Steve Martin plays Jacques Clouseau as a village idiot in the 2006 reboot of The Pink Panther, and the movie spends most of its running time proving that being a village idiot is still funny. It is not, really. The film is a remake of the original series, with Martin taking over the lead role. It also brings in a new villain, a Chinese envoy named Dr. Pang, and a pop star girlfriend, Xania, played by Beyoncé. The setup is simple: a famous football coach is killed by a poisoned dart, and his ring with the Pink Panther diamond disappears. The ambitious Chief Inspector Dreyfus assigns the worst inspector in the force, Clouseau, to the case.
Trailer, via Amazon MGM Studios.
Clouseau’s Village Idiot Routine
Clouseau is clumsy, slow, and completely unaware of his own incompetence. He stumbles through the investigation, drawing the media’s attention while the real case gets buried. He befriends Gendarme Gilbert Ponton, who is assigned to watch him, and falls in love with Nicole Durant, the secretary. His clumsiness leads him to stumble into a casino where he meets MI6 agent Nigel Boswell, who foils a robbery while wearing Clouseau’s trench coat. Clouseau mistakenly gets credit for the work and is nominated for the Légion d’honneur, angering Dreyfus and ruining his chance to win it.
The problem is that Martin’s version of Clouseau is less clever and more simply dim. The jokes depend on him being wrong about everything, not on him being cleverly wrong. That is a thinner foundation for comedy. There is no wit here, only repetition. The film expects the audience to laugh at Clouseau’s mistakes because they are repeated often enough to become familiar.
“Pardon His French.”
The Murder, The Diamond, And The Pop Star
The murder itself is a strange choice for a comedy. Yves Gluant, the French coach, is killed by a poison dart during a football match between France and China. His girlfriend, Xania, a pop star, wears the priceless Pink Panther diamond ring during the match. The poison is later found to come from Chinese herbs, leading Dreyfus to conclude that the killer is Dr. Pang, a Chinese envoy.
Beyoncé’s Xania is meant to be a glamorous distraction, but the film barely uses her beyond her role as a suspect. She is a famous pop star, and the film could have built a whole arc around her fame and her relationship with the coach. Instead, she is left largely undeveloped.
Ponton, Dreyfus, And The Secret Team
Kevin Kline plays Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus, who is obsessed with winning the Légion d’honneur. He promotes Clouseau to inspector and assigns him to the case as a way of clearing it out of the way. Jean Reno plays Gendarme Gilbert Ponton, a capable officer assigned to report to Dreyfus on Clouseau’s actions. Ponton becomes Clouseau’s partner in crime-solving, even as he is ordered to watch him.
The dynamic between the three men drives the plot forward. Dreyfus wants the honour, Clouseau wants to solve the case, and Ponton wants to do his job. The film spends time on their interactions, and it is in these moments that the movie finds its best footing. The chase scenes are fast, and the physical comedy is energetic, even if the jokes themselves are thin.
A Weak Case, A Strong Finish
The case itself is a weak thread. Clouseau makes little progress, and the solution depends on a coincidence rather than deduction. The poison coming from Chinese herbs points to Dr. Pang, but the film never builds the case around him. He is mentioned, and then the movie moves on.
The film’s biggest weakness is its lack of focus. It tries to be a comedy, a mystery, and an adventure all at once, and none of them get the space they need. The comedy is repetitive, the mystery is thin, and the adventure is rushed. The result is a film that feels unfinished, as if it were cut down from a longer version.
| Element | Strength | Weakness |
|---|---|---|
| Clouseau’s character | Energy, physical comedy | Lack of wit, repetitive |
| The murder plot | Original twist with the poison dart | Thin case, rushed solution |
| Supporting cast | Solid performances from Kline and Reno | Underused roles, wasted potential |
| Pace | Fast, energetic | Rushed, unfocused |
A Limited Success
The film was a limited commercial success. It grossed $164.1 million worldwide against an $80 million budget. That is a modest return, and it shows in the finished product. The film was made to entertain, not to dazzle. It does neither very well.
The film’s tagline, “Pardon His French,” is a nod to Clouseau’s inability to understand the world around him. It is a fitting joke, because the film itself asks the audience to pardon its own French. The jokes are not always clever, and the case is not always solved.
The film is not a failure. It is a competent, sometimes entertaining, and frequently frustrating attempt to revive a classic. It is worth watching for the energy of the cast and the pace of the action, but it is not worth remembering fondly.
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