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Pink Panther 2
is a pale shadow of the real thing as most of the gags fall flat,
PETER Sellers has been an integral part of the Pink Panther series since the 1960s and it is hard to imagine one without the other. Then Steve Martin has not been my favourite comedian being only a wee shade better than Adam Sandler. That he tries hard to fit in the Peter Sellers mould one has to admit but the panache is missing. He is more physical and revels in slapstick. Also, most of the gags fall flat, which makes Pink Panther 2 only a pale shadow of the real thing. "After all, no man is an izzland," says Inspector Clouseau (Steve Martin) where "izz"land is the literal pronunciation of "i-land" and that is one of the rare occasions one laughs. Otherwise the humour was more visual, at least for those who like to see bungling, bumbling detectives falling over themselves and off windows, whatever, to raise laughs. The locale in Paris with the sound of sirens as always The ambience is good and we have a dream team of international detectives led by Clouseau that includes Ponton (Jean Reno), Vincenzo (Andy Garcia), Pepperidge (Alfred Molina) Kenji (Yuki Masuraki), Nicole (Emily Mortimer) and Sonia (our own Aishwarya Rai). They are out to nab the elusive Tornado, a jewel thief extraordinaire who has recently stolen some world treasures, including the Pink Panther diamond. But most of these private eyes are trained on the plain Celia rather than on the Pink Panther diamond. So we have a plethora of accents — French, Italian, Japanese and, of course, English-Scotish in the pitter-patter that follows. Director Harald Zwart begins fairly well but he soon lets slapstick take over and Michael Weber’s screenplay, said to have been borrowed from the Blake Edwards original, is too superficial, revelling in cheap humour. The music is catchy and the best part of the film but not the escapades or the misadventures which at times become intolerable. Much before the halfway mark the film loses its way. The viewer too has long since ceased to be part of it. The cameos by John Cleese and Lily Tomlin too are drab but Aishwarya has quite a meaty role which she puts across quite impressively. In the last quarter she really makes a splash but even that isn’t enough to sit through this dull, silly, trite fare that passes for Pink Panther 2.
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