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 & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Steve Martin	...	Clouseau
Kevin Kline	...	Dreyfus
Jean Reno	...	Ponton
Emily Mortimer	...	Nicole
Henry Czerny	...	Yuri
Kristin Chenoweth	...	Cherie
Roger Rees	...	Raymond Larocque
Beyoncé	...	Xania (as Beyoncé Knowles)
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

Before thousands of enthusiastic spectators at the World Cup semi-finals between France and China, an elusive professional assassin murders the famous French coach, and manages, somehow, to steal from his hand his prized possession--the priceless Pink Panther diamond ring. Now, of all the Parisian Police Force's detectives, the deceitful Chief Inspector, Dreyfus, decides to appoint the maladroit investigator, Jacques Clouseau, to this difficult and mysterious case, knowing that the eccentric gendarme is way out of his depth. Does Dreyfus have a hidden agenda? Can France's clueless and most bumbling officer of the law piece together the scarce leads to pull off a surprising success?

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Plot Keywords:

soccer | pink panther | diamond | france | investigation | 

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Taglines:

He wasn't born to greatness... but he just might stumble across it.

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Crime | Family | Mystery

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for occasional crude and suggestive humor and language

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Pictures [United States]

Country:

USA Czech Republic

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 February 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Mask of the Pink Panther

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$65,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$20,220,412, 12 February 2006, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$82,226,474

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$158,851,357

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 (2006) (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 (1967). 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

The French national police are under the control of the ministry of interior, not the ministry of justice.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Chief Inspector Dreyfus: Ah, Clouseau. Yes, well, the first time I ever heard that name, uh, Clouseau was just a little, um... nobody, a police officer in some little village far outside of Paris.
Chief Inspector Dreyfus: He was the village idiot as far as I could tell.
[Dreyfus chuckles]

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Crazy Credits

The opening credits feature the Pink Panther being pursued by, and in turn harassing, an animated Inspector Clouseau (who now resembles Steve Martin). The credits are directed by Bob Kurtz, who had worked on some of the "Pink Panther" shorts.

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Alternate Versions

An alternate opening sequence, made in CGI.

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Connections

Featured in Troldspejlet: Episode #35.7 (2006)

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Soundtracks

Tres Tres Chic
Written by Gary McFarland and Adam Dorn (as Adam Dornblum)
Performed by Adam Dorn
Courtesy of Palm Pictures Special Markets
Contains a sample of "Flea Market"
Written by Gary McFarland
Performed by Gábor Szabó (as Gabor Szabo)
Courtesy of The Verve Music Group
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

Well worth watching

Don't be swayed by some of the negative reviews. This movie is entertaining, and fun to watch. As has been noted in other posts, Martin is not Sellers, and Kline is not Lom. But you already know that. That being said, Steve Martin puts his own spin on the character, and most of the time it worked quite well. If you remember, the original Pink Panther was made in '63, A Shot in the Dark was in '64, and it was 12 years before the next one with Sellers was made. And during that time, Alan Arkin played Clouseau. So, Sellers playing the inspector wasn't an instant classic, and took over a decade to catch on enough to make sequels.

The plot in this outing is no more strained or outrageous than the others, and the slapstick comedy is just as forced at times as in the previous movies. But that is what Panther fans expect. If you were an adult when the first Pink Panther movies came out, you will remember all of the negative attitudes from numerous movie goers about how silly and juvenile they were. But those of us who 'got' the humor loved them. And those of us who 'get' the humor this time around love this movie.

I am just saying, give it a chance. It may not be the same as the originals, but it comes closer than anything else ever has or ever will. Sellers may be dead, but if you miss the spirit of Clouseau, it is alive in this movie. Let the people who want to appear sophicated bash this movie all they want, but I am pretty certain that even though they compare it to the original and point out its shortcomings, they would probably have had the same negative attitude toward the original movies had this forum existed back then.

The movie doesn't take itself seriously, so we shouldn't take it seriously either. Watch it, laugh out loud, enjoy it, and have an enjoyable evening.