Review: The Pink Panther 2

The Pink Panther 2

OPENING: 02/06/2009

STUDIO: MGM

TRAILER: Trailer

ACCOMPLICES: Official Site

The Charge
Inspect the unexpected.

Opening Statement
When I heard that Steve Martin was going to be taking over the role of Police Inspector Jacques Closeau, I was rather optimistic. I’ve long admired Martin’s brand of comedy and thought he might do something genuinely interesting with the character. Sadly, that did not turn out to be the case. Martin offered up nothing more than a poor imitation of Peter Sellers, in a remake directed rather badly by Shawn Levy. Despite these problems, Martin’s Pink Panther struck gold at the box office, ensuring a sequel. I approached the second movie fully expecting to dislike it rather intensely, but this one’s a good deal more watchable. Still not quite good enough to recommend, but watchable.

Facts of the Case
In the imaginatively titled The Pink Panther 2, Closeau (Martin) has been relegated to traffic duty by the bitter Inspector Dreyfuss (John Cleese, taking over for Kevin Kline). Closeau actually derives great enjoyment from giving traffic tickets to illegally parked cars, but soon a new case comes to his attention. It seems a dastardly villain named “The Tornado” has been stealing some of the world’s most precious artifacts, including the priceless Pink Panther diamond. Closeau is asked to team with an all-star roster of detectives assigned the task of finding The Tornado. Much chaos ensues.


The Evidence
During the first 30 or 40 minutes of Pink Panther 2, I was surprised by how frequently I was laughing. There are some really funny gags in the film, and John Cleese in particular uses his infectious brand of comic irritability to great effect. I began to wonder, “Could it be possible I will actually like a Steve Martin Pink Panther film?” The cast is certainly there. Not only do we have returning players like Martin, Emily Mortimer, and Jean Reno, but the jaw-dropping supporting cast includes Cleese, Alfred Molina, Andy Garcia, Lily Tomlin, and Jeremy Irons. You can’t do a whole lot better than this. Unfortunately, like National Treasure 2, this film doesn’t really take advantage of the vast talent at its disposal, letting most of these gifted actors squander their opportunities.


The screenplay may not offer this cast a whole lot to work with, but the performers do what they can with mixed success. Cleese is terrific and Tomlin has an amusing turn as a woman who attempts to teach Closeau how to behave in a politically correct manner. While these scenes pale in comparison to those Martin and Tomlin shared in All of Me, they’re charming nonetheless. Molina and Martin share a grin-inducing volley of Holmesian observations, and Molina demonstrates what a tremendous sport he is by donning a pink tutu. Given the limited nature of their roles, Emily Mortimer and Jeremy Irons are as convincing as possible, but Garcia and Reno seem bored.


I was generally pleased by the way the film avoids the sort of obvious jokes audiences expect these days. You won’t find any burping, farting, or potty humor, but rather a series of reasonably well-executed slapstick gags. Alas, as the film progresses, the nature of the contrived and predictable plot pushes the moments of fun into the background, and laughter becomes less and less frequent. There’s a particularly obnoxious romantic subplot involving Martin and Mortimer, which requires Closeau to be stupid, even by the very low standards established for the character. The climactic shoot-out with The Tornado also proves underwhelming, replacing nimble humor with sloppy noise and chaos.

Closing Statement
Ultimately, Pink Panther 2 turns out to be as typical and mundane as you might expect, though the surprisingly high laugh quotient makes it a good deal more tolerable. Who knows, at this rate, we might yet see a decent Pink Panther adventure before the franchise wraps. Even so, I hope everyone involved takes their paycheck and moves on to something more ambitious.

The Verdict

6/10

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