The Pink Panther (2006 film)

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The Pink Panther
File:Pinkpanther mp.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Shawn Levy
Produced by Robert Simonds
Screenplay by <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Story by <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
  • Michael Saltzman
  • Len Blum
Based on The Pink Panther
by Blake Edwards
Maurice Richlin
Starring <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Music by <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Cinematography Jonathan Brown
Edited by <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Production
company
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Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Distributed by <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Columbia Pictures (USA)
Release dates
 <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
  • February 10, 2006 (2006-02-10)
Running time
 93 minutes
Country France
United States[1]
Language English
Budget $80 million[2]
Box office $158.9 million[2]

The Pink Panther is a 2006 American mystery comedy film and a reboot of The Pink Panther franchise, marking the tenth installment in the series. In this film, Inspector Jacques Clouseau is assigned to solve the murder of a famous soccer coach and the theft of the famous Pink Panther diamond. The film stars Steve Martin as Clouseau and also co-stars Kevin Kline, Jean Reno, Emily Mortimer, and Beyoncé Knowles. Despite a negative reception from critics, the film grossed $158.9 million worldwide. The Pink Panther was theatrically released on February 10, 2006, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and was released on DVD and Blu-ray on June 13, 2006, by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. The sequel to this film, titled The Pink Panther 2, was released on February 6, 2009.

Plot

Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus narrates a flashback of a soccer match semi-final between France and China. French coach Yves Gluant comes down the stadium, wearing the Pink Panther diamond ring and kisses his girlfriend, pop star Xania, after whispering something to her. After France wins the game, Yves dies from a poison dart, and the Pink Panther vanishes. Eager to win the Medal of Honour, Dreyfus promotes a clumsy policeman and "village idiot", Jacques Clouseau, to the rank of Inspector and assigns him to the Pink Panther case. Meanwhile, Dreyfus assembles a secret team of top investigators to crack the case, allowing Clouseau to serve as the public face of the investigation so that media attention is focused on Clouseau. Dreyfus assigns Gilbert Ponton as Clouseau's assistant and instructs Ponton to keep him informed of Clouseau's actions. Ponton becomes good friends with Clouseau and remorseful of his orders.

Bizu, a French footballer who had an affair with Xania, and therefore is the prime suspect in Gluant's murder, is shot in the head by an unknown assassin in the team's locker room. While at a casino to gain information, Clouseau encounters British Secret Agent 006, Nigel Boswell. Boswell foils a robbery at the casino by the notorious "Gas-Masked Bandits", using Clouseau's trenchcoat to hide his identity. Clouseau mistakenly receives credit for the deed in the press and is nominated for the Medal of Honour, much to Dreyfus' dismay.

Clouseau follows Xania to New York City, suspecting that she knows more than she is telling. However, despite Ponton's insistence that she is most likely a suspect because Gluant cheated on her, Clouseau decides Xania is innocent. Meanwhile, because the poison that killed Gluant was derived from Chinese herbs, Dreyfus concludes that the killer is a Chinese envoy named Dr. Pang. Now ready to take charge of the case and win the Medal of Honour, Dreyfus has one of his officers switch Clouseau's bag with one full of weapons at the airport for his return flight to France. The bag sets off the metal detector at the security gate, and Clouseau is arrested due to his inability to pronounce "hamburger" correctly (he tried to smuggle some for the trip back). Upon his return to France, the press vilifies him and Dreyfus strips him of his rank for "trying to become a hero". The Chief Inspector now plots to publicly arrest Dr. Pang at the Presidential Ball, where Xania will also be performing.

While Clouseau reads an online article about his arrest, he deduces from the photograph of it that the murderer will next target Xania, and he contacts Ponton. The two detectives rush to the Élysée Palace and sneak into the Presidential Ball. While Dreyfus publicly arrests Dr. Pang for double murder, Clouseau and Ponton save Xania's life by capturing her would-be assassin, Yuri, the soccer team's Russian trainer. Jealous of Gluant, Yuri used his knowledge of Chinese herbs, mandated by a statute, to kill him. After overhearing Yuri's rants, Bizu blackmailed him and Yuri used his knowledge of the location of the occipital lobe to kill Bizu. Yuri targeted Xania out of revenge for her dismissal of him while she dated Gluant. Clouseau reveals the diamond was never stolen but sewn into the lining of Xania's purse, which he saw in the photograph. She received it from Gluant as an engagement ring and hid it because she was worried it could implicate her. Clouseau concludes that Xenia is the rightful owner of the ring.

For successfully solving the case, Clouseau wins the Medal of Honour. While leaving with Ponton, following the ceremony, Clouseau accidentally gets Dreyfus's jacket caught on his car; he remains oblivious to Dreyfus's screams as he drives away. Clouseau and Ponton later visit him in the hospital. After Clouseau wishes him well, he accidentally releases the brake on Dreyfus's bed; the bed races through the hospital and throws Dreyfus into the Seine, shouting Clouseau's name in anger as he takes the plunge.

Cast

Main cast

Supporting cast

Jackie Chan was originally offered the part of Clouseau's manservant, Cato Fong, but turned it down due to his perceived political incorrectness. Gilbert Ponton serves as Cato's stand-in.[citation needed]

Production

A re-collaboration between Steve Martin and producer Robert Simonds, the successful teaming behind Cheaper by the Dozen, The Pink Panther had a production budget of US$80 million.[2] Filming began on May 10, 2004.[3] The film was originally supposed to seek an August 5, 2005 release date, but was then pushed forward to February 10, 2006 because of Sony. "With the recent acquisition of MGM, we wanted to give our marketing department the time and opportunity to launch this very important franchise," Sony Pictures Releasing president Rory Bruer said. "We've seen the movie, and we really love this film. It's a franchise we believe in and are really excited about, and Steve Martin is great as Clouseau."[citation needed]

Critical response and box office

Steve Martin was praised by critics for his performance.

The Pink Panther received generally unfavorable reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 22%, based on 139 reviews, with an average rating of 4.1/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Though Steve Martin is game, the particulars of the Inspector Clouseau character elude him in this middling update."[4] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 38 out of 100, based on 35 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[5] The film was nominated for two Razzies in 2006, one in the category "Worst Remake or Rip-off", and one in the category "Worst Supporting Actress" for Kristin Chenoweth.[6] The Pink Panther opened at #1 in the United States, grossing $20.2 million from 3,477 theaters, and took in an additional $20.9 million over the four-day Presidents Day weekend the following weekend.[7] The film closed in US theaters on April 16, 2006, having grossed $82.2 million in its ten weeks of release. Overseas, the film took $76.6 million, resulting in total box office gross revenue of $158.9 million. US screenings made up 51.8% of box office takings, with international viewings responsible for 48.2%.[2] The Pink Panther is the highest-grossing film in the Pink Panther franchise.[8]

Home media

The Pink Panther was released for home viewing on June 13, 2006, and sold 693,588 DVD copies, worth $9,391,182. To date the film has sold 1,579,116 copies—$23,216,770 of consumer spending.[9]

Music

Christophe Beck is credited with the film score which was released as the soundtrack album The Pink Panther about one month following the release of the film.[10] Singer Beyoncé Knowles performed two songs for the film, "A Woman Like Me" and U.S. number-one hit, "Check on It". The latter serves as the film's theme song aside from the Pink Panther theme.

Numerous other songs were used in small parts, but only Beck's original score was included on the soundtrack album.[10][11]

Sequel

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Main article: The Pink Panther 2

The sequel to this film, titled The Pink Panther 2, was released on February 6, 2009. It again features Steve Martin as Inspector Clouseau and Jean Reno as Gendarme Ponton, but was notable for having John Cleese as Dreyfus instead of Kevin Kline. Beyonce Knowles did not return for the sequel. The film features Clouseau and a "Dream Team" of the world's best detectives formed to catch the international mastermind thief El Tornado, who has stolen several valuable treasures, including the Shroud of Turin, the Pope's Ring and the Pink Panther diamond. The film grossed $75,946,615 at the box office.[12]

References

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  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Beck, C. (2003). The Pink Panther CD. Studio City: Varese Sarabande.
  11. ↑ Shuman, I., Simonds, R., Trench, T. (Producers), & Levy, S. (Director). (2006). The Pink Panther. Los Angeles, CA: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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