MovieChat Forums > The Pink Panther (2006) Discussion > 'this movie is not good because it's not...

'this movie is not good because it's nothing like the original'

posted 10 years ago by moviemarathoneverynight
4 replies | jump to latest

I know a comparison is inevitable.. what I'm trying to say is it's kinda wrong to set your 100% score at Pete Sellers' version..

edit: my reply to a post "The clear purpose of a remake is to remake the original... The very nature of a remake implies "we can do it better than the other guys did."

no offense but "we can do it better" is very limiting.. can't the reason be "here is our take on inspector clouseau"? this kind of competition takes the fun out of this movie.. it's certainly doomed to failure because you're not open to the idea of a new inspector...

I "get" the original and the new pink panther movies.. are you one of those people who would call me stupid for saying I also like this 2006 movie? I'm not saying you're one of them but there are people who would praise sellers and bash steve martin because they think that that makes them sound smart..

have you considered the fact that most teens would prefer the new movies because they're more familiar with that adhd style of comedy?

[–] justin8617 8 years ago

If I think a movie is entertaining and well made, then I rate it highly. If it is boring and sloppy, then I give it a low rating. I do not rate it based on how similar it is to the original.

[–] avortac4 (3529) 2 years ago

I don't think _ANYONE_ would think this movie is bad solely because "it's nothing like the original(s)".

After all, no one loved the original movies because they were 'exactly like' something.

If this movie was brilliant, you wouldn't hear disfavorable (is this a word?) comparisons to the originals.

In my opinion, the problem is exactly the OPPOSITE; they try to MIMIC instead of creating something original. They try to be the originals instead of actually being ORIGINAL.

Steve Martin can be energetically hilarious and unique, he can make you laugh so hard you worry about your guts literally bursting out. I consider him one of the rare comedy geniuses of the entertainment world.

If I had never seen him in anywhere/anything else, I would not want to, either. I would never consider him a genius, if THIS was my only exposure to his talent and comedy.

He tries TOO HARD to be like the original Closeau, played so masterfully and eccentrically by the late drug user Peter Sellers. He tries to make his 'own version' of this idiotic character that's played deadpan by Peter, and he makes it 'cartoony and goofy', whereas Peter always lended him an undercurrent of 'coolness' amidst all the silly onscreen shenanigans.

Steve pronouncing french in a 'silly way' isn't funny. When Peter did it, he underlined the weird pronunciation strategically and skillfully, making him seem like a serious character that has really odd speaking habits that make you laugh, whether you want to or not.

Steve looks like he's 'trying to be funny' and trying to pronounce english in a weirdly french way. This doesn't work.

The sad thing about this movie is, I was SO ready to like it, I WANTED to like it, and I wanted to laugh, I was ready to laugh. I didn't expect it to be as good as Peter's performance, but this is Steve Martin, some sort of king of comedy, a wild and crazy man! I didn't laugh even once.

There was one time I was almost having a chuckle, that's all.

[–] avortac4 (3529) 2 years ago

This movie doesn't fail because "it's nothing like the original(s)".

It fails because it's not funny, it's not good, it's like a really, really bad copy of the already pretty bland and predictable 'Johnny English' movies without the sometimes slightly clever jokes.

There's no tension, the villains are bland, the music is horrible, the less said about 'Beyonce', the better, and I can't BELIEVE Steve Martin can be this unfunny. It's like someone removed everything funny out of him and then put it in front of a camera and said 'ok, now just do something silly'.

This movie actually COULD be much better if it didn't try so hard to be like the original(s) - there's the boss that's supposed to HATE Closeau, but in this movie, only tries to 'dupe' him, which is not as interesting. Kevin can be REALLY funny, but what the heck happened to him? He's as unfunny as I have EVER seen him anywhere. It's almost shocking.

The 'french maid' woman is somewhat charming, and really good for the role, but ultimately, nothing to write home about.

This movie would've been better, if it HADN'T been so 'paint-by-the-numbers-bland'.

I really wanted to like it, and I heard it doesn't quite work, but I never expected it to be THIS bad. Every attempt at comedy fails harder than Closeau hits the floor when he needlessly and unrealistically falls through the roof.

I mean, he isn't even injured? I know it's a comedy, but when he's clearly invincible, where's the tension? At least in the original(s), you knew he could get hurt, he wasn't superman.

Some of Peter's comedy can also be a bit boring and tedious, like the vacuum cleaner bit that goes on a bit too long, but he compensates by being so funny elsewhere, like with the telephone repairman stuff.

People that made this movie didn't understand humor or comedy, and were after MONEY by taking a famous name and a famous singer, and an acknowledged comedy master and put it all together.

[–] avortac4 (3529) 2 years ago

I know this is a weird thing to say when you look at the screen and see Steve Martin's name on the WRITING credits, I mean.. holy cow, how?

When I saw that, I thought this should at least have some fun and funny moments, or some kind of charm. It doesn't.

Steve Martin is 100% out of place as Closeau. He SHOULD'VE made something original that's nothing like anything else, originals or otherwise. THAT could've been funny, but when he tries to do the 'Peter Sellers-schtick', it looks like someone forcibly throwing pies to their own face and telling the audience to laugh now.

It couldn't be more cringy if it wanted. However, it's not cringy in a good or funny way, just embarrassing and boring way.

Adding Beyonce to this unfunny garbage is like fecal icing on the trashcan. They couldn't have made a worse choice. The only way it's actually a 'good casting choice', is that her blandness fits so PERFECTLY with the unfunny blandness of the rest of the movie.

What I can't understand is how can they take geniuses and comedy masters like Steve Martin and Kevin and make them SO BORING. It's almost ingenious in itself - too bad there's no payoff. Just like in this movie.. to sum it up, it's a movie with no payoff.

I paid one dollar for this movie - I was ripped off.