The Pink Panther (dir. Shawn Levy, 2006)
I’ll say this right away: The most shocking thing about the 2006 Pink Panther movie is that it doesn’t suck. I’d hardly call a remake of the iconic 1960s original a good idea, especially when you’re going to feature a clearly-overacting American comedian like Steve Martin in the lead role, but the overall flick seems to work just fine.
Now since the early ’90s slapstick boom had withered by 2006, and the comedic word of the day tended more toward R-rated fratboy comedies and Apatow-inspired man-children-coming-of-age films, the tone of The Pink Panther part R is necessarily retro… oddly right back to the ’90s. There is something decidedly backwards about this kind of comedy in the year 2006. Oddly, the filmmakers chose not to recapture the 1960s jet set feeling of the glorious early days, nor did they even try to go for the broad slapstick joys of Return of the Pink Panther. The overall tone actually seems to hearken back to the glory days of Ace Ventura. PPR feels like a Pink Panther film crossed with Who’s Harry Crumb? more than anything. The new central conceit that makes this feel like a retro ’90s neo-slapstick farce? Clouseau is actually a competent investigator.
That’s right. Clouseau (Martin in a small mustache, and sporting a fakey accent) is actually a good cop this time around. Sure, he’s just as clumsy and as bumbling as before, but he also is observant and can deduce things. The running gag throughout the entire Pink Panther series had been that Clouseau managed to solve crimes entirely by accident, relying entirely on luck and happenstance to take down any criminals, often totally oblivious to his own actions. This time around, Clouseau seems to know what’s going on at all times, and eventually reveals that he knew who the culprit was this entire time. Indeed in this film and the next, Clouseau gives big dramatic speeches at the film’s end revealing the whole plot very much the way Hercule Poirot would. This Clouseau is four parts goofy, three parts destructive, two parts clever, and only one part oblivious.
Many Pink Panther purists may object to this re-imagined version of the character, feeling that the freewheeling comic chaos is an intrinsic part of the series. It certainly has been up to this point. And while this new Clouseau may not feel anything like the old Clouseau (he’s way more broad and cartoony, feeling a lot more like Ace Ventura than Peter Sellers), I would say the the filmmakers, in making a more tightly plotted film, actually bothered to make something that – well – it’s really not that bad. Indeed, I found it to be pretty damn tolerable. Okay, full disclosure: I laughed at this remake more than I did many of the previous chapters. A good gag revealing Clouseau’s new competence: when someone uses his pen, Clouseau can tell by the weight.
The tone is pretty insufferable; PPR was clearly aimed squarely at a kid audience, making for a bright, evenly lit, easy-to-understand, sexless and violence-free version of the previous film. I think many people reacted negatively to PPR because of this kid-friendly tone. But seeing as many of the previous films were also aimed at kids (The Pink Panther Strikes Again most notably), the kiddie tone seems a little appropriate.
So, yeah, hard reboot. None of the previous Pink Panther events exist. We’re starting fresh. The story is actually one that can be followed, although it’s all based on a fallacy. The Pink Panther diamond now belongs to a star soccer player named Yves Gluant (an uncredited Jason Statham), who, in the film’s first scene, is somehow murdered right in the middle of a soccer stadium. His famed Pink Panther is also missing. It’s a well-known scientific fact that Jason Statham cannot be killed (it’s been tried in several advanced laboratories to no avail), making the rest of the story totally implausible, but whatever. I guess we need to get the story going somehow.
Inspector Dreyfus (Kevin Kline) is asked to investigate, but, in order to make himself look better to his own bosses, instead appoints Clouseau, hoping to eventually and heroically take over the case himself. He doesn’t have the twitchy psychotic bent of Herbert Lom, as his disapproval of Clouseau extends only as far as professional jealousy and a general annoyed disregard. Dreyfus assigns another cop named Ponton (Jean Reno) to keep an eye on Clouseau and to sidetrack the investigation. It’s of note that, in a series all about a French cop investigating crimes in France, Jean Reno is the first proper French actor we’ve had in the entire series. I wonder what French people think of Clouseau. Jean Reno’s character will also serve as the Cato of this new continuity, as he is often asked to randomly attack Clouseau.
Anyway, the suspects in the investigation include Statham’s old pop star girlfriend Xania (Beyoncé Knowles, looking lovely), the Russian trainer Yuri (Henry Czerny), and several others. Along the way, we’ll have a small role from Roger Rees (from Robin Hood: Men in Tights), and an awesome cameo from Clive Owen, who is essentially playing James Bond. Clive Owen would have been an awesome James Bond, don’t you think? Not meaning to impugn Daniel Craig, but… Clive Owen, man! The pretty Emily Mortimer plays Clouseau’s Moneypenny-like secretary Nicole, whom Clouseau is clearly in love with, and who clearly loves Clouseau. Mortimer also puts on a fakey French accent, and is really very funny. Their relationship will be one of the central conceits of the next film.
Yes, Clouseau solves the case, but with his own deductive skills rather than luck. He is no longer the lucky fool. He is just a clumsy middle-aged man. Plenty of comedy and slapstick can be mined from that, I suppose. I guess it makes PPR far more friendly (although less classical) than the originals. Of note: Steve Martin was 60 years old when he made The Pink Panther, whereas Sellers died at the age of 54. There are jokes that comment on Martin’s age (yes there is a Viagra joke unfortunately), but he’s surprisingly spry and physical for a man of 60. Martin has more energy at 60 than Sellers had at 50.
PPR was a huge hit (it made over $158 million), leading to talk of a sequel. This new competent Clouseau will prove he can carry a franchise with the first proper sequel the Pink Panther series has had to date.
