Steve Martin once again mumbles and fumbles as French Inspector Clouseau entrusted with the task of tracking down international thief known only as ‘The Tornado’. Clouseau is made to work with a ‘dream team’ of international investigators from Britain (Alfred Molina), Italy (Andy Garcia) and Japan (Yuki Matsuzaki).Oh! our very own Aishwarya Rai Bachchan also makes her entry into the team, but which country she represents is strangely not clear. What follows is a series of slapstick humuor with virtually no funny lines. Despite the ‘dream team’ cast of big stars the film fades away for want of a sound script and an engaging plot. Even Martin’s acting credibility seems to be at stake on most occasions. No matter how good he is at playing the disaster-prone Inspector Clouseau there’s not much he could do except tag along helplessly. Even Ash looks totally out of place while trying to fit into her important role.
If there is one reasonable answer as to why Ash had to pick a role in this film, it could only be to fulfil her desire to be part of a ‘dream’ project involving the comical Martin.
The innocent gimmicks in which Inspector Clouseau re-enacts how the Pope’s ring could have been stolen on the Vatican Palace’s balcony is perhaps the only time one can get hold of the witty gag.
Director Harald Zwart must have forgotten that even a slapstick comedy needs substance, style, good script and melodrama.
There is no reason why one should not skip this pointless calamity.
The Pink Panther 2
English (U)
Cast: Steve Martin, Jean Reno, Alfred Molina, Andy Garcia, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Jeremy Irons, Lily Tomlin
Director: Harald Zwart
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