Canter Bridge

Full product information for this item, together with my review, my ranking of the product, and any reader comments, can be found at http://www.amazon.com.

When I first noticed in a trailer that Steve Martin was to be cast as the inimitable Inspector Clouseau, I exclaimed ‘But of cooouuuurse!’.

Martin’s antics make him a born successor for the role, and he pulls it off with classic, predictable Martin antics. From the very beginning, it’s very much about the silly walks. His entree comes that way in the film, as he ascends—officiously, slightly bowlegged, innocently—up the steps to meet Kevin Cline as the Chief Inspector Dreyfus.

Cline does fine comedic work and Beyonce Knowles provides the eye candy. Not to be overlooked are two strong supporting roles. Jean Reno is hilarious as the taciturn Gilbert Ponton, Clouseau’s partner. At times, he seems the only sane figure in the cast. Emily Mortimer is also strong, she of the crooked pictures who—unlike everybody else—seems to sense, admire, and eventually fall in love with Clouseau’s virtues from the start.

But you won’t buy this flick for great acting, nor will you find it here. You will find plenty of Martin-esque laughs and some delicious galling of the French at this time of transatlantic bickering.

At 92 minutes, the move wraps things up while you’re still chuckling.