THE PINK PANTHER
Year: 2006
USA: Columbia Pictures / Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Distribution
UK: Twentieth Century Fox
Cast: Steve Martin, Kevin Kline, Jean Reno, Emily Mortimer, Henry Czerny, Kristin Chenoweth, Roger Rees, Beyonce Knowles, Philip Goodwin, Henri Garcin, William Abadie, Daniel Sauli, Jean Dell, Anna Katarina, Nick Toren, Sally Leung Bayer, Charlotte Maier, Stephane Boucher, Radu Spinghel, Scott Adkins, Yan-Sang Roussel, Boris McGiver, Stephen Rowe, Alice Taglioni, Greg Salata, Stefan Elbaum, Charley Fouquet, Robbie Nock, John Cenatiempo, Chuck Jeffreys, Aaron Vexler, Andrew Tarbet, Dexter Bell, Kristi Angus, Stephen Park, Aaron Pearl, Sean Tyson, Chelah Horsdal, Lucas Tavernier, Mareva Galanter, Delphine Chaneac, Ralph Drishell, Chad Gabriel, Antoine Blanquefort, Yvonne Scio, Rick Jaeckel, Za'Kari A Asher, Renece Fincher, Stewart Castledine, Davide Borella
Director: Shawn Levy
Country: USA
USA: 92 mins
UK: 93 mins
USA Rated: PG for occasional crude and suggestive humor and language
UK Certificate: PG contains mild language, violence and sex references
USA Release Date: 10 February 2006
UK Release Date: 17 March 2006
Synopsis
Inspector Jacques Clouseau, a name that strikes fear into the hearts of criminals everywhere — and anyone else he comes across as well.
Maybe it's because his deductive powers are so inadequate, his grasp of the obvious so elusive, his command of the language so severely limited and his physical coordination so completely lacking.
But while his approach may be unorthodox and often confounding, he always manages to solve the crime — in his own fashion.
At least until now.
In the action-packed comedy, THE PINK PANTHER, the bumbling Inspector Closeau (Steve Martin) takes on his most important case ever. World famous soccer coach, Yves Gluant has just led Team France to victory over Team China. Surrounded by grateful adoring fans with his beautiful lover, the international pop star Xania (Beyonce Knowles), at his side, Gluant is felled by a poison dart. In the ensuing panic, Gluant's priceless diamond ring, "The Pink Panther," mysteriously disappears.
The murder becomes a media sensation and a national obsession. Cracking the case falls to Chief Inspector Dreyfus (Kevin Kline), who is up for the prestigious Medal of Honor — for the seventh time. Aware that he cannot afford to make a single mistake — at least none that can be attributed to him — Dreyfus presses the indefatigable Inspector Clouseau into service.
Clouseau and his new assistant, the steadfast, stoic Gendarme Gilbert Ponton (Jean Reno), follow a tangle of clues that leads them all over Paris and, eventually, New York City. In the Big Apple, Clouseau and Ponton travel to Times Square and the nearby diamond district as well as to the city's posh Fifth Avenue and the renowned Waldorf Astoria Hotel. Along the way, Clouseau and Ponton are waylaid by elusive diamond cutters, would-be thugs, notorious bandits, smarmy casino owners, secret agents, mysterious trainers and an exotic beverage called "The Flaming Mojito."
One by one, Clouseau narrows his search and tracks down the most likely suspects. They include Xania, a spurned soccer star (William Abadie), a millionaire casino owner (Roger Rees) and a flirtatious P.R. publicist (Kristin Chenoweth) Clouseau's process is fascinating, if harrowingly circuitous. But he never loses his focus, his purpose or his pride — much to the consternation of Dreyfus, who may or may not have Clouseau's best interests at heart. In the end, with the aid of Ponton and his devoted secretary Nicole (Emily Mortimer), Clouseau must unmask the murderer and keep Dreyfus from taking credit.
The legend of the "Pink Panther" began in 1963 with Blake Edwards' original THE PINK PANTHER starring David Niven, with Peter Sellers in the role of Inspector Clouseau. The film was conceived as a vehicle for Niven, who was a major Hollywood star at the time. Sellers wasn't even Edwards' first choice for Clouseau (it was Peter Ustinov). But Sellers' performance as the hilariously inept French detective proved to be the film's lasting legacy and the actor went on to star in several popular sequels.