Martin Amuses as Clouseau in 'Pink Panther'

 Kevin L. Mayer

Steve Martin is as laugh-out-loud hilarious as “The Pink Panther” theme song is recognizable.

Martin plays the ever clumsy and incompetent Inspector Clouseau in this prequel to the 1964 original movie staring Peter Sellers. Directed by Shawn Levy and screenplay written by Martin and Len Blum, this film is set to become a classic.

As the movie begins, a celebrated soccer coach has been murdered in front of thousands during a game. He was the owner of the famous pink panther diamond, which mysteriously disappeared off his finger in the middle of a celebration and the confusion of his murder.

Clouseau, not yet an inspector, is a patrol officer who seems to be a magnet for accidents and problems. Chief Inspector Dreyfus, played by Kevin Kline, promotes Clouseau in a ruse to distract the media from his real investigation. He does this because France is about to award the prestigious Medal of Honor to a heroic French citizen. It is an award for which the chief inspector has been nominated seven times, but has never won. He intends to win this time. The plan is for all attention to be on Clouseau while Dreyfus investigates the crime with a handpicked super team of detectives.

Dreyfus assigns Gendarme Gilbert Ponton, played by Jean Reno, to be Clouseau’s partner during the investigation. Unbeknownst to Clouseau, Ponton is made his partner in order to spy on him. Dreyfus wants to make sure that Clouseau is kept in line and will not crack the case before he can, and so it begins.

Beyonce Knowles plays the singing sensation Xania, girlfriend of the murdered soccer coach. With the chemistry between Xania and Clouseau being hysterical, it is obvious to everyone but Cloueau that he is absolutely clueless.

A favorite scene of mine is when Clouseau is investigating the murder and happens upon another crime. The ‘gas mask bandits’ have been robbing places in France and had not been captured. As Clouseau is in the bar, he meets a secret agent who identifies himself as 006. In classic Clouseau fashion, his response is, “…so you are one short of the big time.” The agent is confused, but that is not the best part. The agent then proceeds to use Clouseau’s coat as a disguise so he can take out the robbers. The 006 agent uses a disguise because he is not supposed to be there, but in doing so; the media and witnesses believe it was Clouseau who foiled the crime. This adds Clouseau’s name to the Medal of Honor nomination list, a situation that does not sit well with Dreyfus.

I recommend this movie for almost all ages, since much of the crude humor is of an intellectual, mature level. “The Pink Panther” topped the box office during its release weekend and continues to battle to hold a top spot in the box office rankings.

Receiving a PG-13 rating for crude and suggestive humor and language, this film is a comedy that deserves to be added to anyone’s collection. I give it 4 ½ jalapeños out of a possible 5. Get out and check this one out.