Review of The Pink Panther (1963) by Charles P — 30 Aug 2014

Coming to Pink Panther from Lolita, it's kind of hard not to be disappointed. Peter Sellers is so tragically wasted on this character, on slapstick comedy, that it took me a bit to forgive the movie and see it on its own terms. It's kind of an interesting hybrid, at least to modern standards in comedy. It has an absurd brand of slapstick/scenario comedy that seems reminiscent of like Benny Hill or something, but those jokes all seem rather subtle and tasteful standing next to the ensemble cast psychological drama.

The Judd Apatow/Edgar Wright sort of modern comedies put character development alongside comedy in a way that almost feels like the humor is diagetic, like the movie's sense of humor is the sense of humor of the characters and emerges from their hanging out and jokes. Pink Panther simply plays out a serious character drama and sprinkles it liberally with jokes that typically go over the heads of the characters. Peter Sellers' dopey Inspector Clouseau often seems angry and frustrated at himself, trying to make light of his inadequacies with a transparently false sense of humor. I think the contrasting tones really sold the slapstick for me - it's not a kind of humor I generally enjoy, and if it had been much more self-consciously silly I don't think I would have bought it.