Le fils de la panthère rose

This following to Closeau series is a new attempt to maintain the slapstick franchise in spite of Peter Sellers death by means the substituting in Italian actor Roberto Benigni . This eight installment is a passable and average comedy because the formula is run out ; it stars Robert Benigni replacing Peter Sellers as one man show accompanied by an excessive Herbert Lom . After making life intolerable for clumsy Inspector Closeau , previous Chief Inspector Charles Dreifuss (Herbert Lom) encounters Jacques Gambrelli (Robert Benigni), who reminds him painfully to Inspector Clouseau , the man who drove him nutty and got insane . With good reason: Gambrelli is Clouseau's son . While a princess (Debrah Farentino) is in France to accompany her daddy (Oliver Cotton), a king from far Orient on a diplomatic mission . She is abducted by some delinquents (Robert Davi , Jennifer Edwards )who obligate her father to abdicate , which he will not do even for her. And since her nation has such close ties to France the Police Prefect instructs commissioner Dreyfuss to go where the princess was abducted and directing the investigation. On the way he runs into the kidnappers and were to be shot when a Gendarme stumbles into them and saves Dreyfuss. Dreyfuss oversees that there is something familiar about this patrolman. When he goes to the local police chief and says him that he will be handling the investigation and asks for his best man, he assigns him Gambrelli, who just happens to be the Gendarme he met earlier . And having another meeting with Gambrelli, he goes to his home to encounter his mummy Maria (Claudia Cardinale), and is shocked to discover that results to be Closeau's son .

¨The revenge of the Pink Panther ¨ release was the fifth part of series of Inspector Clouseau from French Surete and the last entry by the late Peter Sellers though he would follow playing but with outtakes in films as ¨Trail of the Pink Panther¨. After that , it was continued by ¨The curse of the Pinnk Panther¨ that turned to be another flop and starred by Ted Wass . ¨The son of the Pink Panther ¨ is the eight part of Closeau series and a light comedy starred by the great Roberto Benigni as the inept and bungler Inspector of the French Surete . The movie gets entertaining and hilarious moments here and there. This slapstick picture contains amusing , funny scenes , fresh and diverting moments but also flaws and gaps . Herbert Lom steals the show parodying his classic character including his ordinary faces , grimaces and gestures . Appears as secondaries the usual series as Burt Kwouk , Grahame Stark and of course a mature Claudia Cardinale . The actors seem to enjoy themselves immensely but they are supposedly amusing holidays . Lively and atmospheric music by habitual Henry Mancini with songs arranged by Bobby MacFerrin ; furthermore ,magnificent opening and ending cartoon titles by Chris Hummel . Colorful and glimmer cinematography by Dick Bush . The film is regularly penned and directed,as always,by Blake Edwards. Several chuckles and gags , the result of which is one acceptable entry from series but inferior to precedent outings as the original ¨The Pink Panther¨, ¨A shot in dark¨, ¨Return of pink panther,¨Revenge of pink panther¨. Director Blake Edwards although gets some inspired bits penned by him however he attempts to alive his classic personage with no much success . The flick will appeal to Pink Panther series buffs and Roberto Benigni fans. This is arguably one of most mediocre of the series about the botcher and bungling Inspector .

The "Pink Panther" franchise has spawned a number of movies. The last one in the series is "Son of the Pink Panther." It stars Roberto Benigni as the original Inspector Jacques Clouseau's son. He does a good job stumbling and bumbling his way through the story. It's easy to picture Benigni as a Clouseau-type stumblebum. And a number of characters appear that, although they did not appear in "The Pink Panther," have become familiar in other "Panther" movies. But the last in the line differs somewhat from the original. Its tone isn't quite as lighthearted as the first. It has a lot of violence that seems to taint the movie. Although there are a few good scenes, this movie reminds us all how sorely Peter Sellers is missed.

Roberto Benigni would have gone on to win an Oscar for "Life is Beautiful" few years later. The film takes place in French Rivera. Roberto plays a local police inspector who lives with his mother. When Princesd Yasmin gets kidnapped, Benigni stumbled on by accident. The storyline is problematic at times but still enjoyable. Veteran Panther actors like Herbert Lom, Claudia Cardinale, and Burt Kwouk back. Roberto is the son of the original pink panther and he carries on Peter Sellers' legacy of physical comedy. Benigni does his job well as the son of the pink panther with his goofy expressions and physical sense of humor.

O.K. is the only possible way of analyzing this movie. It does what it set out to do. But if you have seen this movie and were disapointed, did you really think it was going to be as funny or enjoyable as earlier entries in the Pink Panther series? The movie's comedy is very lukewarm. Whether this is the fault of Blake Edwards, or maybe he intended it to be that way is unknown. Roberto Benigni is the Son. O.K, he is now an academy award winner, but in 1993 a complete unknown. If anyone on the movie wanted it to be a success then a bigger name should have been chosen, a David Jason, Dudley Moore or Rowan Atkinson. Benigni, does quite a good impersonation of Peter Sellers throughout the movie, but this aside isn't very funny or charming. The return of cast members like Herbert Lom, Graham Starke, Burt Kwouk and Liz Smith is good. But overall the movie seems forced and is something of a hit and miss. Lets hope the upcoming Mike Myers remake breathes new life into this series.

While riding the subway eight years ago, I saw the billboards for "Son of the Pink Panther" and I really didn't think much about it then. I had yet to become a fan of Blake Edwards' work, and I really hadn't seen any of the previous Panther films.

Flash forward to 1999. Turner Classic Movies had shown the first six entries in the Panther series and I had watched them in chronological order, which I think is a good idea for anyone to do. I had seen "Curse" on tape and I decided to check out "Son of the Pink Panther" just out of curiosity. I had read some reviews, which were pretty dismal. So I had no reason to expect anything great.

Imagine my surprise when I found myself laughing a lot during the 95 minute running time of "Son". This was a clever, funny and very original entry in the long-running "Panther" series. Blake Edwards' instinct was right on the money when he cast Italian comedian Roberto Benigni in the role of Clouseau's illegitimate son. Benigni displays all the traits that made Peter Sellers such a great talent. He plays the comic scenes very straight which sells it so much better than if he had played it slyly. And the films he has made since ("The Monster", "Night on Earth" and "Life Is Beautiful", which was sort of his own "Being There") just confirms my initial reaction. And of course, what is a Panther film without Dreyfus, played as always by Herbert Lom, who works well with Benigni in many memorable sequences.

If I have a complaint about "Son", it is that it tends to get too preoccupied with the plot. The best Panther films didn't depend on plot as much as characterization and "Son" suffers because of it as did Edwards' previous disappointment "Switch". But "Son" has a manic comic energy and polish that "Switch" lacked and the payoffs work as in "Switch" they did not.

"Son of the Pink Panther" is a better film than "Curse", "Revenge" and the original film, but not "Strikes Again", "Return" and "A Shot in the Dark" (of which this film has its roots in) Sadly, Edwards retired from theatrical features after this although he still works in TV. He showed so much vigor and life in "Son" that makes me want to see him make another Panther film, especially with Roberto Benigni. I'm still waiting.

***1/2 out of 4 stars