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

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 Clouseau 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:

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:

20th Century Fox [Brazil] 20th Century Fox [France]

Country:

USA Czech Republic

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 February 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Birth 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 Corporation,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

In the early stages, Paul Giamatti was considered for the role of Dreyfus and there were even plans for a running gag that would have had the Pink Panther animated character worked into the actual story by having him appear as Dreyfus' madness-induced hallucinations.

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Goofs

In the beginning of the film, a mike boom is visible above the actor's head as he sits at his desk.

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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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Connections

Spun-off from The Pink Panther Show (1969)

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Soundtracks

Got to Be Real
Written by David Foster, David Paich and Cheryl Lynn
Performed by Cheryl Lynn
Courtesy of Columbia Records
By Arrangement with Sony BMG Music Entertainment

User Reviews

Why isn't Steve Martin funny anymore?

I really don't understand Steve Martin!! First he tries dismally to revive the late great Phil Silvers character "Sergeant Bilko" and now he also has tried to revive equally dismally the late great Peter Sellers character "inspector Jacques Clouseau".

Now don't get me wrong, I am a fan of Steve Martin but as I was checking out his movie history it dawned on me that he hasn't been funny in almost twenty years! If he had retired after "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" he would have had almost the perfect movie career. And would now be remembered as a legend of comedy just like Sellers and Silvers.

But as with most actors, he doesn't know when to quit and he has now starred in two decades of Turkeys. Bowfinger is perhaps the only exception.

Now back to the Pink Panther. It is a truly an awful film. His performance is lame to say the least. Peter Sellers Clouseau was a masterpiece; Martin is comparison a pale imitation. The problem is Martin has run out of original ideas. Like an aging pop star that has ran out of original material, he has reduced himself to singing covers.

But in the Circus that is Hollywood one should always seek the high wire and never be the clown. So therefore perhaps its time Martin called it a day.