The Pink Panther (2006)

Bumbling Inspector Clouseau must solve the murder of a famous soccer coach and find out who stole the infamous Pink Panther diamond.

Director:

Shawn Levy

Writers:

Len Blum (screenplay), Steve Martin (screenplay),

Stars:

Steve Martin, Kevin Kline, Jean Reno

1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Steve Martin	...	Jacques Clouseau
Kevin Kline	...	Charles Dreyfus
Jean Reno	...	Gilbert Ponton
Emily Mortimer	...	Nicole Durant
Henry Czerny	...	Yuri
Kristin Chenoweth	...	Cherie
Roger Rees	...	Raymond Larocque
Beyoncé Knowles	...	Xania
Philip Goodwin	...	Deputy Chief Renard
Henri Garcin	...	President
William Abadie	...	Bizu
Daniel Sauli	...	Music Producer
Jean Dell	...	Justice Minister Clochard
Anna Katarina	...	Agent Corbeille
Nick Toren	...	Agent Savard

Storyline

When the coach of the France soccer team is killed by a poisoned dart in the stadium in the end of a game, and his expensive and huge ring with the diamond Pink Panther disappears, the ambitious Chief Insp. Dreyfus assigns the worst police inspector Jacques Clouseau to the case. His intention is to give a diversion to the press, while he uses his best men to chase the killer and thief. He assigns Gendarme Gilbert Ponton to work with Closeau and inform each step of the investigation. When Clouseau is nominated with honor to the highest prize in France, Dreyfus decides to humiliate Clouseau and take him out of the case. However Clouseau has already solved the mystery.

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Plot Keywords:

clouseau | coach | france | diamond | pink panther | 

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Taglines:

The Pink Panther diamond is missing.... And the world's greatest detective is solving the case one mistake at a time.

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Crime | Mystery

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for occasional crude and suggestive humor and language

Details

Official Sites:

20th Century Fox [br] 20th Century Fox [fr]

Country:

USA Czech Republic

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 February 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Birth of the Pink Panther

Filming Locations:

Kaufman Astoria Studios - 3412 36th Street, Astoria, Queens, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$65,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$110,704 (Turkey) (7 April 2006)

Gross:

£5,752,427 (UK) (14 April 2006)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Columbia Pictures, Robert Simonds Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The cameo appearance of Clive Owen can be seen both as a nod to the fact that Owen was rumored to be a contender to replace Pierce Brosnan as James Bond in Casino Royale (denied by both EON and Owen), and a tribute to Peter Sellers (the most famous actor to play Inspector Clouseau) who also parodied James Bond in the spoof film, Casino Royale. Owen's role was originally intended for Pierce Brosnan, but his contract with EON specifically prohibited him from appearing as a spy in a tuxedo for at least five years after leaving the role of 007.

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Goofs

When Clouseau tries to download the first ring tone (right before the power cuts) he is clearly using the Mac OS X operating system with Safari. The next morning, when Clouseau gets set to download another ring tone, the computer's operating system is Windows XP with Internet Explorer.

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Quotes

Inspector Jacques Clouseau: [after falling through the ceiling, to the desk clerk] We need fresh towels in 204.

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Crazy Credits

The MGM logo is slammed open (with Leo the Lion in mid-roar) by the animated Inspector Clouseau, who takes a look around and then walks off. The Pink Panther appears and closes the logo, leaving Leo unconscious.

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Connections

Featured in 2006 MTV Movie Awards (2006)

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Soundtracks

"Check On It (Pink Panther)"
Written by Beyoncé Knowles, Swizz Beatz (as Kasseem Dean), Sean Garrett,
Angela Beyince, Slim Thug (as Stayve Thomas) and Henry Mancini
Produced by Swizz Beatz (as Kasseem Dean)
Performed by Beyoncé Knowles (as Beyoncé) featuring Slim Thug
Beyoncé appears courtesy of Columbia Records
Slim Thug appears courtesy of Star Trak / Geffen Records
Contains an interpolation of "Main Title from The Pink Panther Strikes Again"
Written and Performed by Henry Mancini
Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Music Inc.
Under license from Columbia Pictures Industries Inc.

User Reviews

A fun movie, and let's clear up a few things...

I really enjoyed this movie. I expected the worst because of many of the comments here, but that's why they play the game, so the saying goes...

There were plenty of laughs and a simple but serviceable plot that held together for the whole film. I personally don't think Martin was trying to BE Sellers, but to do his TAKE on a character created by Sellers. Think original Clouseau + The Jerk and you get the idea.

The key is that Marin captured the spirit of the character and the film captured the spirit of the original films as well. That's all one could ask.

Jean Reno was quite good, Kevin Cline not so good. He might have taken more time to make his own Dreyfuss.

Now to clear some things up:

First: For those who lament a crappy remake of the original film, I suggest you go watch the original film. You will be surprised at how unfunny it is. Sellers is good, but the movie itself is slow and obvious. I remember loving the movie as a kid, then I tried to watch it recently and realized I was remembering the sequel. The original was really weak and boring.

Second: For those who say Martin turned Clouseau into some kind of loser, I again suggest you watch the originals. He WAS a loser. He WAS pathetic. That was the point. He was a sexual repressed, pathetic loser who lucked into solving crimes while bumbling around and trying to get laid. Martin's Clouseau fits this mold.

Third: This is not a remake, but another in a series. To suggest that the original is so sacred that another film in a series can't be made many years later is the worst kind of snobbery. Why do people treat films with such reverence but not plays or musicals? If a great star creates a character on stage, does that mean no one else can ever play that character in the history of theater? Of course not. Sorry to say, Sellars is dead. He can't come back and do it again.

Now there are things about this movie that are different than the originals in terms of tone.

One is that the subject matter has been toned down a bit. Though there is the implication of sex in multiple places and a few murders (not violent and not seen), it isn't as risqué as the original, to fit a broader market one would suppose. Still not sure how they can get away with advertising it on Nickelodeon with links to NIck.com, but that's a typical Viacom/MTV problem.

But this film is a bit lighter than the original for that reason. It is still satirical, but less blatantly pop culture gag driven than a Shrek. Pink Panther takes subtle jabs at the French and their love of cycling, hatred of American food, etc. It also incorporates a very fun sequence with 006, creates gags out of Viagra, ring tones, the TSA, etc. Basically, it's current without being so tied to 2005/6 that it will feel dated later.

If you like to laugh, you'll like this movie. If you consider yourself a tough cookie for laughs, then you may not. But that's your fault, not the movie's... ;)