Pink Panther Vs. Pink Panther
So I decided to judge for myself and line-up the films back-to-back in order to rank and evaluate them together; one Pink Panther against the other. Only one can win, and though the answer may be obvious from the outset, I will attempt to reserve judgment as I put the first disc into my DVD player. Let us begin:
The Plot
Edwards: A princess in possession of the largest diamond in the world, the so-called “Pink Panther” faces a fight in her homeland for procession of it. She relaxes at an exclusive skiing report surrounded by the wealthy of Europe, including the charming playboy Sir Charles Lytton. But while Sir Charles is certainly pompous, he is also a liar. In secret he’s the Phantom, an international jewel thief of renown. And the only thing standing in his way is the Phantom’s menace, Inspector Jacques Clouseau.
Levy: A famous French soccer coach is murdered after a big win and his infamous Pink Panther diamond ring is stolen amidst the chaos following his murder. Inspector Dreyfus, desperate to solve such a high-profile murder, promotes a small town gendarme named Jacques Clouseau to be the police patsy and distract the media, while a team of his best men track the real killer. Naturally, Clouseau’s accidental effectiveness begins to have an impact as he somehow manages to get closer to finding the murderer.
The Star
Edwards: Legendary comedic actor Peter Sellers plays Clouseau with bumbling, fumbling perfection. In his first scene, Clouseau berates an underling for allowing a suspect and an accomplice get away. “We must find that woman!” he bellows before leaning one-handed on a globe and sliding off. Later he steps on his own Stradivarius, ploughs through and shatters a potter plant, and accidentally uses a firework as a candle. But through all this he remains endearing, and despite his oafishness he never, ever feels one dimensional.
Levy: For the remake, Steve Martin puts on the French accent and level-headed buffoonery as Clouseau. Unlike Sellers’ Panther, which was really more of an ensemble effort, this is clearly Martin’s show. His Clouseau projects a pompous confidence that borders on delusional psychosis. He takes things far too literally, he attempts to randomly attack his partner to test his preparedness and he shows an uncanny ability to completely misjudge every situation. But more than that, he reflects a number of broadly drawn French stereotypes.
The Gags
Edwards: The centrepiece of the film is a sequence where Mrs. Clouseau, who’s secretly Sir Charles’ lover, must juggle Sir Charles desires, his nephew George’s advances and her husband’s doddering. Later on, Sir Charles and George dressed as dual gorillas try to steal the Pink Panther during a lavish costume party. They escape in separate convertibles while being pursued by Clouseau in a suit of armour, a group of Roman cops and two guys in a zebra suit. In this Panther, the laughs sneak up on you.
Levy: In this version of The Pink Panther the term ‘subtlety’ is about as foreign as a genuine French accent from its American players. Clouseau consistently finds himself in random incidents of gross misunderstanding or is otherwise caught causing one type of disaster or another. There are some funny one-liners though, like when Clouseau asks his partner Ponton whether the gunshot to the head of a murder victim was fatal. Clive Owen also has a humorous, straight-faced cameo as a British secret agent, hilarious playing up the fact that 
he was once the top choice to play James Bond.
The Package
Edwards: Despite the perception, the first Panther film was not wall-to-wall prat falls and trip gags; of course there is a lot of that stuff in here. The humour in this Pink Panther comes from Edwards’ elaborate set-ups and strong characterization. In a tribute to Sellers’ timing and skill, Clouseau was not even considered the star as the film rolled, but the crew reacted so strongly to the Inspector that he took centre stage, and audiences agreed. From the cartoon character named after the film to the iconic theme music by Henry Mancini, The Pink Panther left an indelible mark on film comedy.
Levy: Marin with Jean Reno as Ponton make a good team thanks to Reno’s perfected straight man act. But for a film set predominantly in France with French characters, there are precious few French actors as part of the main cast. In a cast that includes Kevin Kline, Beyoncé Knowles, Kristin Chenoweth, Emily Mortimer and Roger Rees no one really stands out, and they don’t really come together as an ensemble like the cast of the original. And what little of the film that actually borrows from the original, the rest is a pretty pedestrian example what Martin, who also co-wrote the script, is capable of.
The Sequels
Edwards: Seven more films in the series followed, only five of them starred Sellers, and the final one starred Roberto Benigni as Clouseau’s just-as-accident-prone, illegitimate son. Generally, people identify Trail of the Pink Panther as the point where the series went really sour, but six good movies in a row is not a bad record in and of itself. Plus, due to Edward’s considerable instinct for know what appeals, the cartoon character he had David H. DePatie and Friz Freleng design was spun off into a popular animated short the following year.
Levy: Anything that comes out of the sequel to the remake, whether for good or ill, cannot be blamed on Shawn Levy since he opted to do the Night at the Museum sequel over the second part of Pink Panther. Directorial duties fall instead to the man that gave us Agent Cody Banks, Harold Zwart. The story will involve an international collection of detectives, including inexplicably Clouseau, who are brought in to investigate a series of antiquity thefts.
The Verdict
It’s harder than I thought. Not because both films are similar in terms of quality or laughs, but because they’re both kind of different products under the same banner. Frankly, it’s like comparing a flavour of Kool-Aid against the same flavour of no-name drink crystals. So put it this way: for sophistication and character watch the original. For silly laughs and random ridiculousness, than the remake is perfectly serviceable. See you at the sequel. (Or the video counter.)
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