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Steve is simply no Sellars
THE PINK PANTHER
Directed by Shawn Levy
Certificate PG
NOT that any of us had hopes that Steve Martin – once
the funniest comedian in the movies – would ever be able
to play a proper Inspector Clouseau, not with the selection
of films he’s been making of late.
Martin, still a talented comedian, author and playwright,
has been going for the money rather than the quality of a piece
and this otherwise well-produced remake of the much-beloved
The Pink Panther shows that his taste has not changed in this
choice either.
Although Martin’s comic timing is still precise and his
mugging to camera and bouncing off his co-stars (in this case,
a wisely cast if underused Jean Reno in the formerly sad if
hilarious role as Kato), he cannot seem to really join in the
fun of the event, these days.
Martin is, more often than not, a kind of fish out of water
in any film he stars in.
Still, this remake could possibly appeal to someone who has
yet to see the originals with the remarkable Peter Sellars shoring
up the comedic proceedings.
In this saggy excuse for what should have been taut comedy,
Martin’s Clouseau takes apart a hotel bathroom sink to
retrieve a Viagra which has disappeared down the plughole –
and why would he want to take the little blue pill? Because
Beyonce is sitting in his hotel suite, that’s why.
Although the film has its moments, notably when Reno and Martin
are finally attempting to retrieve the large pink diamond and
they both have to dress as curtain and wallpaper material to
infiltrate the party.
Martin does have the moustache and the silly French accent but
that is as far as he goes in his attempt to fulfil the shoes
of Sellars.
And let’s face it, no one really ever could. It is, in
directorial terms, a good attempt to recapture some magic by
director Shawn Levy, who also did Martin’s family blockbuster
Cheaper By The Dozen. |
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