Pink Panther 2 (2009) ***

Steve Martin returns as an impersonation of Peter Sellers playing Insp. Clouseau in Pink Panther 2, whose title is as dry as the first film. Couldn' t they have called it ___________ of the Pink Panther? Who knows?

This time a master thief called the Tornado is stealing priceless artifacts which inevitably leads to the theft of the Pink Panther diamond. A dream team of detectives (Andy Garcia, Alfred Molina, Yuki Matzuzaki, and Aishwarya Rai) are dispatched with the bumbling Clouseau to find the treasures.

I will admit to liking this film more than the previous installment. It harkens back to the original, superior films. There were some parts that didn't work, but in the end it was an OK family comedy. It has problems, such as John Cleese as Chief Inspector Dreyfuss. I'm not bashing Cleese because he was totally suited for the role and blew away Kevin Kline. This is a typical Cleese role. The problem was that he didn't have a French accent. He had the John Cleese accent. And I know damn well he can do a French accent because of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Come on John, say "I fat in your general direction! Your mother was a hamster and your sister smelt of elderberries!"

In the end this is geared toward children and kids will enjoy its pratfalls and such, missing the cringeworthy moments and plot holes. The funny thing is that kids don't really take to Seller Panther films. As I said, it beats the last film and is a tolerable thing to see when nothing else is on.