La maldición de la pantera rosa

inspector Cleaseau is off somewhere searching for the Pink Panther diamond so in the meantime, Chief Inspector Dreyfuss programs a computer to find his replacement,, but instead of picking the best qualified detective he programs the computer to pick the worst detective,, so from NYC comes a bumbling idiot you would think is closeau's American cousin,, i'm sure Dreyfuss is going ape now that he has met the police officer,,, Roger Moore has a cameo in the end of the movie that's pretty cool,, This was David Niven's last film,, I really liked him throughout his work on some of the Pink Panther movies,, alothough obviously not the strongest panther movie,, certainly not the weakest.

Ignore the negative press when viewing this. O.K., the movie cant hit the heights of either A shot in the dark or The Pink Panther Strikes Again, but it is a nice little film in it's own right. Firstly Ted Wass is good in the role of Clifton Sleigh, perhaps it is the fact that the character is too bumbling in the wrong direction that it doesn't work out. The stars of the show are again Herbert Lom and Joanna Lumley, and the sexy Leslie Ash in a Bond girl like role. The man who steals the show is surprisingly Roger Moore as the newly Plastic surgery clad Clouseau who is made up to look like, rather appropriately, Roger Moore. An hilarious twist which is something Clouseau would have gone in for. It is a pity Moore wasn't given the role of Clouseau out right because he is effective in the part and quite funny. An enjoyable little film.

This series should have been killed after this unfunny return with the always annoying Wass, attempting...and boy is he attempting...to fill the shoes of late great Peter Sellers. You don't even have to see the film to know it can't be done. Niven looks tired in his final role and the rest of the cast looks bored, with a feeling that they've been down this road way too many times.

O.K. I know that most people see "Curse of the Pink Panther" as being a pretty weak film. Granted, it is weak compared to the great Panther films (Return, Strikes Again, A Shot in the Dark) and the good Panther films (Revenge, Trail and even Son)but somehow, I liked this better than the initial Panther film. For one thing, it doesn't drag on like the original film (again it could just be me)and give Blake Edwards credit for at least attempting to continue the series.

Looking back at Edwards' previous five films ("10", "S.O.B.", "Victor/Victoria", "Trail of the Pink Panther" and "The Man Who Loved Women"[which I persist in admiring even in the face of universally dismal reviews], I suppose it was a tough act to follow those great films with "Curse" perhaps it was a way to get out of his UA contract so he could make more important films at Columbia (including the great "Micki and Maude", "That's Life", "Blind Date" and "A Fine Mess")

But by all means, Edwards hasn't made a bad picture. "Curse" is very much worth a look, to see how the series might have turned had it not been a DUD at the box office. As for the casting, one might condemn Ted Wass for even attempting to fill the enormous shoes left behind by Sellers, but he gives it a good try and makes his own niche as an entirely different kind of stupid detective. And as usual, Herbert Lom is hilarious as Chief Inspector Dreyfus. He really holds the film together and how he never received an Oscar nomination is beyond my understanding.

If you haven't seen the other Panther films, one might look at "Curse of the Pink Panther" as a very good, even great comedy. However, if you have seen the other films, "Curse" will look tissue thin by comparison. But that didn't stop me from finding much to enjoy in this film. You owe it to yourself to give this a look.

*** out of 4 stars

While this is not quite the train wreck that TRAIL OF THE PINK PANTHER was, it's still a pretty weak entry in the PANTHER series. Ted Wass is bland and ineffectual; when I watch him here I keep thinking of how much better this movie could have been if most of his scenes were acted or directed differently. One of the few times he made me laugh was when he was doing the voice for his "instant companion."

The "new Clouseau" at the end was an interesting touch -- not convincing, exactly, but funny.

In hindsight, if Blake Edwards really wanted to wrap up the series after Sellers' death, I think it would have been better if he combined the "using deleted Sellers scenes" concept from TRAIL with the "searching for Clouseau" concept from CURSE into just one movie, and left it at that.