Film Review--Revenge of the Pink Panther

Revenge of the Pink Panther
directed by Blake Edwards
written by Blake Edwards and Frank Waldman
starring Peter Sellers, Herbert Lom, Burt Kwouk, Dyan Cannon, Robert Webber, Robert Loggia, Paul Stewart, Andre Maranne, Graham Stark, Sue Lloyd

A gangster and businessman named Phillipe Douvier (Webber) wants to make a deal with the New York Mafia for a whole mess of heroin but they think he’s too weak to close the deal. To prove his tough guy credentials he decides to take out the irrepressible oaf, Chief Inspector Jacques Clouseau (Sellers). Soon, Clouseau is the target for a maddening array of hits that all magically miss their mark. On one such occasion Douvier lures Clouseau with the promise of valuable information but his plan is thwarted when a transvestite named Claude Rousseau (Lloyd) steals Clouseau’s car and subsequently dies in his place. Clouseau is thought dead and his arch enemy Dreyfus is released from a mental hospital to reassume his post as Chief Inspector.

In this film Clouseau seems to have his feet with him and he maintains a certain vertical solvency throughout much of the film. Much of the mayhem in this film is caused either by Clouseau indirectly or by the other characters altogether. Clouseau himself continues to go about his business completely unscathed by all of the missed attempts at taking his life.

Throughout this film there is a running gag where Dreyfus continually sees Clouseau and promptly faints. It’s a continuation of Dreyfus’s deep seated fear and loathing of Clouseau and a sign that his nerves are essentially frazzled which makes for a lousy cop in the end.

Douvier is determined to get rid of Clouseau but manages to turn his rage on his lovely secretary Simone LeGree (Cannon) who is also his mistress. He dumps her and she suggests she might try to do something unsavory to get back at him. Subsequently he determines that she too must die but his henchmen are no match for the ingenious Clouseau who manages to unwittingly save her life. This begins a casual romance that is sustained through the rest of the film.

Clouseau is still a sex magnet despite himself and he somehow manages to exude charisma which the ladies seem unable to resist. I suppose there is some women out there who feel sympathetic to the colossal boob and are drawn into the chaos that inevitably surrounds them. Simone is perhaps rebounding from her five year relationship with Douvier so she’s most likely looking for a dramatic change. Still, Clouseau remains a man of mystery with great powers of influence over all the women he meets. He’s like Bond in that way although he doesn’t necessarily always end up with the girl.

The film lacks the energy of previous installments in the series. Despite this, it still manages to remain necessary throughout and there is a spark of vitality that is retained over the course of the film. It’s always a pleasure to watch Clouseau because one knows that something very wrong is about to occur and that he most likely will have a hand in it.

The look of the film is somewhat south of “Return” and the first film in the franchise. It’s ugly at times and there is a dark hue to many scenes that reflect the machinations of the mob and how they operate in the seedier regions of any community in which they take up shop. Clouseau himself seems to be being dragged through the film as if he’s not particularly sure what to do next and if he should do anything at all.

Sue Lloyd has the distinction of playing a man pretending to be a woman which Blake Edwards later exploited in his film “Victor/Victoria” with Julie Andrews as the quasi transvestite. Lloyd manages to pull this stunt off quite effectively although her male persona in the film does have amazingly high cheekbones for a man and is exceedingly “pretty”. Still, it’s a fine turn in a film that seems to require such quirky moments to keep it afloat.

The performances in this film are all intriguing. Peter Sellers doesn’t possess the same grace that made his first two attempts at the character so rewarding. Clouseau doesn’t come across as challenged either vertically or horizontally in this film. He’s simply not as clumsy although he does manage to get into several scrapes due to positional malfunctions. Also, his performance isn’t nearly as fluid although additional viewings might be required in order to fully appreciate what he does in this film. Robert Webber has a strong performance as Douvier, the man who would be king of the underworld. Webber plays Douvier as deadly serious throughout the film. His character is a man without mystery and decidedly nefarious in his dealings with creeps and lowlifes. Herbert Lom is a bit more subdued in this film as his wild-eyed lunacy takes a back seat to the officious nature of his job. Burt Kwouk is particularly enjoyable in this film as his Cato is more prominently featured in this film. He does more than merely attack Clouseau to keep him sharp; he is present in the final confrontation and plays a sizable role in the satisfaction of the conclusion.

Overall, this film has its charms but it doesn’t quite rise to the level of the classics in this series. Still, it swaggers at times and there is a decided muscle to the threats and shady dealings that populate the film. Clouseau remains a walking disaster but his actions seem to bring less damage upon himself that others. But, he’s still infinitely dangerous to everyone he comes in contact with and this film manages to exploit this fact fairly well.