Peter Sellers is rolling over in his grave

I think what most stood out for me from the previous Pink panther Series is the chemistry between Herbert Lom and Peter Sellers, the hate of Dreyfuss for Clauseau was hilarious. I think where they went wrong with this series is that they are aiming it squarely at kids and instead of making it believable, they rather overdo a joke (clauseau flying through the franch skyline after the man hits the breaks). Peter Sellers' version basically had plot outline and the rest was spontanious on Sellers part and rarely exagerated (later films in the series unfortuantely fell in the same trap as this series). I think that a third film might not be far off, unfortunately and yes i think they will reuse the hamburger gag.


I think the big difference is that Sellers, as soon as the cameras rolled, was a consumate professional and worked hard at even the characters he came to hate playing, as with Clouseau - he may have hated Blake Edwards as the years went by, he may have hated the Panther series, but you would never know it watching the films, he put everyting he had into them.

Martin however puts no effort in unless he loves the material - and he rarely chooses material he loves anymore, only taking the easy paycheck options these days. His best performances have come in his least successful films - Leap of Faith and LA Story were towering performances, and neither set the box office alight. It seems the last movie he made he worked hard on the character and the performance was Shopgirl, and that was because it was his pet project.

The Sellers Pink Panther movies were superb, and are beloved for a reason - Sellers put his all into them even if he hated the work, and they filled the movies with great, great actors who all acted their hearts out. Lom as Dreyfuss is the best example - the guy was a genius who out-acted Sellers in every scene they shared, they had terrific chemistry and made every scene a delight by bouncing off each others performances. Kwouk also was pitch perfect. Lets not forget the amazing work of Niven, Plummer, Rossiter, Vernon et al. All of them worked their socks off to create memorable characters. I've made the mistake of watching both these Martin travesties and none of that is present in any of the actors involved, they're all phoning it in and the result is the excrement flung at the screen. There's no love or joy evident anywhere.









It's a tender love song, very beautiful. {Whats it called?} Lick my love pump.

Seller's isn't spinning, he's been having a few dozen more heart attacks!

Great Odin's raven! -- Ron Burgundy

Steve Martin's PP movies are very hit and miss. Sometimes he nails it and sometimes the sequences are funny, but only sometimes. With Peter Sellers the laughs were continuous. But then we're talking about the combined genius of Peter Sellers and Blake Edwards after all. Steve Martin has been screchingly funny in films like "My Blue Heaven". To see him as Clouseau is not only painful, but sad.

2011 ** Thread Update **

Peter Sellers is STILL rolling in his grave