Pink Panther 2 funny for all the wrong reasons

By Jackie Ammons     3/12/09 7:00pm

Movies can sometimes be so terrible that they end up being funny. Such is the case with the recently-released film The Pink Panther 2, in which Steve Martin's character, Inspector Jacques Clouseau, embodies all that is ridiculously preposterous and leaves the audience asking why they are laughing during this horrible, over-the-top comedy.As the second installment of the reboot of the classic 1960-70s Pink Panther series starring Peter Sellers, The Pink Panther 2 features Steve Martin (Baby Mama) in the role of the Clouseau, the bumbling British detective whose goal in life is to preserve, protect and defend the treasured Pink Panther diamond. Aided by his trusty sidekick Ponton (Ca$h's Jean Reno) and girlfriend Nicole (Lars and the Real Girl's Emily Mortimer), Clouseau is a part of the dream detective team (including Beverly Hills Chihuahua's Andy Garcia) that protects all of the world's most valuable treasures from the infamous villain, The Tornado.

Clouseau's antics are preposterous and borderline annoying. Clouseau poses as a Spanish mariachi dancer in an Italian restaurant and eventually sets the place on fire. Then he poses as the Pope by dressing in the complete papal costume and waving from the balcony in St. Peter's square before falling into the piazza below. Such are the attempts at humor in The Pink Panther 2. While the movie attempts to be funny, it completely fails. The only funny part of the film - the only part that gets the laughs - is that the movie is so unintelligently funny.

Along with overused slapstick humor, The Pink Panther 2 makes a failed attempt at comedy with some verbal puns centered around Clouseau's constant butchering of the French accent and French language. While it may be funny the first time Clouseau mispronounces "hamburger," it gets a little lame by his 20th attempt.

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As almost a last resort, The Pink Panther 2 brings in comedian extraordinaire Lily Tomlin (The Walker) as Mrs. Bereger, Clouseau's etiquette coach, who tries to rid Clouseau of his racist and sexist epitaphs. Instead, Mrs. Berenger becomes yet another target of Clouseau's over-the-top offensive remarks, and Tomlin's talents are wasted.

The ultimate question regarding The Pink Panther 2 is why Steve Martin, the Saturday Night Live star and one of the best American comedians, agreed to act in this outlandish film. Maybe it was for the well-known role, or maybe it was because he thought playing such an absurd character would be fun. If the movie has any saving grace, it is that Martin does a great job playing the silly but somewhat bizarre Clouseau, if that is what the character was meant to be.

But there is a difference between laughing with a movie and laughing at a movie. When one laughs with a movie, it is as if the audience and the characters in the movie are sharing some witty, intelligent joke. But when one laughs at a movie, it is not that the movie is necessarily funny; rather, it is that the movie is so bad that it becomes funny to the audience.

The Pink Panther 2 is a desperation comedy, a movie that you only watch when you are dying for a cheap laugh. It is one of those movies that you view only because you know it will be fun to criticize, laugh at and maybe even secretly laugh with, but it is not worth a $10 trip to the movies. It fits the bill of being one of those films you watch on DVD with your friends when you are bored out of your mind and are desperate for any kind of comic relief.

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