Movie Review: The Pink Panther 2

	RATING: PG GENRE: Comedy RELEASE DATE: February 6, 2009 RUNNING TIME: 92 minutes VIOLENCE FACTOR: Only exaggerated comic action BAD WORDS: A brief reference or two RACY?: A dash of mildly suggestive humor, handled innocently enough GRANDS

As beloved, bungling Inspector Clouseau tries to solve a crime, things go from the sublime to the ridiculous

by Bill Wine

CRITIQUE:

It's a habit to complain about something not living up to the standards of the original. But sometimes it's so obvious, there's no other way to go.

The beloved Pink Panther flicks — starring Peter Sellers as Inspector Clouseau and directed by Blake Edwards — delighted audiences in the 1960s and 1970s with their rib-tickling humor.

Comedian Steve Martin's desire to take a shot at the Clouseau role seemed a reasonable ambition, but the 2006 version of The Pink Panther — although commercially successful — was strained and terribly uneven.

The sequel is worse.

Grandparents who want to introduce their grandchildren to Sellers' beloved, bungling detective with the French-fried accent will find a few traces of that charm in Martin's performance. But the film is an indifferent, by-the-numbers work, frenetic when it ought to be relaxed and drenched in awkward comic timing.

The cast feels overstuffed and underemployed. Jean Reno and Emily Mortimer return as Clouseau's assistant and secretary, and John Cleese replaces Kevin Kline as Clouseau's exasperated superior and nemesis, Inspector Dreyfus. Also crammed in are Alfred Molina, Andy Garcia, Jeremy Irons, Lily Tomlin, and Aishwarya Rai. They've made a movie crowded with talent standing around with nothing to do.

Slapstick humor can be irresistible fun. But when it's made up of carelessly choreographed stunts and heavy-handed camera coverage, it can be an embarrassment, as in this film.

How far this funny, farcical franchise has fallen.

Grandchildren, new to Clouseau and never having experienced Sellers, may not know what they're missing. Grandparents will.

If you want to read about what Bill Wine does think is funny, check out his reviews of Paul Blart: Mall Cop and Marley & Me.