Long may you twitch Mr. Lom!

Gunnery Sergeant Hartman

A few spoilers throughout.

Yes it was a rehash. Yes, Blake Edwards recycled a lot of the jokes from the original. But I still feel that SOPP manages to do succeed. Benigni Is a nice choice for Sellers' illegitimate (Did I spell that right?) son. Not only does he kind of look like Sellers, but he has the gift of completely falling on his face and making it look like an accident. Burt Kwouk is entertaining as always as Kato. As is Graham Stark as Auguste Balls. It is nice to see them both in this movie. I also liked seeing Claudia Cardinale back in this one. But, I have to give special kudos to Herbert Lom. The first film I saw him in was "A Shot in the Dark", and it made him my favorite actor. I often found myself watching the other films in the series mainly because of him. He does an impressive job for being as old as he was (I think he was about 75.) When the bomb blew up in Maria's house and he was standing there in his smoldering suit with the poodle humping his leg, I almost died laughing. Also, Edwards gives more focus to his character of Charles Dreyfus. Instead of ending up in an insane asylum like he usually does in the other Pink Panther films, He manages to solve the mystery, AND get the girl. He giggles, he twitches, he goes a little nuts, but he wouldn't be Dreyfus if he didn't. What's really great is that he makes peace with his enemy (Jacques Clouseau), and he becomes a father to his son, and it's hard not to wish him well. God bless you Mr. Lom. Long may you twitch.

P.S. I have heard rumors that a new Pink Panther series is in the works with Mike Myers as the lead. It will never work. I'm not saying that Myers is a bad actor. I don't think he is. He just can't play stupid. When Peter Sellers did something stupid, you didn't think it was acting. When he fell off a couch, you were completely convinced that his character WAS that dumb. It honestly didn't look like acting. I just don't think that Myers will be able to do that. He's to confident. Maybe he will prove me wrong. I hope that the movie's creators bring back Lom, Kwouk, and Stark though!

score /10

Gunnery Sergeant Hartman 16 September 2001

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw0329615/