Steve Martin returns as Inspector Clouseau to bumble through a case once again.
This time an international jewel thief has been stealing art treasures from around the world.
The Pink Panther diamond is next on his list, but a dream team of detectives have been assembled to stop him and Clouseau is on the list.
International cat burglar the Tornado , whose identity is unknown (shhhh, it’s Johnny Hallyday), has been stealing international treasures, including the Shroud of Turin from Italy, the Magna Carta from England, and the Imperial Sword from Japan.
The next perceived target is the Pink Panther Diamond, the national symbol of France.
Chief Inspector Dreyfus (John Cleese, taking over for Kevin Kline) is summoned to be told that Inspector Clouseau (Steve Martin) has been assigned to a detective “dream team” to catch the thief.
The team includes Inspector Pepperidge (Alfred Molina) from Great Britain, Inspector Brancaleone (Andy Garcia) from Italy, Japanese technology expert Kenji Mazuto (Yuki Matsuzaki), and Sonia Solandres (Aishwarya Rai) who wrote the definitive book on The Tornado. Clouseau, his friend Ponton (Jean Reno), his love interest Nicole (Emily Mortimer) are called to duty when the Tornado successfully grabs the Pope’s ring and the Pink Panther diamond.
The hunt is on as the dream team tracks the wily thief by investigating Alonso Avellaneda (Jeremy Irons), who was supposedly the Tornado’s fence. Clouseau also runs afoul of Mrs. Berenger (Lily Tomlin), an expert in manners and political correctness brought in to make sure that Clouseau doesn’t trip up in the international press.
The case appears to be sol-ved but Clouseau is kicked off the team and made the disgrace of France when he thinks that the thief is still at large and it’s up to him to find the real keller.
The character of Inspector Clouseau was originated by the late, great Peter Sellers and attempts to revive the franchise have not lived up to the originals. Fans will recall that Alan Arkin tried it in 1968 (Inspector Clouseau), Blake Edwards tried again in 1983 (Curse of the Pink Panther) with Ted Wass, Edwards tried again in 1993 with Roberto Benigni (Son of the Pink Panther), and none of them proved particularly successfully.
Steve Martin might have a different set of comedy chops than Arkin, but I’d still say that Martin’s attempts at reviving the series seemed to hit some sort of nerve with family audiences and a second sequel was put into production which is more than any of the other attempts got.
Martin brought his own take on the character, but he was still haunted (as all other attempts) by the spirit of Peter Sellers. This second attempt is not much better than the first film, but it does offer a cavalcade of actors who I’d imagine Martin brought in with a few favors. There are some scattered laughs, but it’s more of the same.
What might make this one different from Sellers is that Martin’s Clouseau does actually have moments of competence. His deductions about the identity of the jewel thief turn out to be spot on and he actually protects the gem without flummoxing it up. The kids seemed to like it, but fans of the original series might not.
I’m somewhat torn because it turned out to not to be as bad as I’ve heard, but it’s certainly not as fantastic as Sellers’ take on the material. I still wish that Jean Reno might’ve been given a chance to play Clouseau, but Martin has the marquee value.
The Pink Panther 2 is presented in anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions. Special features include a 3 minute gag reel, the 7 minute “Drama is easy… Comedy is dangerous” about making Pink Panther deux, and the 14 minute “A Dream Team like no other” is about all the famous faces filling up the supporting cast.
Pink Panther 2 never even gets close to Peter Sellers madcap takes on the character, but it might be satisfactory for some goofy family fun. It wasn’t the merde I had imagined and I did giggle a time or two, but it still wasn’t comedy gold.
Pink Panther 2 is now available at Amazon . It is available for pre-order at AmazonUK for a June 29th release. Visit the DVD database for more information.
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