The Pink Panther 2 | Cornelius Crimple reviews, Blu-ray, Comedy | DONNE TEMPO
The Pink Panther 2
Martin’s best chance at breathing life back into the Inspector would have been in making him likable to the teen or tween set — an Austin Powers style, hip, Clouseau for example.
Unfortunately Martin’s awkward shenanigans cannot be favorably compared to Mike Meyer’s obliviousness or Peter Seller’s naivety.
As for the plot, a dream team of detectives led by distinguished actors Alfred Molina and Andy Garcia are out to catch the master criminal, the Tornado, and return priceless museum relics to their countries. Should have worked. Plenty of opportunity for mayhem.
However, I laughed only twice in 92 minutes.
Once as John Cleese beat his head against the wall and then during a much needed break when I watched a bit of Mr. Martin’s film "Father of the Bride 2,"
This supposed slapstick comedy needs to be slapped.
The goods: The Peter Seller fueled Pink Panther Film Collection is available on DVD for around $30. You get four films to really laugh out loud with including "The Pink Panther," "The Pink Panther Strikes Again," "Revenge of the Pink Panther" and "Trail of the Pink Panther."
The bads: How do you put Steve Martin, John Cleese and Lilly Tomlin in the same film and suppress the funny? I don’t know either, ask director Harald Zwart.
What kills me the most is that I really like Steve Martin. Heck, I even still own a 45 of his "King Tut." single.
And, by the way, mastering this in a Blu-ray format is pointless, no matter how pretty it looks.
The mandatory extras: The gag reel is not funny and the featurettes justifying this mess are not required.
However, a scavenger hunt type challenge called Master Thief – Global Crime Showdown! is worth mentioning. Traveling around the globe, a pair of players steal precious items from ten major cities by answering historically themed, multiple-choice questions. The ugly news is to ultimately win the game, by capturing the Pink Panther gem, the player must also answer questions based on the film.
Above and beyond: The Pink Panther cartoons of my youth were not always knee slappers but you could always count on their classic animation fueled by the silent star dead pan, a laugh track and that infectious Henry Mancini theme. Whether their apology for repackaging that which should have been left alone, or act of penance for creating the disaster this movie truly is, MGM throws in an extra DVD featuring 27 of th eoriginal Pink Panther cartoons. These classic cartoons are a six-minute nuggest of history for parents to share with their kids as they share those wonderful stories that begin “I remember...”