Who would have ever thought a Bollywood actress would be a part of a cult movie that originated in the 1960’s. Forty years later, Pink Panther is back after a series of remakes. This time however, Inspector Jacques Clouseau played by Steve Martin, brings with him a new adventure and Bollywood queen bee Aishwarya Rai in tow. While they search for the Pink Panther diamond, they encounter some odd situations and interesting characters. Read on to see if this movie kept up with its legendary reputation or made audiences go blue with boredom.
Inspector Jacques Clouseau (Steve Martin) along with his crew made up of a bunch of international officials including the British Pepperidge (Alfred Molina), Italian Vincenzo (Andy Garcia), Japan’s Kenji (Yuki Matsuzaki) and India’s very own Sonia (Aishwarya Rai) get together to search for the thief ” The Tornado,” who has been thieving some of the world’s greatest treasures including the Pink Panther diamond. After a series of crazy events, they find all of the treasures minus the diamond. Clouseau is convinced that “The Tornado” was not behind all the chori’s. As his investigation continues, he soon discovers that one of the officials is not what they make themselves to be.
Funny? Hardly. Interesting? No. Quite honestly, this remake does not live up to the original or any of its successful remakes thereafter. While expectations were running high as the main lead Steve Martin co-scripted this one, he failed to create any hysterics or laughs for that matter. While some of the scenes force you to chuckle, most of the time you can’t help but attempt to understand how a group of clearly talented actors come together and produce what is definitely an unfunny debacle. Add to this not-so-funny script, a few racist remarks, and you simply cringe when Martin blurts out lines like “my yellow friend” to his Japanese counterpart.
Performance wise, if you are a Steve Martin fan, this is your glory film. He is seen in every single frame of the movie which is clearly unnecessary for the most part. While he does have some of the more “humorous” lines in the movie, he falls short of impressing. For an actor of his stature and experience, this movie does not bring out the best in him. If we head Eastward, our very own Aishwarya Rai Bachchan does feature in the movie in a very short but prominent role. Without giving away the climax, her performance has improved since her last Hollywood feature. No doubt, she lives up to her reputation of looking fabulous. As the envy of Steve Martin’s affection, she does manage to create some hullabaloo before she disappears and fades into the background. However, she is one of the most beautiful women in the world and clearly shows the world she is. Beyond looking fab, she is simply okay. The rest of cast works well as props in the movie who are out and about in the surroundings.
Pink Panther 2 is a disappointment in all areas. The story can clearly be called lame and the performances average. Perhaps the casting was too casty? Too many big names and all of them vying to stick out. What happened was quite the contrary. They all failed to impress and in fact it was quite evident that each of the actors were subtly trying to step on each others’ toes, causing quite a disaster. The story lacked any substance and even a mystery. At many points in the movie, audiences were clearly confused and realized that perhaps a popcorn break was in order.
Quite honestly, audiences expect nothing but excellence and their money’s worth when watching a movie that has been remade magnificently in the past. In ways more than one, the script writers and director Harald Zwart have let down Pink Panther fans. While I have to admit I was excited to see Ash’s name in the opening credits of the movie, I was disappointed with her usage. Hopefully in the future, she will think twice or thrice before she agrees to another H-wood movie instead of committing to them for the wrong reasons.
Pink Panther 2 is not worth your money. Watch the original sixties or animated version even. Definitely not ‘twice the fun,’ so avoid this one.
