| Overall Grade: |
B+ |
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| Story: |
B+ |
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| Acting: |
A |
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| Direction: |
A |
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| Visuals: |
A- |
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One of the classic comedies
by Adam (movies profile)
Jul 3, 2006
3
of
3 people found this review helpful
"The Pink Panther" is a fun treat from Lifetime Achievement Academy Award winner Blake Edwards. Don't be fooled, however; it's not exactly about the cartoon panther in the opening credits, to asnwer the question of the reviewer who gave this movie an F. The pink panther is actually a valuable jewel, and this film is about a threesome of thieves who are about to steal it.
I was disappointed to discover that David Niven is the big star of the film, not Peter Sellers. Niven plays Charles, AKA The Phantom, who has teamed up with Simone (the beautiful Capucine) so that they can steal the pink panther from Princess Dala (the steamingly hot Claudia Cardinale). Hunting The Phantom is Simone's husband Inspector Clouseau (Sellers), who doesn't know that Charles is The Phantom and also doesn't know that Simone is in on the crime as well!
It isn't very clear as to why Simone is even married to Clouseau, since she's cheating on him with Charles. Charles, meanwhile, is annoyed by his nephew George (Robert Wagner), who also has a crush on Simone. Pretty soon, George is also one of the thieves.
And the movie goes on. Clever scenes include Simone trying to hide Charles and George from Clouseau in their bedroom (George isn't even aware that Charles is in the room); a funny part where Charles attempts to seduce Princess Dala by getting her drunk on champagne; a costume party and the wacky car chase afterwards; plus a musical number by Fran Jeffries.
The movie has two weaknesses that keep it from greatness. One, is of course, that Peter Sellers is not the big star and that he's not as funny as he is in the later films in the trilogy. The other reason is the very ending of the film when the "culprit" is revealed, since this person's identity is not who we would want it to be.
A sad fact is that out of the 5 stars of the movie, Robert Wagner and Claudia Cardinale are the only ones that are still alive today. Peter Sellers died of a heart attack in 1980, David Niven passed away in 1983 as a result of something called Lou Gehrig's disease, and Capucine commited suicide in 1990 for reasons unknown from what I've found out.
"The Pink Panther" may not be as wonderful as its sequels- "A Shot in the Dark" and "The Pink Panther Strikes Again"- but see it anyway. Since it's impossible to find it at a rental store, though, you'll have to do it the hard way like I did: buy the 6-disc DVD collectors edition. On the bonus disc is some cartoons with the cartoon Pink Panther! Although Peter Sellers was not this film's biggest star, he's still pretty funny sometimes. Blake Edwards is a good director and I still have to see his other classics like "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and "Victor/Victoria". I'm just glad I saw "The Pink Panther" first, 'cause it's a real delight and one of the classic comedies. |
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