I love Steve martin when he’s at his best (“Roxanne”, “Leap of Faith”, “Bowfinger”) but if someone dangles money at him for any more outtings as Inspector Closseau, for his own good he should be tackled and have both his legs broken.

Left to his own devices he goes louder.

Promos for the second remake of the Pink Panther movie look terrible, mostly because of Martin being so “loud” and basically, a variation of his wild and crazy guy, the Czechoslovakian playboy from Saturday Night Live.

Sellar’s genius in playing Clouseau was his very English nature. He dested the French, and the character of Hercule Poirot in particular in the way only an Englishman can. So he had a very good approach for Clouseau — he played him as a guy who was an idiot who did not realize he was an idiot, with the exaggerated arrogant haughtiness that the English feel characterize the French. That was the secret to the hilarity of Clouseau. The haughtiness of Charles De Gaulle mixed with idiocy but played “soft.”

Almost all American comedies with “dumb” characters play them over-loud, constantly reminding audiences how wacky they are. Martin is one of the worst offenders, because it worked for him in stand-up, and the habits of a lifetime are hard to break.