“The Pink Panther” is rated PG for a reason: no adult should see this movie without the supervision of a child. Steve Martin plays the lovable, accident-prone Inspector Clouseau, hired by Chief Inspector Dreyfus (Kevin Kline) to basically screw up the investigation of the murder of Yves Gluant and the disappearance of his Pink Panther Diamond. Once Clouseau has successfully created enough of a distraction for the media, Dreyfus plans to valiantly swoop in and solve the case, therefore earning the prestigious Medal of Honor. But, in traditional Pink Panther manner, things don’t go exactly as planned.
To his credit, Steve Martin is a brilliant physical comedian and puts his skills to good use in this movie. Unfortunately, those skills alone can’t compensate for a lackluster plot and less-than-inspirational acting performances. French actor Jean Reno makes a close second to Martin in his role as Clouseau’s straight-man sidekick, Gendarme Gilbert Ponton. Everyone else leaves much to be desired.
In short, if you feel you must see this movie at least once in your life, wait until it comes out on DVD. By no means is this a “big-screen” flick. Unless of course, you prefer to hear fart jokes in Dolby Digital Surround Sound or pick apart Beyonc’s fashion faux-pas (read: much needed, um, “upper-body” support) on a screen the size of Ashton’s CXT, then be my guest. But I strongly suggest bringing your younger sibling, niece or nephew just to be on the safe side.