The Pink Panther

I can't believe the high profile negative campaign against this film. It's hard enough to make a remake or a comedy alone, but to make both well is amazing. Let's see some of these negative people try to write comedy themselves. There's no doubt Kevin Kline sacrificed his role for the benefit of Martin (a very supportive role taking a lot of physical torment)and the "pronounciation joke" runs a bit too long, but people of all ages (still using an animated beginning, innuendo jokes that only teenagers will get, etc. help pull in the younger, family audiences) will enjoy this quality film that cast and crew made sure to get right. Very entertaining! It'll open much bigger than industry predictions and make steady box office. Hopefully they make a sequel and continue the series.

The movie was just fun. I'm a huge fan of slapstick and goofy humor. Well this is a movie just full of it. I took my nine year old daughter with me, who like a lot of the children I know really like Steve Martin. Well we both laughed a lot and sometimes out loud, especially me. It was opening night and the theater was almost full. There were lots of people laughing during this movie. It was a crowd of all ages and at the end there was applause. I'm not gonna give some long drawn out analysis of the movie and compare it to the original series or any other movies for that matter. I will just say that I was very skeptical about a new Pink Panther movie and just assumed this would be a stupid bomb. Well I must say it was stupid funny and like a bomb it was explosively funny. I'm glad I saw a clip on the Letterman show that sparked my interest. Steve Martin and Kevin Kline were downright funny.

As a father it's always fun to take your kids to a movie where you can both laugh out loud and enjoy without having to worry about foul language, nudity or violence. If you want to go see a serious movie full of the hardships of life then go see one of the Oscar nominated pictures. If you just want to go and have some simple fun with one of your kids, your spouse or a friend, then allow yourself the time to see why Steve Martin is still one of America's best funny men.

This movie unfolds slowly & tentatively, but picks up speed as it progresses...or maybe I was just too concerned with Steve Martin's interpretation of Inspector Clouseau, and I finally relaxed about halfway through the film. Well, when you're used to seeing Peter Sellers as Clouseau, it's just difficult to view anyone else in that role. But, true to the character, Steve Martin does make it his own, and actually pulls it off pretty effectively. He has always been good with physical humor, and this film is no exception.

Similarly, its difficult to adjust to seeing Kevin Kline as Inspector Dreyfus. Since this movie is a prequel, I can assume that Clouseau has yet to get completely under his skin. It was typical Kevin Kline ... dry, with a weak french accent. I was mildly disappointed because I really enjoyed his french character & accent in French Kiss several years ago.

The first few gags were very short-sided and fell flat, but once Clouseau starts looking for clues the slapstick works a little better & the film gets more enjoyable. Many of the gags are predictable (as is the plot), but what really makes them work is Martin's reactions (which I really think was the key to Peter Seller's portrayal as well).

This film was very tame, with only subtle innuendoes that most youngsters aren't likely to grasp. The audience appeared to laugh at least as much as I did. If you don't expect too much, this movie will be fun; if you expect too much, you're likely to be disappointed.

While obviously nothing can hold a candle to Peter Sellers and the original Pink Panther, I was pleasantly surprised with this new installment. I went in being very skeptical, but I laughed through most of the movie, and left satisfied by the experience. Beyonce really should stick to singing, so it was good that her speaking role wasn't very big; honestly a different person for her role would have made the movie better. At the movie theater or renting it later, it is definitely worth a look. Plenty of slap-stick, and Martin's accent is more over the top than Sellers, which made some of the situations very funny. And yes, his pronunciation of "hamburger" features quite prominently in it.

I'm rather surprised at the outpouring of positive commentary about this movie, especially by folks who are older than ten or so.

I saw this with my son in a crowded theatre, mostly children, and from the reaction, most of them thought it was hilarious. I'd been hoping for a bit more of a nod to adults - something along the lines of what there was in Bugs Bunny or, more recently, in a lot of the SpongeBob Squarepants episodes - something more than fart jokes and basic slapstick.

Unfortunately, that's pretty much all there was. I felt like I was sitting through Mr. Magoo again, except with Steve Martin instead of Leslie Nielsen. Sure, there were a couple of funny bits, but they were certainly not enough to carry the movie - a lot like MIB II in this regard, where it felt like they had a couple of jokes left over from the first that they tried to use to carry the movie.

The wonderful actors Kevin Kline and Jean Reno were wasted in their roles - though without them it would have been completely abysmal, and Beyonce does a good job as well.

In short, it wasn't bad enough that I felt I wasted my time, but I'm sure glad that I went on a free pass and didn't pay $17 for the experience. Then again, if you've got kids under the age of 12 or so, take them - they will love it, it's right up their alley - just don't expect much to be there for yourself.