‘The Pink Panther’

By Harry Forbes
Catholic News Service

NEW YORK (CNS) -- The familiar Henry Mancini theme song and animated pink panther open the film reassuringly, and set you wondering how Steve Martin can possibly measure up to the great Peter Sellers' indelible creation of decades ago.

Within moments, though, you breathe a sigh of relief because Martin is just swell. Without slavishly imitating Sellers, Martin creates a funny and endearing Inspector Clouseau all his own.

And, overall, "The Pink Panther" (MGM-Columbia) proves an amusing update of the Blake Edwards comedy series with the inept French sleuth setting out to solve the poisoned dart murder of Yves Glaunt, a soccer coach murdered on the field after his team's victorious win, and to recover his diamond "pink panther" ring which Glaunt was wearing when he died.

He has been hired by Chief Inspector Dreyfus (Kevin Kline), who trusts the notoriously clumsy Clouseau will bungle the case while his own top team solves the crime and earns him the Medal of Honor, which has eluded him several times before.

Clouseau is equipped with a resourceful secretary, Nicole (Emily Mortimer), and unflappable assistant Gendarme Gilbert Ponton (Jean Reno), who's secretly working for Dreyfus, but is ultimately loyal to Clouseau.

Suspects include members of the soccer team, including Russian Yuri (Henry Czerny) and star player Bizu (William Abadie); the victim's girlfriend, pop star Xania (Beyonce Knowles); and Glaunt's restaurateur partner, Larocque (Roger Rees).

There are some wonderful comic sequences, such as Clouseau assuming he's facing a Dreyfus imposter and trying to pull his "mask" off; learning how to speak American English prior to his trip to New York and failing utterly to master the sentence "I would like to buy a hamburger"; and causing a furor at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport going through security with food smuggled in his trench coat.

What's nice about Martin's reinterpretation is that he shows the basic decency of the character, and his Clouseau has heart without being cloying. (Together with "Cheaper by the Dozen 2," this marks Martin's happy return to form after the distasteful "Shopgirl" last year.)

Besides Martin's successful assumption of Sellers' mantle, the supporting cast is fine, too. Kline is a deft comedian himself, and makes a memorable creation of the disingenuous Dreyfus. Reno is a particularly endearing straight man with his indulgent stoicism, and Mortimer has just the right light touch, too. Broadway's Kristin Chenoweth appears briefly as Larocque's PR assistant, Cherie. As for Knowles, she's photogenic certainly, but otherwise hopelessly vapid. (Mercifully, she has little screen time.)

Shawn Levy directs the above average script by Len Blum and Martin, maintaining a sure comic touch throughout (a few comic misfires notwithstanding), and despite some off-color humor and knockabout slapstick, the film is remarkably devoid of objectionable elements for this day and age.

The French and New York locations are eye-fillingly filmed by Jonathan Brown.

The original Blake Edwards series ran out of steam in due course, but we can only hope that Martin and Levy are encouraged to return to this franchise again. They're a winning combination.

The film contains some sexual humor and innuendo, some suggestive costuming, crass expressions and humor, and slapstick violence, making this most suitable for older adolescents and up. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG -- parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.

* Forbes is director of the Office for Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.