I knew I would be dragged to the theatre (my girlfriend is a Steve Martin fan). So I ensured she watched the The Return of The Pink Panther (the best of the original series with Peter Sellers). She didn't find it funny enough, but did accept that, for the time the jokes were new and that Sellers as Clouseu was exceptional. But the original is still a great film. From exotic locales to a stellar cast to an intelligent script -it had it all. This version is a bore. It is by far one of the most unimaginative scripts ever written for a comedy film. Steve Martin tries to be funny and fails miserably throughout. It looks like he didn't even study Sellers' Clouseau or wanted to do his own version (our advice: don't try and improve upon perfection). The jokes and gags for the greater part of the film were predictable and childish. Beyonce, the actor, is useless. Only Jean Reno as Ponton was somewhat tolerable. Even the accents, that were so funny in the original, are a damp squib in this one. Steve Martin's french accent is as authentic as a Chinese Frankfurter. The lesser said about Kevin Kline in this film, the better. Overall avoidable on any format. Go watch the original. That's a class act.
Review of The Pink Panther
