Movie Review: Talented cast, comedy pedigree wasted in "Pink Panther 2"

February 18, 2009 by Douglas Gamble

Despite being changed into a more family-friendly format, The Pink Panther 2 (as well as it's predecessor, the 2006 franchise reboot "The Pink Panther") is surprisingly true to its roots, at least on paper.

Bumbling detective Jaques Clouseau (Steve Martin) stumbles and gaffes his way through a big case, only to accidently solve it, much to the chagrin of his superior, Chief Inspector Dreyfuss. (a thoroughly embarassed-looking John Cleese)

What the Martin reboot lacks, however, are the very things that made the original "Pink Panther" franchise so popular: wit, timing, and Peter Sellers. The wit and timing of the original series are lost on director Harald Zwart, and Martin would rather mug for the camera than make any attempts at filling Sellers' shoes.

The result is a film that just feels rushed. Entire scenes are reduced to setup for painfully unfunny gags, with racial stereotypes and slapstick filling in for humor. Every joke seems to announce itself before arriving, be it music flaring (loud and often) before every physical pratfall, or dialogue that actually spells out punchlines after they happen.

Further taxing the audience's patience is Martin's attempt at Clouseau's French accent. By turns either irritating or completely incomprehensible, it has a way of turning bad dialogue worse.

In the original films, Clouseau's accent was played, as it is here, for humor, but it was funny because it was out of the ordinary. In "The Pink Panther 2" most every character is a racist caricature, most notably the other inspectors.

Without giving away too much of the film's plot, Clouseau teams up with inspectors from all over the globe, from the Japanese techie to the Italian lothario. The inspectors is subject to Clouseau's social ineptitude, shown here as casual racism, and each comes with their own equally annoying fake accent.

The film tries to apologise by bringing in Lily Tomlin as an ettiquite coach, who chastises Clouseau for his racist remarks, but the remarks are played for humor, so it seems like too little, too late.

But the film's worst crime is not it's racist caricatures passing for characters, it's lame slapstick passing for jokes, but the wasting of it's all-star cast. The aforementioned "Dream Team" consists of such acting greats as Jean Reno, Alfred Molina, and Andy Garcia. Talented comedian John Cleese plays Chief Inspector Dreyfuss, and Lily Tomlin makes a brief appearance as an ettiquitte coach.

The problem is that none of the "characters" these actors play are really characters at all, and are given little to do other than stand around looking embarrassed while Steve Martin finds new ways to throw himself around the set. Furthermore, the characters are all played with thick, obnoxious accents that could (almost) match Martin's awful French.

There are a few brights spots in this film which keep it's 93 minute running time from being unbearably long. Jeremy Irons makes for a fairly entertaining villain, there are a few funny moments (watch what happens the absolute second Clouseau leaves France), and the "surprise" ending is so alarmingly stupid that it makes for the film's funniest, albeit unintentional, moment.

With it's bright, candy-colored sets, and cartoonish characters, "The Pink Panther 2" seems geared toward children, but the racist jokes and double entendres make it hard to recommend for the little ones. In fact, one wonders who this film was made for. It is too crude for most children, too cartoonish for adults, and any Steve Martin fans (if any are left after his last few films) will be disappointed, as Martin's Clouseau is his worst character yet.

In fact, it is Martin's performance is so bad that it weighs down the rest of the movie. Every possible physical gag is extended to an arm-flailing mess, every potentially clever line coated an indecipherable accent, until it becomes clear why the film's talented cast didn't bother to act. They knew the film (co-written by Martin) was a vehicle for Martin, and they knew he would run it into the ground. Which he does, scene after agonizing scene.

When Clouseau is asked if he knows of a certain ill-fated restaurant, Martin quips: "Know it? I destroyed it."

Fair enough. Now ask him if he knows of "The Pink Panther 2."