Steve Martin returns as Insp. Jacques Clouseau in the sequel of the remakes of the Pink Panther and I was excited about it. Was 2 as good as the first? Read on and you’ll find out.

To set this up allow me to say that I loved The Pink Panther. I grew up and saw the original Pink Panther films with Peter Sellers and loved them. They were silly but witty with plenty of slap stick and are classics in my heart. When I heard they were remaking these films I was angry (as I HATE remakes) and happy (as they were remaking a franchise of films that I loved).

I was pleasantly surprised. I am in the category of people that think Steve Martin is funny. The Jerk, and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels are hilarious and so when hearing that Martin would play Clouseau I was intrigued. Add in Jean Reno playing a funny good guy (which never happens) plus Kevin Kline (who also is hilarious) plus Beyoncé Knowles you get a good formula for a funny movie. The remake was updated enough to be modern but was written in a way that was very similar to the Pink Panther films of the 60s and 70s.

So, now we have a sequel (and if they continue like the originals, there should be about 3 more sequels) but this time we have Andy Garcia, John Cleese (playing Kline’s role with a British accent instead of a French one) Alfred Molina, Jeremy Irons and Lily Tomlin. Also Emily Mortimer as Clouseau’s love interest and Reno return to reprise their roles from the first Pink Panther.

Pink Panther 2 was just as good as the first. It, like the first, had similar humor from the originals and from the first remake but also added a few new gimmicks (Wine bottle scene) that made me laugh out loud. Martin is even funnier in this one than the last and with the addition of some excellent actors like Garcia and Molina and Irons plus the humor of Tomlin you get a good fun movie without a bunch of stupid crap in it.

I can only highly recommend this to anyone who liked the original movies, the remake, Steve Martin and slapstick humor. It is safe for the whole family and will make you laugh. Go watch the Pink Panther!

Until next time, watch out for flying Wine bottles and watch out for those Critical Hits!