Review: Pink Panther 2

Pink Panther 2
2.5 Lloyds – Cautionary Family-Friendly
PG for some suggestive humor, brief mild language and action.
Genre: Comedy
Running Time: 1 hour 32 minutes

Steve Martin is back as Inspector Clouseau in a sequel to the 2006 Pink Panther movie.

This time around the intrepid and bumbling French Police Detective joins forces with a team of international detectives and experts. They’re searching for a thief who’s been stealing legendary treasures from around the world. Martin is once again joined by his partner Ponton, played by Jean Reno, and Emily Mortimer as Nicole, the object of his awkward affections.

Of course one of the stolen artifacts includes
the famed Pink Panther Diamond!

Steve Martin proves once again why he’s the perfect guy to take over from the famed Peter Sellers in this role as Inspector Clouseau. In 2006 when Martin was cast as the ever popular French Detective we wondered how it would work. After all, we grew up with Sellers in the role and wondered how anyone could replace him. However, the genius of Martin wins the role over as he did not try to be a clone of Sellers. Instead, he made the role his own.

If they make more Pink Panther movies it appears the script writers have decided to have the plot revolve around the Pink Panther Diamond. That’s fine as it has the potential of giving the Pink Panther franchise a new and fresh start. After being heralded a hero for recovering the priceless diamond in the first movie, Martin reprises his role as Inspector Clouseau with the focus of protecting the diamond once again. The movie starts off as a mish-mash of wonderful physical comedy pulled off by Steve Martin. While this is Martin doing his best at being funny, I must admit I wondered where the plot was. After approximately 15 minutes of laughing to a series sight gags, I wondered if it was a sign of what was to come.

I’m happy to report the movie does pick up!

While the Pink Panther 2 falls into the category of simply turn your mind off and laugh movies, it does hold together with a decent plot as well. Don’t look for anything too deep in this flick. You won’t find it. But, if you’re looking for a good laugh, this is just the movie for you.

Aside from Martin, it’s also nice to see Lilly Tomlin! It’s been a long time since we’ve seen Tomlin on the big screen and her appearance in the Pink Panther 2 proves her acting chops are still alive and well. There’s some nice surprises along the way in this movie too. Keep your eyes wide open for some recurring joke themes, and watch closely for Inspector Clouseau’s special Karate belt! Martin said this was his favorite joke. It goes by fast, but I’ll give you a hint – It appears in his closet during a fight with Ponton’s kids.

The Pink Panther 2 is rated PG. But, once again the MPAA folks have missed the rating by one. As a PG movie, we have to call it cautionary family-friendly. Some of the jokes and physical humor simply pushes the edge of the envelope a little much for a young audience. So, if you’re wondering about family viewing, it’s probably best to keep in mind the Pink Panther 2 would do better with a PG-13 rating. If it carried that rating, we would call it family-friendly.

Overall, if you like Steve Martin, you will probably like the Pink Panther 2. However, if you’re not too thrilled with Martin’s style, you might want to stay away this one.

Enjoy the show!
Dr. Rus