Son of the Pink Panther

Starring:Roberto Benigni, Herbert Lom, Claudia Cardinale, Shabana Azmi, Debrah Farentino, Jennifer Edwards, Robert Davi, Mark Schneider, Mike Starr, Kenny Spalding, Anton Rodgers, Burt Kwouk, Graham Stark, Oliver Cotton, Aharon IpalÃ©, Natasha Pavlovich, Henry Goodman, Dermot Crowley, Herb Tanney, Liz Smith
Director: Blake Edwards
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Product Type: DVD

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Blake Edwards, looking for some way to resurrect the Pink Panther series after the death of Peter Sellers, hit upon the idea of creating an illegitimate son for him (with Claudia Cardinale, who starred in the original film in 1963, returning as the mother). Edwards's most useful notion was casting Italian comic Roberto Benigni as the junior Clouseau. Benigni is a walking sight gag, capable of turning dross to gossamer with his sheer physical skill. Unfortunately, he's no Rumpelstiltskin--his powers only go so far--and there's too much straw for him to spin it all into gold; indeed, he gets buried, despite an energetic performance, in a limp plot about the search for a kidnapped princess. --Marshall Fine

Description

Insanity is relative in the final installment of the Pink Panther series, starring "gifted comedian" (Variety) Roberto Benigni along with Panther alumni Herbert Lom, Burt Kwouk and Claudia Cardinale. Fueled by Benigni's "wacky charm" (Blockbuster Entertainment Guide) and "splendidly fractured English" (Halliwell's Film and Video Guide), Son of the Pink Panther proves that a family resemblance can sometimes be painfully obvious. An Arabian princess is kidnapped, and it's up to Chief Inspector Dreyfus (Lom) to save her. Fortunately, there's no Clouseau around to plague him this time! But when a klutzy local cop with the unfortunate name of Jacques (Benigni) is assigned to help him, he manages to run Dreyfus over and blow him upall on his first day on the job. Soon Dreyfus begins to fear that if Clouseau has a long-lost son, he would be a lot like this!

Customer Reviews:

Not Very Good!.......2006-12-08

This is not the best Pink Panther film that I've seen. I've seen The Pink Panther, A Shot In The Dark, Inspector Clouseau, The Return Of The Pink Panther, The Pink Panther Strikes Again, Revenge Of The Pink Panther, Trail of The Pink Panther, Curse Of The Pink Panther, this one, and The Pink Panther {2006}. This is my 9th favorite Pink Panther Film. It is not as good as The Pink Panther Strikes Again. It has a great cast. Roberto Benigni as Gendarme Jacques Gambrelli, Herbert Lom as Police Commisioner Charles Dreyfus, Claudia Cardinale as Maria Gambrelli, Shabana Azmi as the Queen, Debrah Farentino as Princess Yasmin, Robert Davi as Hans Zarba, Burt Kwouk as Cato Fong, Graham Stark as Professor Auguste Balls, Oliver Cotton as King Haroak, and Dermot Crowley as Francois Duval. That was my review.
Jedi404

A Duller Pink.......2006-06-15

After the success, or rather lack thereof, of "Curse of the Pink Panther", Blake Edwards realized he had to accept that Peter Sellers was no more and that he still needed to bring the name Clouseau back into the franchise, even if it meant giving Sellers' classic character an illegitimate son.

Enter future Oscar winner Roberto Benigni, who would actually receive the exact opposite of an Oscar for this role. He's clean-shaven, part Italian Jacques Gumbrelli Clouseau Jr., not mustached Jacques Clouseau, making this a new character and leaving Benigni to the type of humor that works for him.

Unfortunately, the humor doesn't work for the entire movie. The movie moves almost completely away from the overdone routines of the rest of the series, but there are only a few laugh out loud scenes, with some small chuckles in between. The biggest problem with the film, though, would have to be the plot. Pink Panther plots have been mangled messes before, but never to this extent. There's so much political intrigue and scandal involved that it's hard to figure out what anyone's motivation in, even during the climax.

Herbert Lom is back for his final performance as Chief Inspector Dreyfus, now more sane and subdued. Burt Kwouk is also back reprising his reoccurring role as Kato, the late Clouseau's humble servant. Disguise master Professor Balls, played in the most recent films by Harvey Korman, is now played by Graham Stark, a friend of Sellers who appeared in different roles in many of the films. These performances almost make the movie feel like a valid part of the series.

Henry Mancini's score, as in all of the films, is the highlight, and Bobby McFerrin's performance of the theme music is perfect. Especially when it provides the background for a battle between an animated Benigni and the famous Pink Panther cartoon character, racing around a live action concert hall.

But the bottom line, sadly, is that the plot's a mess and the film isn't as funny as the Peter Sellers classics, or even the previous entry sans-Sellers, "Curse of the Pink Panther."

Son of the Pink Panther.......2006-03-04

Funny in parts, but not up to the level of when Peter Sellers was playing Clouseau. Hebert Lom and Bert Kwok are the only actors that hold the movie together. The usual clumsiness was a
bit overdone.

The next generation of funny...........2006-02-22

I did see this movie and to be honest with you, the critics were a little too harsh. Cause, this movie was actually quite good. Basically, when a vacationing princess is kidnapped. It's up to Chief Inspector Dreyfus to find her. At first, Dreyfus doesn't have any luck. That is until he runs into the kidnappers, almost gets killed. But, is saved by a local bumbling police officer named Jacques. When Dreyfus stops by the local policeman's home and meets his mother. Dreyfus is shocked to learn that the policeman is the son of none other than Maria Gambrelli. (The woman from the movie "A Shot in The Dark"). Then Dreyfus is even more shocked to learn that Maria's son is infact the son of Jacques Clouseau!!!! Now, Dreyfus realize that only the way he'll find the princess. Is with Jacques Gambrelli's help, who does take after his father in everyway.

Good movie, don't buy it............2006-02-21

Okay, so I may be one of the few that enjoyed this movie. I did not have high expectations and knew it would be silly. It did make me laugh. So, I was so happy when Isaw that this was available on DVD. In this day and age of technology, it is completely unacceptable to produce a DVD with such poor sound quality. I don't know why it is, but I constantly had to raise and lower the volume. I have not had this problem with any other DVD, so this was a real disappointment for me. I bought this DVD for under $10 and I still say it isn't worth $5! The sound is horrible. If you have not seen this film and you are a fan of the actor or the series, then rent it, and you won't feel like a sucker.

DVD:

DVD

Darkman/Darkman 2: The Return of Durant [2 Discs] [1990] (RE

DVD: Kept

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