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:

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 | Family | Mystery

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for occasional crude and suggestive humor and language

Did You Know?

Trivia

This is the highest grossing film in the Pink Panther franchise.

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Goofs

Around 00:13:08, the badge launched by Clouseau is completely pressed against Dreyfus. Around 00:13:12, when Clouseau takes off the badge, it's not pressed in the same way.

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Quotes

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

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Crazy Credits

The opening credits reflect the functions of the credited persons, for instance, Pink Panther as the orchestra director (at the music credits), standing before a photo camera (director of photography), etc.

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Alternate Versions

An alternate opening sequence, made in CGI.

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Connections

Referenced in The Cinema Snob: Invasion of the Samurai Sluts from Hell! (2014)

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Soundtracks

Carmen - Prelude to Act I
Composed by Georges Bizet

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... ;)

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:

$80,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$20,220,412, 12 February 2006

Gross USA:

$82,226,474

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$164,115,897

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