Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!: The Pink Panther (2006) - Martin's Sellers imitation is a trial to sit through

11/11/2023

The Pink Panther (2006) - Martin's Sellers imitation is a trial to sit through

♥

Co-star Steve Martin dons a classic costume as a classic character on this simple poster for Shawn Levy's The Pink Panther

An enormous diamond ring known as the Pink Panther is stolen from a soccer coach who is murdered in Paris, where the respected police chief inspector tasks his hopeless inspector Clouseau with investigating the debacle, - in order for himself to look better in comparison.

The Pink Panther is written by Len Blum (Feds (1988)) and co-writer/co-star Steve Martin (Baby Mama (2008)), with Michael Saltzman (The Middle (2011-13)) contributing story elements, and directed by Shawn Levy (Address Unknown (1997)). It is the 10th film in the Pink Panther franchise, which began with The Pink Panther (1963).

Even if you are game and onboard team Martin, this film comes apart. Martin plays a kind of imitation of Peter Sellers' hilarious classic turns as Clouseau throughout the film in a foolish, forgettable plot without any real highlights. Martin and Emily Mortimer (Mary Poppins Returns (2018)) seem to compete in who can look dumber in their awkward scenes, meanwhile Beyoncé (The Lion King (2019)) plays the part of a one-sided sexpot (why ever did she take on this 'role'?)

There is a bit of fun: But scenes that could be labeled 'Martin with a speech coach'; 'Martin parking his smart car into other cars' are about it, and these minor strikes of mirth drown in a veritable sea of bad jokes and bad gags, randomness that fails to make sense or be fun (such as a burning mojito cocktail) and embarrassments. Martin clearly should have invented his own Clouseau, because this imitation is a shipwreck.

Shawn Levy: 2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess

Date Night (2010) - Carell and Fey bring out the big laugh guns

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009) or, Museum Night: Sequel Time

2006 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]

Night at the Museum (2006) - Levy and Stiller bring the family fun

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 80 mil. $

Box office: 164.1 mil. $

= Flop (returned 2.05 times its cost)

[The Pink Panther premiered 19 January (France) and runs 93 minutes. Martin was paid 3 mil. £ for his script service and 28 mil. $ in total for his work on the film. Shooting took place around May 2004 in New York, California and in the Czech Republic, including in Prague. The film opened #1 to a 20.2 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent another 2 weekends in the top 5 (#3-#3), grossing 82.2 mil. $ (50.1 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 10.5 mil. $ (6.4 %) and Spain with 8.4 mil. $ (5.1 %). Roger Ebert gave it a 1.5/4 star review, equal in rating to this one. The film made in excess of estimated 23.2 mil. $ on the North-American home video market alone. Despite the film's flop status, a 2009 sequel with Martin and co-stars returning was made to graver flop status. Levy returned with Beyoncé: A Woman Like Me (2006, music video), Pepper Dennis (2006, TV-series) and theatrically with Night at the Museum (2006). Martin returned in Baby Mama (2008). The Pink Panther is rotten at 21 % with a 4.20/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

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Donald Sutherland has passed away

Born in Canada, Sutherland battled polio as a child. His first credit was in Suspense (1963, TV-series) and his first film was The Castle of the Living Dead (1964). Later credits in his remarkable career include The Saint (1965-66), The Dirty Dozen (1967), M*A*S*H (1970), Kelly's Heroes (1970), Klute (1971), Don't Look Now (1973), 1900 (1976), Casanova (1976), The Eagle Has Landed (1976), Ordinary People (1980), A Dry White Season (1989), JFK (1991), Outbreak (1995), Fallen (1998), Virus (1999), Fierce People (2005), Pride & Prejudice (2005), Lord of War (2005), The Hunger Games (2012), The Undoing (2020, miniseries) and many more. He passed away at age 88. R.I.P.

Roger Corman has passed away

Born in Detroit, Michigan, Corman had a sprawling, intellectually hungry life as a youth and young man before arriving with his first film in 1955, Five Guns West. He would follow that with titles such as Apache Woman, It Conquered the World, Attack of the Crab Monsters, Teenage Cave Man, A Bucket of Blood, House of Usher, The Little Shop of Horrors, The Pit and the Pendulum, The Intruder, The Raven, The Terror, The Masque of Red Death, The Tomb of Ligeia, The Wild Angels, The Trip, Bloody Mama and many more. As a producer he was behind almost 500 films. Arguably among the most important filmmakers of the 20th century, Corman passed away at age 98. R.I.P.

William Friedkin has died

Born in Chicago, Friedkin accrued TV credits prior to his advance to the big screen as the director of Good TImes (1967), The Birthday Party (1968), The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968) and The Boys in the Band (1970) before his major breakthrough, The French Connection (1971), for which he won his only Oscar. He followed it up with the even bigger smash, The Exorcist (1973), arguably the best horror film of all time, for which he was Oscar-nominated. Later credits include Sorcerer (1977), Cruising (1980), To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), Rampage (1987), Rules of Engagement (2000), Killer Joe (2011) and The Devil and Father Amorth (2017, documentary). Friedkin passed away at age 87. R.I.P.

Louise Fletcher has passed away

Born in Alabama to deaf parents, Fletcher got her first credits in late-1950s TV-series.She took a 10 year-long sabbatical to devote her time to motherhood after the release of A Gathering of Eagles, but then came back and soon saw her career's most important part, as Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), for which she won her sole Oscar. Later credits include Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), The Lucky Star (1980), Brainstorm (1983), Two Moon Junction (1988), Cruel Intentions (1999), A Perfect Man (2013) and many more. Fletcher passed away at age 88. R.I.P.

Jean-Luc Godard has passed away

Born in Paris, France, Godard lived much of his life in Switzerland. He wrote for French film criticism magazine Cahiers du Cinema and became foundational for the New French Wave that inspired new waves in scores of other countries across the world with his Breathless (1960). Later credits include A Woman Is A Woman (1961), Vivre Sa Vie (1962), Le Petit Soldat (1962), Contempt (1963), Alphaville (1965), Pierrot le Fou (1965), 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her (1967), Weekend (1967), Every Man for Himself (1980), King Lear (1987), Century of Cinema (1995, documentary), Goodbye to Language (2014) and many more. Godard died of assisted suicide at age 91. R.I.P.

Wolfgang Petersen has died

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Caan was born the son of Jewish immigrants from Germany in New York. He got his start on TV in the early 1960s. His credits include El Dorado (1966), The Rain People (1969), Brian's Song (1971, TV movie), The Godfather (1972), - for which he earned his only Oscar nomination, - Slither (1973), The Gambler (1974), Funny Lady (1975), Rollerball (1975), Silent Movie (1976), Hide in Plain Sight (1980), - the only film he also directed, - Thief (1981), Misery (1990), Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), Bottle Rocket (1996), Eraser (1996), Dogville (2003), Elf (2003), Las Vegas (2003-07), Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) and many more. Caan passed away at age 82. R.I.P.

Jean-Louis Trintignant has died

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Adopted from an orphenage at a young age, Liotta got hooked on acting in high school. He had various TV credits in the late 1970s and early 80s, with his film debut in The Lonely Lady (1983). Later credits include Something Wild (1986), Field of Dreams (1989), Goodfellas (1990), Cop Land (1997), Hannibal (2001), Blow (2001), Narc (2002), John Q (2002), Identity (2003), Observe and Report (2009), Youth in Revolt (2009), The Details (2011), Killing THem Softly (2012), The Place Beyond the Pines (2012), Shades of Blue (2016-18), The Simpsons (2018, TV-series), Marriage Story (2019), The Many Saints of Newark (2021), Black Bird (2022, TV-series) and many more. Liotta passed away at age 67 in his sleep while on production in the Dominican Republic. R.I.P.

Philip Baker Hall has died

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Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!

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11/11/2023

The Pink Panther (2006) - Martin's Sellers imitation is a trial to sit through

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