Honestly people, I thought I was far too sophisticated for this kind of stuff.  For those who don’t know, I’m one classy dude.  I play the violin AND the piano.  Yes I do.  You see I know where the little fork and the soup spoon go on a table setting.  I don’t watch pornography, people.  No sir, I watch… erotica.  Yep, yes I do.  Give me a glass a wine and I will sniff the cork.  Not only that, I can take a sip of that wine and tell you what year it was fermented within an eighty-year window.  I know the difference between a Monet and Manet.  Okay, so I don’t really know the difference.  But I DO know the difference between a Killians and a Bud Light.  Class.  That’s me.

Imagine my disappointment as I found myself laughing, repeatedly, at Sony Pictures new release ‘The Pink Panther’.  Reported to be a prequel to 1964 original, the new picture stars Steve Martin as the legendary bumbling buffoon police inspector, Jacques Clouseau.  As it goes in this version, the coach of France’s soccer team is murdered and Chief inspector Dreyfuss, played slimily by Phoebe Cates husband Kevin Kline, decides that he needs a complete incompetent to head the investigation and thus draw the attention of the press while he solves the case in the background, and then reaps all of the glory.  His choice for this task is an obvious one.   Lowly police officer Clouseau, who is the epitome of incompetence, is elevated to rank of inspector and sent to solve the case.  Dreyfuss also saddles Clouseau with 2^nd class inspector Ponton, played by French Actor Jean Reno (who I believe is the only freedom hating Frenchman in the film) to keep an eye on Clouseau and report his actions back to him.

And so the die is cast for our film which consist, of among other things, electrocuted testicles, fart jokes, endless pratfalls, horrid French accents, sexual innuendo (but not enough to raise the PG rating) and lest we forget, Beyonce Knowles.  Who, as an actress, is really, really, good-looking.  Really.  Now you would think a big metal ball bouncing off a guys head wouldn’t be funny to a classy guy like me.  But alas it was.  Using the Zucker-Abrams-Zucker style of comedy, The Pink Panther keeps the jokes and silliness coming at a rapid pace.  Not all of the jokes are funny, but just wait.  If you didn’t think silly moment A was funny, silly moment B, C and D are mere seconds away and you’re bound to laugh at one of those.  Steve Martin is at his wild and crazy guy best as Clouseau, doing his own version of the character as opposed to copying the late legendary Peter Sellers who immortalized the Inspector in previous Pink Panther films.

I’ve read a little online where many old school fans are incensed that they are remaking the Pink Panther Films, sullying the legendary character of the great Peter Sellers.  A few notes about that.  A. The original film was released before I was born.  B. The last couple of Pink Panther flicks with Peter Sellers sucked ass.  C.  Sellers was a definite comic genius, who passed away twenty six years ago.  D.  90% of all Hollywood movies today are remakes, sequels, old TV shows, or old comic books.  So, if you’re an old guy or gal with a fondness of watching Peter Sellers fighting his Chinese butler, you may want to pass on this new version of the Pink Panther.  But for my ten-year-old son (who begged his way into coming to the screening with me) who only knows the Pink Panther as the cartoon that sells pink insulation, it was hilarious.  And for his somewhat older, high class sophisticated father, will there ever come a time when electrocuted testicles STOPS being funny?  I certainly hope not.

Buds Second:  Hey, look, if you are in the mood to see a serious and sophisticated film, with deep social commentary and political overtones, you are in the wrong place. But if you’re looking to laugh out loud at a steady stream of bumbling and fumbling episodes, this movie is for you. Oh, and all the better if you have the sense of humor of a 14-year old boy. 

Making another edition in the Pink Panther series of movies, without having Peter Sellers in the Clouseau role, seems like a lousy idea.  Even with Steve Martin on board, it’s still doesn’t seem a smart thing to try. But darned if it doesn’t turn out pretty good. Martin knows that the only way he can pull this movie off is to focus on the most important thing about the Clouseau character: zaniness. There’s some good old-fashioned genuine wit here. It’s schtick, and it’s funny.  

Inspector Clouseau is not your average police detective; he’s sub-standard in nearly every way, but for the fact that he seems to have an uncanny knack for solving cases in spite of himself. In this movie, he’s trying to find out who killed the coach of the French national soccer team and then swiped the Pink Panther diamond.  The movie is not intended to be a whodunit thriller, but rather just a thin thread that holds all the mayhem together in the form of a movie.  

And how refreshing it is that no one, not even the actors, seem to take the whole thing that seriously. Everything in the film depends on visual and verbal gags, physical comedy and word-play. Goofiness and silliness are the fare, and the movie ends up being surprisingly fun.