The Pink Panther
By Mal Simons, Blockbuster.co.uk
Steve Martin
and
Jean Reno
star in director Shawn Levy’s remake of the Peter Sellers classic. At a Football final, in front of millions of fans, the French national football coach is murdered and the priceless ring on his finger – known as the “Pink Panther” is stolen. Dedicated police officer and French patriot - Inspector Jacques Clouseau is brought in to investigate the crime. Bumbling his way through the streets of Paris and New York, the world’s greatest detective has to solve the case one mistake at a time.
Chief Inspector Dreyfus
Kevin Kline, the Chief of Police in Paris, is in a difficult situation. The papers are all obsessed about the murder of a French sporting hero and theft of his priceless ring, the French people are impatient for the case to be solved. The Chief Inspector has also been nominated for the Legion of Honour for the seventh time and if he does not solve the case quickly, he will be passed over for the award yet again. If he appoints another officer to the case and he manages to catch the murderer and recover the diamond, a grateful nation will award that officer the Legion of Honour award. Dreyfus wants the glory and the award for himself and he needs to distract the press long enough so he can solve the case.
“When I first heard the name Clouseau, he was a little nothing. Just another police officer in a small village far from Paris. He was the village idiot, I think.”
–
Chief Inspector Dreyfus.
The Chief Inspector has a brainwave – he will appoint the dumbest, most incompetent police officer in all of France to run the case and talk to the media while he secretly investigates and cracks the case of the murder and the missing diamond himself. He promotes legendary Police Sergeant Jacques Clouseau to the rank of Inspector and announces him to the media. Clouseau is not legendary in the force for his genius detective work or ability to solve crimes but legendary for his complete incompetence in the line of duty.
“Inspector, do you know if the killer was a man or woman?” –
Journalist
“Well of course I know that! What else is there? A kitten?” -
Clouseau
To keep an eye on Clouseau, Dreyfus appoints a Detective he can trust to follow orders and report back on Clouseau’s activities. Ponton, played by the brilliant Jean Reno, is a serious, by the book cop who is assigned as Clouseau’s partner. Taken under Clouseau’s wing, the two officers work to uncover the truth behind the murder by speaking to witnesses and those close to the dead coach.
“You never cease to surprise me, sir.” - Ponton
“It's true. My surprises, they are rarely unexpected.” -
Clouseau
Although the dim-witted Clouseau is in over his head, he does extremely well at the Press Conference, coming up with a patriotic statement that impresses the journalists and makes the evening news. Through luck of timing, Clouseau is also on hand when MI6 Agent Nigel Boswell covertly takes down an entire gang of armed robbers wearing Clouseau’s coat. The public believe Clouseau to be responsible for saving them and soon Clouseau is declared a national hero. It is not long before Clouseau is nominated for the same award as Dreyfus – much to the Chief Inspector’s annoyance.
Steve Martin is an inspired choice to play Clouseau, he helped write the script and it is clear that it is a role very close to his heart. Martin does not try to imitate or replace Peter Sellers but instead adds his own flair to his performance while at the same time staying very respectful of the character that we have all come to know and love. Describing the role, Martin said - “I had been looking for a physical comedy for a long time, when this came along it really seemed ideal. I thought about it… and then I tried writing my own scenes”.
Teaming up with acclaimed comedy director (
Shawn Levy)
, Steve Martin is supported by great performances by the Kevin Kline, Jean Reno and the beautiful (
Beyonce Knowles). It is this that makes ‘The Pink Panther’ such a great movie. They all play their characters completely straight faced, and are thrown by the ‘village idiot’ that has been unleashed on the world.
“He was just found dead in a training facility locker room. Shot in the head.” -
Ponton
“How fatal was it?” -
Clouseau
“Totally” -
Ponton
“I’d like to speak to him” -
Clouseau
Remakes are the new Hollywood craze. From time to time you come across a great remake such as (
Assault on Precinct 13) but mostly, these films are poor imitations of the original such as the 2000 version of (
Psycho)
. I’m pleased to say that ‘The Pink Panther’ is a great remake in that it is respectful of the original franchise but feels fresh with a new story, great acting and a terrific score. Steve Martin at his best and a true guilty pleasure - add to your list now!
Also Try:
The Naked Gun
The Pink Panther Strikes Again
Robin Hood – Men In Tights