SYNOPSIS: The Pink Panther 2, the sequel to the 2006 worldwide hit, stars Steve Martin as he reprises the role of intrepid-if-bumbling French police detective, Inspector Jacques Clouseau. When legendary treasures from around the world are stolen, including the priceless Pink Panther Diamond, Chief Inspector Dreyfus (John Cleese) is forced to assign Clouseau to a team of international detectives and experts charged with catching the thief and retrieving the stolen artifacts. Martin is joined by his co-stars Jean Reno (as Ponton, his partner) and Emily Mortimer (as Nicole, the object of his awkward affections). The investigative dream team is played by Andy Garcia, Alfred Molina, Yuki Matsuzaki (Letters from Iwo Jima) and Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. Lily Tomlin also stars. The story is set in Paris and Rome.

REVIEW: Insp. Jacques Clouseau: Let me bring you up to speed... We know nothing. You are now up to speed.

It is the Pink Panther way, or should I say the Jacques Clouseau way. It is slapstick at its best plus an exaggerated French accent. I was finally able to take both my parents to a screening and they really enjoyed it. They don’t go to the movies much, believe me. My Dad told me afterward that nobody will be able to compare to Peter Sellers in this timeless comedy franchise and I agreed. But we also agreed that Steve Martin does a good job with the role. Peter’s shoes are hard to fill when it comes to this character and I for one admire Steve for taking a successful stab at it. A prerequisite for seeing this movie is that you need to like or at least stomach the slapstick, corny, silly humor. Those of you that are familiar with the traditional Pink Panther style humor will know what I’m talking about. This movie follows suit quite well. It is a good laugh with a touch of mystery, romance, and plot twists.

Overall the film was enjoyable but too many times it seemed to deviate from the main plot. The purpose was mostly for comical moments which were funny but it also distracts you from the main plot. It does have a star studded cast including Andy Garcia, Alfred Molina, John Cleese, Jeremy Irons, Jean Reno, and the incomparably beautiful Aishwarya Rai. Each of them does as good as you would expect in this context but their roles were too small for them to really stand out. It was all about Steve and I think he did a better job this time around. He seemed more in tune with the classic Peter Sellers version of Inspector Clouseau. It was a little disappointing that Kevin Kline was replaced by John Cleese, but then again, it’s John Cleese so it’s forgivable. It was really great to see Lily Tomlin on the big screen again. I hadn’t seen her in a long while and she was sharp as ever. She played the counterpart character to the linguistics teacher from the first one. This time it’s Lily and she is an ethics instructor. Although brief, it was a fun character. Andy and Alfred join that group of entertaining characters as well. Andy plays an Italian investigator and Alfred a British investigator.

The movie also provides nice views of beautiful France as well as Rome. But again, the majority of the picture is focused on Clouseau and his antics. For you Pink Panther followers, there is an interesting surprise toward the end of the movie, that involves Clouseau of course, that might leave you slightly stunned. The moviemakers of this film decided to change from Shawn Levy to Harald Zwart as Director. Shawn has a heavier resume but Harald did just as good if not better with this sequel. This is a fun, light-hearted picture that I can tell you first hand, the family will enjoy.

Movie Review By Cine Marcos 
cinemarcos@smartcine.com

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