The Pink Panther 2 (2009)

Director:

Harald Zwart

Writers (WGA):

Scott Neustadter (screenplay) &
Michael H. Weber (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

6 February 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Crime | Mystery

Tagline:

Inspect the unexpected.

Plot:

Insp. Jacques Clouseau teams up with a squad of International detectives who are just as bumbling as he is. Their mission: Stop a globe-trotting thief who specializes in stealing historical artifacts.

Plot Keywords:

Inspector | Clouseau | Team | Detective | Italy

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Steve Martin	...	Clouseau
Jean Reno	...	Ponton
Emily Mortimer	...	Nicole
Andy Garcia	...	Vicenzo
Alfred Molina	...	Pepperidge
Yuki Matsuzaki	...	Kenji
Aishwarya Rai	...	Sonia (as Aishwarya Rai Bachchan)
John Cleese	...	Dreyfus
Lily Tomlin	...	Mrs. Berenger
Jeremy Irons	...	Avellaneda
Johnny Hallyday	...	Milliken
Geoffrey Palmer	...	Joubert
Philip Goodwin	...	Renard
Armel Bellec	...	Louis
Jack Metzger	...	Antoine

Also Known As:

The Next Pink Panther (USA) (working title)
The Pink Panther Deux (USA) (working title)
La pantera rosa 2 (Argentina) (Peru) (Venezuela) [es]
Розовая пантера 2 (Russia) [ru]
A Pantera Cor de Rosa 2 (Brazil) [pt]
A Pantera Cor-de-Rosa 2 (Portugal) [pt]
Den rosa panteren 2 (Norway) [no]
Der rosarote Panther 2 (Germany) [de]
La pantera Rosa 2 (Italy) [it]
La panthère rose 2 (France) [fr]
Pembe panter 2 (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Pink Panther 2 (Croatia) [hr]
Pinku pansâ 2 (Japan) [ja]
Roosa panter 2 (Estonia) [et]
Rosa pantern 2 (Sweden) [sv]
Roz panthiras 2 (Greece) [el]
Ruzový panter 2 (Czech Republic) [cs]
Vaaleanpunainen pantteri 2 (Finland) [fi]

MPAA:

Rated PG for some suggestive humor, brief mild language and action.

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | SDDS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG (certificate #44259) | Australia:PG | UK:PG | Finland:K-7 | Singapore:PG | Ireland:PG | Norway:7 | Netherlands:6 | New Zealand:PG | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | Philippines:G (MTRCB) | Portugal:M/6 | Sweden:Btl | Argentina:Atp | Brazil:10 | Peru:PT | France:U | Mexico:A | South Korea:All

Filming Locations:

Bedford, Massachusetts, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Boston and its area doubled for Paris in some scenes.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the first The Pink Panther (2006), Jean Reno's character didn't have that thick of a French accent, or even one at all - it was more of a British accent. In this film, he now has a very thick French accent. Likewise, Dreyfus' accent (after being re-cast with John Cleese) has a strong, English brogue.

Quotes:

Insp. Jacques Clouseau: I am now leaving France. This is a bad idea.
[steps over "You are now leaving France" line in airport]
TV Announcer: The legendary Pink Panther diamond has been stolen.
Insp. Jacques Clouseau: What'd I tell you?

Movie Connections:

References Lange flate ballær (2006)

Soundtrack:

Habanera Para Baile

Not a true Pink Panther film, but alright in its own right, I guess.

NOTE: I do not think this deserves an 8. However, I feel it's underrated on IMDb, so I gave it more stars. My actual rating is 5/10.

After Peter Sellers' tragic death in 1980, the Pink Panther series literally died overnight. The films became cheap rip-offs, capitalising on the success of the previous films. Sellers' widow even (successfully) sued Blake Edwards for tarnishing his memory with the god-awful Trail of the Pink Panther. Two unsuccessful attempts were made in the 80s to revive the series with different characters, followed by another attempt in the 90s. And so, it seemed the Pink Panther movies had come to an end.

Then, in 2006, Steve Martin's remake, The Pink Panther came out. I loved it! It seemed we were entering a new golden age of Pink Panther movies! After watching the trailer for The Pink Panther 2, I was excited and looking forward to seeing it. Well, I saw it on Sunday, and I left the theatre thinking, Well… what was that? I was smiling through the opening credits, being reminded of the original movies. Then, the actual movie began. Don't get me wrong, some of the scenes were hilarious! Problem is, if you've seen the trailer, you've seen a lot of these moments. In between these positively hilarious scenes, The Pink Panther 2 is littered with scenes that assume themselves to be funny, but to be truthful, are not that great at all.

Although I loved Martin's Clouseau in the first movie, something happened all of a sudden here. Clouseau has, overnight, turned into a womanizer and a racist. He keeps getting called into Lily Tomlin's office, where she attempts to instruct him in political correctness. Although a few of these gags are hilarious, most of them left me feeling… indifferent.

Martin assumes himself to be hilarious, but that's not the case in The Pink Panther 2. Just about the entire supporting cast outshines him (although he has his moments, too). John Cleese shines in every scene he's in (note: this doesn't mean every scene he's in is good, he just saves them from being downright disastrous). Jean Reno tries hard and succeeds as Gilbert Ponton. Alfred Molina is a fine actor, but the script doesn't really let him show his talents. And that's the general pattern… The mystery? Well, the movie cheats on its audience, constantly informing and misinforming its audience as to whether they can even solve the mystery, or whether there even is one left to solve. At one point, I decided to give up on that aspect and try enjoying the comedic portion of the film.

One more thing: although hilarious in the first film, the recycled "hamburger" joke became extremely boring in this film.

The film's ending is where it truly shines the most: it's reminiscent of Martin's first Pink Panther film, and genuinely funny all the way.