If you liked the original "Pink Panther" you will enjoy this new rendition. Being a lover of the original, it was with great trepidation that I went to see this particular version of the bunglingly, incompetent, but nonetheless lovable, Inspector Clouseau. I have always loved to see Steve Martin in films of all types, but never in my wildest dreams did I anticipate him being able pull off even a rudimentary Peter Sellers imitation. Well, Martin did a fantastic job and understood his limitations. The 21st-century Inspector Clouseau is fresh and imaginative. Sexual innuendos were prevalent throughout the film, but done in such a fashion that children under the age of 12 really did not know what was so funny to all of the adults, other than the slapstick humor. There was one particular scene which all of the adults were laughing at hilariously and my niece, who will be 12 in a couple of months, leaned over and asked me what was so funny about the blue pill. I told her quickly that I would explain later, but I didn't tell her how much later. Is the film as great as the original? No! It is, however, not the same script and therefore should not be compared entirely with the original. The film is delightfully entertaining and given the current length of films, mercifully only an hour and a half long. My biggest complaints were that the new Inspector Clouseau was not incompetent enough and actually was able to really figure out some things, instead of simply bumbling into everything accidentally. I additionally did not think that Kevin Kline, whom I normally enjoy in all films, proved to be convincing as Chief Inspector Dreyfus. It is too bad they couldn't use the aging, but indefatigable Herbert Lom for the role. On the plus side I found Clouseau's new sidekick, Jean Reno, to be a delightful improvement. I, a self-professed lover of slapstick humor, gave this film 7.5 of 10 and found it worthy of a ticket.
Review of The Pink Panther
