And the Clive Owens cameo — where he played 006 (he was considered for 007 but didn’t get the part) — was very, very funny.
What I didn’t like about it: Sellers played the character with outrageous innocence — as thought he had no idea what an idiot he was. Martin can’t quite pull this off. He’s always hamming it up. There were some glaring plot holes too, like why Xania travels to New York.
Plot: A famous soccer coach is murdered and his Pink Panther diamond disappears. Inspector Dreyfus decides to get the bumbling Clouseau to come to Paris to work on the case so that he (Dreyfus) can solve it unbothered by the media and get the credit. Clouseau is aided by Ponton and Nicole, his secretary. He concentrates on Xania, the soccer coach’s girlfriend and follows her to New York and back. He makes a fool of himself and is dismissed from the case, but figures out the solution and shows up to solve it (it was the soccer team’s trainer who didn’t like the coach making fun of him). Xania had the diamond because the coach gave it to her just before the game. Clouseau is a hero.
Bottom line: It wasn’t the worst movie I’ve ever seen. It had its chuckles. Perhaps if the original Pink Panther movies weren’t around to compare this one to, it would have been funnier. I gave it a 6.
Recommendation: Perhaps, if you find a copy someday in your library that you can check out and watch for free, and if you are in a mood to do no thinking whatsoever … I wouldn’t recommend spending any money to see it.
Reviewed by Roger on 2008-08-06 12:57:38