Wednesday, December 12, 2007

From Cleese To Cheese - The Injustice Of The Panther Returns


"...Monty Python star John Cleese is set to play Chief Inspector Dreyfus in the sequel to the remake of Pink Panther...." via ContactMusic.com

I wonder what you will make of this. Forget the genius of Sellers - the sullen face, the unmovable moustache, the trench rain coat which only Colombo has been able to pull off since and now picture the Ministry of Silly Walks and put Cleese in the place of a lead figure in the never ending story of the Pink Panther.

Does anything sound vaguely wrong or at least a tad bonkers to you? Yes, I thought so. There will never be another Sellers, yet don’t be me wrong. Before you think I’m off on one of my daunting trips down the valley of the lost souls of stardom, I have actually read the article clearly and it is not Cleese doing the injustice of Sellers, but the equally unjustified and criminal act of the other failed character post-Sellers….Chief Inspector Dreyfus.

Those chaps at MGM just don’t know when to give up do they? I guess if Sellers was smiling down right now (and to be honest, I would think he would have better things to do - getting drunk with Milligan and wearing toilet seats around their necks springs to mind) It practically makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end when I hear the word “franchise.” It’s an Americanism - and as much as I am in love with the word “cheeseburger,” the former is one I can never feel at home with. Manic legend Steve Martin is set to play the aging Clouseau, but never as good as the original.

I guess to a equally aging Seller’s fan myself, it would be like a Ford Mondeo posing as a Ferrari. Quite the ends of the scale. Don’t get me wrong (for the second time) but this whole bumbling throw together of a major point in comic film history is rather like getting Brad Pitt and Hugh Grant to do a hash remake of Some Like It Hot - there are some things not to be tampered with - ever and the Pinkness of the Panther is one of them. We have until 2009 before we are subjected to this awfulness of general lack of imagination.

Until then - we can always look forward to a few more Pirates Of The Caribbean movies. I guess in a few decades time, they will want to get their money grabbing hands on Depp too… And guess who else is in it, I bet you can never guess... Pink of course - why the name was made for the Panther screen. The critics are already on their backs on this one - we shall wait and see yet it would not be the first time that the powers that be have got it all wrong.

The bookies will have their day when the box office sellings go through the roof....


m.duffy 2007

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