“Pink Panther 2 isn’t a great comedy by any stretch of the imagination, but it manages to keep you grinning.”

It’s strange how time changes perspectives. Back in ’06 when The Pink Panther hit theaters, I found myself completely indifferent to the resurrection of the character of Inspector Clouseau by Steve Martin. It’s not like I groaned while sitting through it; I just didn’t care, and then I went home and immediately rewatched some of the Blake Edwards/Peter Sellers originals. Superior, I decided, in every single way. Needless to say, I didn’t expect much more from this week’s The Pink Panther 2 either. I sat down in that screening room on the Sony lot simply hoping to not be bored. Pretty low expectations, right? Well, imagine my surprise when I was not only not bored, but actually kind of entertained. With a more family-friendly approach, some great new characters and a few ingeniously staged encounters, The Pink Panther 2 fixes or improves upon its predecessor in every way.

Things kick off with the theft of all sorts of priceless treasures, including the Shroud of Turin, the Pope’s ring and the Pink Panther diamond that gives the comedy series its name. Seems the world’s greatest thief, the Tornado, is back in business after a ten-year retirement, necessitating the creation of an international team of super-detectives to stop him. To this end, Andy Garcia plays Italian Inspector Vicenzo Brancaleone, Alfred Molina plays British Chief Inspector Randall Pepperidge and Yuki Matsuzaki plays Japanese detective Kenji Mazuto. Into this mix, toss Aishwarya Rai as Sonia, a smoking-hot author and Tornado specialist, and, of course, the bumbling Inspector Clouseau — France’s allegedly greatest law-enforcement agent — much to the chagrin of his boss, Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus (John Cleese). The only people who seem to understand that Clouseau might actually be more than the fool he presents himself as are his possible love interest, Nicole (Emily Mortimer), and his trusty partner, Ponton (Jean Reno). Not even the audience, despite our collective knowledge that Clouseau always gets his man, can have Nicole’s or Ponton’s faith in him; there is no other hero I can think of as ridiculous, obnoxious and offensive in every way who still ends up rallying enthusiastic cheers when he finally wins the day.

Pink Panther 2 isn’t a great comedy by any stretch of the imagination, but it manages to keep you grinning for most of its running time. While other filmmakers might view the PG rating as a handicap, Martin and company seem to view it as a dare to be even more inventive in their scenarios and the Panther series’ trademark physical humor. Moreover, the verbal humor is in top form, especially in scenes between Martin and Lily Tomlin, who must tutor Clouseau on how to be more politically correct — like when beautiful women are around. Speaking of women, Mortimer’s Nicole is a delight, adding frothy fun to her scenes and the movie, while Reno’s overly capable French inspector takes on new dimension when his wife leaves him over his job. Martin and Reno are a fantastic duo, in fact, and it’s a credit to Reno that I can say he steals almost every scene the two are in together.

Again, Pink Panther 2 isn’t going to change the way comedies are made, but after a terrible January filled with fun like Paul Blart, it’s nice to remember that I can still laugh at the movies. Steve Martin still doesn’t make me forget how great Peter Sellers was in the part, but I’m starting to forgive him for trying.

B

Tags: emily mortimer, pink panther 2, steve martin