Barnes & Noble

The superstar coach of France's World Cup soccer team is murdered before a stadium full of celebrating fans. The fabulous Pink Panther diamond on his finger has been stolen. Who ya gonna call? Enter, stumbling, Jacques Clouseau, the inspector without a clue. The notion of reviving Blake Edwards's mostly classic Pink Panther comedies, with Steve Martin stepping in for Peter Sellers, raised eyebrows when it was first announced. And an initial delay in its theatrical release from fall 2005 to spring 2006 had critics whispering that the film might be a bomb. It's certainly not; in fact, Martin arguably hasn't been this flat-out funny in a movie since Bowfinger. His Clouseau may not be as intimately observed as Sellers', but his French accent is just as outrageous and he is as hilariously hapless and hopelessly inept, able to wreak inspired mayhem simply by retrieving an errant Viagra pill from a hotel bathroom toilet or downloading a ringtone from his computer (plunging all of Paris into darkness in the process). Martin benefits from the inspired supporting cast, including Kevin Kline as Chief Inspector Dreyfus, who hires Clouseau, certain he will fail, in a bid to earn himself the Medal of Honor (for which he has been nominated seven times). Jean Reno is at his formidable, deadpan best as Ponton, whom Dreyfus assigns as Clouseau's assistant. A running gag, borrowed from the earlier films, finds Ponton anticipating all of Clouseau's attempts to catch him off guard. Beyoncé had more to do in Goldmember, but she makes a fetching suspect. "It could be a trap," Ponton warns when she invites Clouseau to dinner. "Who cares?" he replies. Clive Owen also has an amusing, apropos-of-nothing cameo as Agent 006. Martin co-wrote the screenplay, and his clever wordplay is in evidence throughout. As with the original films, the animated opening credits and Henry Mancini's jazzy, jaunty theme perfectly set the stage for the sophisticated slapstick to come. The Pink Panther is not flawless, but as a vehicle for Martin, it's a comic gem. Donald Liebenson

All Movie Guide

The world's most inept detective returns to the screen in this modern slapstick comedy. France's come-from-behind victory in the World Cup soccer championships turns tragic when the team's coach, Yves Gulant (Jason Statham), is murdered during a post-game celebration. Gulant's girlfriend, pop star Xania (Beyoncé Knowles), was standing by his side as he was felled by a poisoned dart, and in the chaos that followed a diamond ring he gave her was stolen, which held one of the world's largest and most valuable jewels, known as "the Pink Panther." The media and the public demand that the killer be found out and brought to justice, and Chief Inspector Dreyfus (Kevin Kline) of the Paris Police pledges to put his best man on the case. However, somehow the astoundingly clumsy but consistently lucky Inspector Jacques Clouseau (Steve Martin) gets the assignment instead, and with his assistant, Gendarme Gilbert Ponton (Jean Reno), in tow, Clouseau follows a dizzying trail of clues from Paris to New York City as he attempts to recover the rare diamond and find the villains who killed Gulant. An updated variant on the Inspector Clouseau comedies that helped make Peter Sellers a major star in the United States, The Pink Panther also stars Emily Mortimer, Kristin Chenoweth, Roger Rees, and William Abadie; leading man Steve Martin also wrote the film's screenplay. Mark Deming

Product Details

• UPC: 043396117907
• Source: SONY PICTURES
• Region Code: 1
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Sound: Dolby AC-3 Surround Sound
• Language: Français
• Editions: Special Edition
• Time: 1:33:00
• Sales Rank: 6,239

This DVD is also available as part of a box set:

• Pink Panther Ultimate Collection

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