I was first introduced to the Pink Panther movies by my father when I was about 14 and instantly took a liking to the bumbling Inspector Clouseau, played by the late great Peter Sellers. Sure the franchise has a few installments that fall flat (Return and Trail of the Pink Panther lack the magic touch, and lets not even get into those Panther movies that don't even have Sellers in them) but even those movies have shining moments of brilliance due to the comedic magic of Sellers. Over the years, I have introduced several people (well, like four to be exact) to these movies and they all have thanked me for doing so afterword's.
Taste for comedy is a lot like taste for food, in that people love certain things more than others one persons gut buster may be another's bore-fest. Someone's idea of gourmet comedy could be Ben Stiller getting stuck in his zipper in There's Something About Mary or Jim Carrey talking out of his ace in Ace Venture while others may prefer witty British comedy like in Shaun of the Dead or the subtle humor of Rushmore. A Shot in the Dark should please all lovers of comedy as it provides a large buffet of comedy goodness, albeit in an old-fashioned way.
A Shot in the Dark picks up sometime after The original Pink Panther with Inspector Clouseau (Peter Sellers) on a murder case involving a wealthy man and the household staff at his mansion, including the beautiful Maria (Elke Sommer), as the chief suspect, whom Clouseau becomes immediately smitten with. Becoming convinced that Maria is not guilty of the murder, Clouseau sets out to prove her innocence and track down the real killer, in the usually bumbling Clouseau fashion. The whole movie is built around getting Sellers into wacky situations where he can really showcase his comedic ability. And that it does.
After stealing the show in The Pink Panther Sellers gets his chance to shine in this tailor made movie for him. A dolt of detective who has the ego of a film student and the lack of understanding that he's really not anything special, like a film student. Sellers slips, trips, and falls his way in establishing Clouseau as one of the great comedy characters of all time. I defy anyone not to get a good laugh at Clouseau as he tells the mansion workers that "I suspect everyone and I suspect no-one. I believe everything and I believe (dramatic pause) nothing." in a deadpan manner. Other great set pieces for laughs include Clouseau's infiltration of a nudist colony, his undercover attempts to follow Maria which lead to him being continuously arrested, and his great battle with his house-servant Cato. Also not to be ignored is Herbert Lom, as Police Commissioner Dreyfus. Lom gets quite a few laughs as he is slowly driven mad by Clouseau's, um less than stellar detective techniques which often end in disaster which reflects badly on poor old Dreyfus. There really are too many classic gags to list here, unless I get to do some type of double dip writers cut of this review with over 500 extra words (!).
Not to say that there aren't parts in the film where some of the jokes fall flat. I must add that the good FAR outweighs the flat but, some of the acting is very old Hollywood, over dramatic and theater-ish. The film also has a few slow scenes which in the modern era would have been trimmed but this was forty two years ago and the fast paced epileptic Tony Scott editing that has become the norm was not an option then. Also, after over forty years the movie is very dated, soaked in the sixties as if Austin Powers may jump out at some points, but that doesn't detract from the overall enjoyment of the film.
A Shot in the Dark is loaded with gags both upfront and subtle. So if you like a comedy to be in your face with physical humor you'll be pleased, but if you prefer your comedies to have a more subtle wit that might take some work to pick up on be pleased with the fact that you will well .be pleased.
Score: 9 out of 10
Taste for comedy is a lot like taste for food, in that people love certain things more than others one persons gut buster may be another's bore-fest. Someone's idea of gourmet comedy could be Ben Stiller getting stuck in his zipper in There's Something About Mary or Jim Carrey talking out of his ace in Ace Venture while others may prefer witty British comedy like in Shaun of the Dead or the subtle humor of Rushmore. A Shot in the Dark should please all lovers of comedy as it provides a large buffet of comedy goodness, albeit in an old-fashioned way.
A Shot in the Dark picks up sometime after The original Pink Panther with Inspector Clouseau (Peter Sellers) on a murder case involving a wealthy man and the household staff at his mansion, including the beautiful Maria (Elke Sommer), as the chief suspect, whom Clouseau becomes immediately smitten with. Becoming convinced that Maria is not guilty of the murder, Clouseau sets out to prove her innocence and track down the real killer, in the usually bumbling Clouseau fashion. The whole movie is built around getting Sellers into wacky situations where he can really showcase his comedic ability. And that it does.
After stealing the show in The Pink Panther Sellers gets his chance to shine in this tailor made movie for him. A dolt of detective who has the ego of a film student and the lack of understanding that he's really not anything special, like a film student. Sellers slips, trips, and falls his way in establishing Clouseau as one of the great comedy characters of all time. I defy anyone not to get a good laugh at Clouseau as he tells the mansion workers that "I suspect everyone and I suspect no-one. I believe everything and I believe (dramatic pause) nothing." in a deadpan manner. Other great set pieces for laughs include Clouseau's infiltration of a nudist colony, his undercover attempts to follow Maria which lead to him being continuously arrested, and his great battle with his house-servant Cato. Also not to be ignored is Herbert Lom, as Police Commissioner Dreyfus. Lom gets quite a few laughs as he is slowly driven mad by Clouseau's, um less than stellar detective techniques which often end in disaster which reflects badly on poor old Dreyfus. There really are too many classic gags to list here, unless I get to do some type of double dip writers cut of this review with over 500 extra words (!).
Not to say that there aren't parts in the film where some of the jokes fall flat. I must add that the good FAR outweighs the flat but, some of the acting is very old Hollywood, over dramatic and theater-ish. The film also has a few slow scenes which in the modern era would have been trimmed but this was forty two years ago and the fast paced epileptic Tony Scott editing that has become the norm was not an option then. Also, after over forty years the movie is very dated, soaked in the sixties as if Austin Powers may jump out at some points, but that doesn't detract from the overall enjoyment of the film.
A Shot in the Dark is loaded with gags both upfront and subtle. So if you like a comedy to be in your face with physical humor you'll be pleased, but if you prefer your comedies to have a more subtle wit that might take some work to pick up on be pleased with the fact that you will well .be pleased.
Score: 9 out of 10