The Pink Panther ***

The Pink Panther
Directed by Shawn Levy. Starring Steve Martin, Kevin Kline, Beyonce Knowles, Jean Reno, and Emily Mortimer. Rated PG.

Going into The Pink Panther, I didn't really know what to expect. I had never seen the original Blake Edwards films, and only a few episodes of the classic cartoon. The trailers looked funny (DO-BURGER, anyone?), and I'm a big Steve Martin fan, so it couldn't be all bad, I thought. Luckily, it wasn't. A famous soccer coach has just been murdered, and his highly valuable Pink Panther diamond has been stolen. Hoping for the media to think someone else is solving the case while he does it himself, Chief Inspector Dreyfus assigns the unintelligible and clumsy Inspector Jacques Clouseau to the case. But little does he know that Clouseau may be better at his job than he seems. The real highlight of this film is the physical comedy of Steve Martin. He brings something to the film that just wouldn't have been if someone else had been cast. Though some may not enjoy the continuous slapstick, I found the film to be very funny (and a definite treat after When a Stranger Calls).