January 30, 2013

The Return of the Pink Panther



Let's start this review with a confession: I love Peter Sellers. The Pink Panther franchise never ceases to make me laugh even though physical comedy usually doesn't get me. Going through these movies and looking at the Wiki made me realize that even though my favorite film in the franchise is the next offering (The Pink Panther Strikes Back) which has my favorite bad jokes of all time( "Does your dog bite?" "No." *dog bites Clouseau* "I thought you said you dog did not bite!" "...That is not my dog.") I have no recollection of ever seeing this film. To the DVD!

The plot is standard (Pink Panther diamond theft), the hijinks are outrageous (at one point his hunchback costume over inflating causes him to float out of danger when his house is bombed) and the dated quality (the drag bar scene with the dude wearing a jumpsuit with star shaped nipple cut-outs for example) just adds to the camp. Though I enjoy the Steve Martin reboot of the series, underneath each prat fall and comedic volley you have Steve Martin hamming it up for the camera. Sellers on the other hand, he becomes Clouseau, giving credence to the the old sound byte that Peter Sellers could play any character but Peter Sellers.

No comments:

Post a Comment