a movie review by: Peter Canavese

At the dawn of Blake Edwards' Pink Panther franchise, part of the appeal was the romance of travel, with attractive jet setters lounging around a ski resort. Forty-six years later (with Edwards in retirement), the tenth Pink Panther film is more of a tourist trap, looking to French landmarks as backdrops. The sets and locations are eye-catching, there's a slinky, possibly fatale femme (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan) on hand,and despite being "unorthodox," Clouseau will once again prove he's "the greatest detective in the world." But something is amiss: who's this guy playing Inspector Clouseau? It's Steve Martin, back for a second go-round of intensive mugging.

The Pink Panther 2 is pretty much right in line with 2006's The Pink Panther. If you enjoyed that one’s family-friendly clowning, you’ll probably enjoy this one just as much, and if you hated it with the white-hot intensity of a thousand suns, well, get in line. The truth is somewhere in between: the Martin Panthers are studiously mediocre, which is a shame, given their potential to be more than a money grab. Martin again gets co-writing credit for the screenplay, and again there are a smattering of funny moments that no doubt emerged from Martin’s pen. For those looking for something for the kids in a Mr. Bean vein, there are worse things than Pink Panther 2. But the overall experience remains dispiriting to those of us who remember Peter Sellers in the role of Clouseau.

This time, the premise is Murder By Death-lite (that’s another Sellers movie, folks). A dream team of detectives assembles to catch a thief named The Tornado, whose targets include the pride of France: the Pink Panther diamond. The premise allows the casting of Andy Garcia (playing Italian again), Alfred Molina, and newcomer Yuki Matsuzaki as detectives (Molina gets the film’s funniest scene, a Sherlock Holmes-esque clue-off with Clouseau). Clouseau is still secretly pining for his executive assistant Nicole Durant (Emily Mortimer) and palling around with the one man who respects him, fellow detective Gilbert Ponton (Jean Reno). Two former Martin co-stars sign up for supporting roles: the long-suffering Chief Inspector Dreyfus is now played by John Cleese (Kevin Kline having gone AWOL) and Lily Tomlin appears as Mrs. Berenger, a government official tasked with making the racist and sexist Clouseau P.C. Jeremy Irons even shows up to play straight man as a suspect in the thefts.

It’s just a shame that Martin feels he has to try so hard as Clouseau, where Sellers’ genius was in his underplaying. At his best, Sellers would wear a mask of imperturbable competence through every disaster he caused, but Martin accompanies every bit of physical comedy with popped eyes and a "Whhooaohohh!" I'm not sure anyone--even director Harald Zwart (Agent Cody Banks)--has any idea why: perhaps because it may give kids the giggles. Like the last film, this one returns to two memorable bits from the Sellers era: a physical gag involving a large globe (though this time it looks more like a Chaplin ode), and surprise karate matches (this time, with Ponton's karate kids). The discriminating eye will also be bothered to note that the physical comedy is transparently aided by stuntmen and special effects, a fate that eventually befell Sellers as well.

When all else fails, romance. In promoting The Pink Panther 2, Martin has told the press that every film he's made with a wedding or baby in the end has been a hit, so he insisted this one end with a wedding. But there is some amusement in Clouseau trying to rein in his attraction in the workplace. "You are like a brother to me," he tells Nicole. "A hot, sexy brother in a dress." A romantic dinner at La Plata de Nada predictably ends in disaster, and even the scene gets a sequel, when Clouseau returns to spy on Nicole and Garcia's Vicenzo (Martin's flamenco moves do inspire a smile).

Martin has locked onto one funny trait for Clouseau: his linguistic mangling, a pronunciation that searches but does not find. Though Martin does well with this aspect of Clouseau, it's a sign of the sequel's desperation that it showcases the word "hamburger" to reprise one of the previous film's few highlights. Mrs. Berenger tells Clouseau, "You are the most small-minded nitwit I have ever encountered," and Clouseau replies, "I am sure I can do better." Something tells me that can-do spirit will translate into at least one more sequel. After all, there's still a baby ending to exploit.

Aishwarya Rai Photo

Andy Garcia Photo

Emily Mortimer Photo

Jean Reno Photo