To celebrate her birthday on Tuesday, I took Laura out for dinner at the Barley and Hops restaurant up in Frederick. It’s a nice little place with friendly staff, reasonable prices, and good food. It’s a nice place.
Not having any fixed plans, we decided to see what was playing at the movies and after giving it some thought decided to see the new version of The Pink Panther.
It’s been a while since I last saw the original Pink Panther films, but this re-imagining seemed dead on. The owner of the Pink Panther diamond has been murdered and the diamond is murdered and the authorities are under pressure to find it. In order to further his career, Chief Inspector Dreyfus (Kevin Kline) promotes an incompetent bungler from the outer reaches. Dreyfus’plan is to put the bungler, Inspector Jacques Clouseau, in charge of the investigation and once he’s failed, Dreyfus will solve the case himself and take the credit and glory for himself.
Clouseau’s investigation takes a number of unexpected turns, but perhaps the most unexpected comes after he’s been sent home in disgrace.
Steve Martin portrays the bumbling Inspector Clouseau with well-executed slapstick sharp delivery, and a faux French accent that can only be described as "outrageous" and Kevin Kline brings to life Chief Inspector Dreyfus’ contempt and hatred for Clouseau.
My only disappointment was that the movie didn’t end with the animated Pink Panther returning in the credits. All in all, I think Peter Sellers’ legacy is in good hands.