The Pink Panther 2

I saw this movie last night, primarily because my wife doesn’t want to see FRIDAY THE 13th. I pretty much figured it would be a “throwaway” movie, but instead I found it to be charming with several good laugh-out- loud laughs. There was a time when Steve Martin was the king of stand up comedy, and was unrivaled in his ability to inhabit a character that was silly and vapid, but this silly and vapid character would be so effective that you’d find yourself imitating his mannerisms or speech patterns for days on end. The challenge with THE PINK PANTHER is how to overcome the shadow of Blake Edwards and the incredibly unusual talent that was Peter Sellers. Certain movie are “time locked” – the stars line up, the time has come, the zeitgeist has smiled, or something, and for whatever reason, they become part of that year’s (or a series of years’) pop culture. (JAWS, STAR WARS, INDIANA JONES come to mind, but so do movies like CORVETTE SUMMER and CARWASH, oddly enough.) Blake Edwards’ PINK PANTHER movies commanded audience attention for many years. Probably largely forgotten by today’s audiences, they were a definite presence when they came out, and were enjoyed by quite a few people. (Who could ever forget the “Does your dog bite?” bit, or the “Kato, my little yellow friend...” gags?) Sure, Blake Edwards hated Peter Sellers, but together they created the icon of Inspector Clouseau, and no one but a comedy master like Steve Martin can come close to pulling off the impossible feat of wearing those shoes. I laughed more in this movie than I did in the last two comedies I’ve seen. Thanks to Steve Martin. Who still has such screen presence that it’s a shame he doesn’t do more films. It’s also a shame that most people now who hear the words "Pink Panther" think of the trademark cartoon cat. Who, as I remember, was even used to sell housing insulation once..