Is “The Pink Panther Strikes Again” (1976) the funniest of the Pink Panther movies? It’s certainly the most unhinged. At any rate, it will make for a lighthearted point of discussion tonight on “Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner.”
With its memorable set-pieces, slow-motion slapstick, ludicrous disguises, over-the-top accents, hoary punchlines, and old-school, telegraphed schtick, it’s a rib-tickling time capsule of a kind of comedy that had its roots in farce and burlesque but seemed to achieve its glorious apotheosis in the films of Blake Edwards, Mel Brooks, and early Woody Allen.
This one also pokes fun at some of the Bond conventions, as long-suffering, now unhinged (former) Chief Inspector Dreyfus seeks revenge on (current) Chief Inspector Clouseau. He does so by metamorphosing into a Bondian supervillain, which seems both absurd and, thanks to Herbert Lom, who gives it his series-best, the most natural thing in the world.
Peter Sellers, of course, is Clouseau. And how I miss breezy Henry Mancini.
Contemporary audiences may find some of the humor a little questionable, but trust me, most of us did back then too. That’s part of what made it so damn funny.
It’s the very thing for a summer evening, like a berries and crème crêpe. I hope you’ll join us for a conversation about Clouseau on the next Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner. Does your dog bite? The comments section will be full of priceless Steinways when we livestream on Facebook, YouTube, etc., at a special day and time, this Sunday evening at 7:00 EDT!
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