The Pink Panther 2

The Pink Panther 2 is an improvement over The Pink Panther, but that’s kind of like saying your new boyfriend Bernie Madoff is an improvement over your last boyfriend Jeffrey Dahmer.

Mr. Steve Martin is back as French inspector Jacques Clouseau. Of course, even though he retrieved the stolen Pink Panther diamond in the last movie, Chief Inspector Dreyfus (now played by John Cleese) still hates Clouseau and has assigned him to parking ticket duty. However, that’s about to change.

A world renowned thief, The Tornado, has started stealing some of the world’s most valuable treasures and antiquities including the Shroud of Turin, The Magna Carta and more. In response, a “Dream Team” of investigators has been assembled to capture The Tornado before he strikes again, and Clouseau is the French representative on the team, because the Pink Panther diamond is a valuable target.

Will this Dream Team catch the elusive thief?

Will Clouseau’s bumbling and stumbling impede or aid the effort?

If you loved Paul Blart:Mall Cop, this is the movie for you. The Pink Panther 2 is mildly entertaining, but only at its best (well, only at its mediocre), when it rarely focuses on verbal humor instead of slapstick.

Most of the slapstick humor is silly and contrived, which makes these sequences feel forced as they drag on and on. However, other moments like Clouseau being chided for his outdated attitudes or a battle of deduction skills with the British investigator, Pepperidge (Alfred Molina), or his rivalry with the Italian investigator Vicenzo (Andy Garcia) are funny and a welcome change of pace because they are based in something smarter.

No one is going to The Pink Panther 2 to see a mystery, so don’t be surprised when the search for The Tornado is nothing more than a series of missteps and mistakes by Clouseau instead of a whodunit that compels the audience to follow every clue to solve it. And, if he says hamburger one more time, I am going to shove one down his throat.

The Pink Panther 2 is rated PG for some suggestive humor, brief mild language and action.