Wednesday
Oct012008
Wednesday, October 1, 2008 at 11:47PM Poster: Steve Martin Robs the Grave of Peter Sellers Again
Think of it less of a heralding and more of a fair
warning kind of situation: This new movie poster means we're that much closer to
The Pink Panther 2.
I'm glad you asked how I feel about it, so here goes:
Steve Martin
should be unconditionally ashamed. Of course, having made both the
Pink Panther remake and Cheaper by the Dozen
2, shame left the Martin household years ago.
This may surprise some of our younger readers, but once
- many, many years ago - Steve Martin was a comedian. Comedians, as a general
rule, have a policy against lifting other performers' material. This rule
doesn't apply to Dane Cook and Carlos Mencia, apparently, but most comics don't
steal material. Or they try to avoid it.
Steve Martin, a very wealthy man who used to have a
fertile imagination for this sort of thing, took the best-known character of a
better comedian (Peter
Sellers) and pimped it out to make a ton of money.
Ten years from now, when some jackass comedian who's all
the rage on college campuses remakes
The Jerk, you'll know what I mean.
Hey Mr. Comedian Steve Martin: Why not create your own character instead of
doing a milquetoast impression of one in terrible remakes?
So that's how I feel about it.
And here's the poster for The Pink Panther 2.
Reader Comments (10)
Did anyone watch the first one? Why would they make a second one?
I miss Peter Sellers...and the Steve Martin of old!
How do you even convince people to give you money to make this?
We all owe Steve Martin two punches in the stomach.
Don't forget that Martin also felt compelled to appropriate Phil Silvers' greatest character, Sgt. Bilko.
I don't get why people are always so up in arms about remakes. The theater has been remaking plays since the beginning of theater. Nobody cares that SHakespeare's finest character of Hamlet has been fiddled with by more wannabe actors than Paris Hilton. Get over it. So you loved the nestalgia of the original. Big Deal. Let a new generation enjoy a new version.
I mean, seriously, do you think every ten year old in the world know who Peter Sellers even is. No. But they Staeve Martin and my little cousins loved the Pink Panther.
But you are entitled to your opinions. So, have at it. Just wanted to have one person defend a practice that is neither new nor wrong. Its been going on for centuries, film has only been going on for a fraction of that time and it was only a matter of moments before somebody came along and reproduced a classic piece of art.
I just typed something in google to get to the first place where I could bash Steve Martin and the PInk Panther remakes. Please pile on two punches from me as well. I implore people to watch the original Pink Panther series with Peter Sellers. That man was a genius.... Steve Martin is a hack. I saw a few mintues of Martins first PP remake a few days ago and was utterly disgusted.
This garbage does not deserve to be in Theatres or TV. Its really pathetic how hollywood is out of ideas.
While I accept your opinion that you did not like Steve Martin's take on the character of Inspector Clouseau in the 2005 "The Pink Panther", I take issue with most of your points in this post.
First, Martin's film is not a remake, despite having the same title. It is (as the kids today say) a "re-imagining" or a "reboot". It is a wholly different story, so get that right next time.
Second, you compare the making of the film to stealing jokes in a standup act. This comparison does not work, as Martin is merely playing the same character as Sellers, not really stealing any of Sellers bits or characterization. (Beyond making his have a silly French accent.) I can't think of a single actual joke in Martin's film that is taken from a Sellers bit (although there are certainly references). So, without having taken any material from films that Sellers didn't even write, how can you accuse Martin of stealing?
Third, Martin isn't even the first person besides Sellers to take on the role of Inspector Clouseau. Alan Arkin played him in 1968 (with no complaints from Sellers or Edwards) and then Roger Moore in 1983. Given this, Inspector Clouseau is hardly the sacred cow role you make it out to be, even if it is Peter Sellers' most famous.
Fourth, I find it ironic that you would accuse Martin of stealing from Sellers when Sellers spent most of his career trying to be Alec Guiness. (See "Kind Hearts and Coronets" and then "The Mouse that Roared". You'll understand what I'm talking about.)
Sellers was a great comedian and his portrayal of Inspector Clouseau is iconic. But that does not mean that the character should lie dormant any more than James Bond after Sean Connery (or Barry Nelson for that matter) or Sherlock Holmes after Basil Rathbone or Jeremy Brett (pick your favorite era).
In the end, Inspector Clouseau is a character and it is fair and legitimate to have others portray him. Whether these revivals/reboots/restarts are any good is a different matter.
I agree with Rhindle the Red. You people are just bitching about how Peter Sellers role in the Pink Panther movies was his famous. I first started watching the Pink Panther movies a few years ago. I started with the original with Peter Sellers. It was hilarious. I watched all of them (including Inspector Clouseau with Alan Arkin) up to the Son of the Pink Panther. They're all great movies! Even "Trail", "Curse" and "Son". Then I read some reviews of the one with Steve Martin. After that, I really didn't want to see it. But, I did anyway. It was one of the funniest movies that I've ever seen. I thought Steve Martin was really good. He's not stealing the character, he completely respects Peter Sellers' version. He's just recreating it into his own version. THAT'S ALL THAT HE'S DOING: REINVENTING INSPECTOR CLOUSEAU! Now, stop bitchin' about everything in life. Actually, you have to get a life before you can bitch about it. GET A LIFE.