Can Steve Martin reclaim his former glory?

More than pratfalls
While there is no doubt Martin possesses the gifts of physical comedy to pull it off, his screen persona has been overexposed in mundane family comedies, and much of the luster has worn off. It’s impossible to say whether audiences who have seen him endure mishaps and misadventures amid the innocent lunacy of wild kids have grown so tired of seeing the same nonsense that they’ll look at a silly French policeman and see the “Cheaper by the Dozen” dad. And that would be unfortunate indeed.

Some of the advanced word isn’t promising. Michael Rechtshaffen of the Hollywood Reporter writes: “Even with the inspired choice of Steve Martin in the Clouseau role, this ‘Panther’ picture is more bumbling and fumbling than the blissfully oblivious, accident-prone Inspector.” Said Brian Lowry of Variety: “At its best this new ‘Pink Panther’ is a hit and largely miss exercise — a glass about three-quarters empty or one-quarter full, depending on one’s eagerness to succumb.”

Of course, a sampling of early reviews doesn’t necessarily add up to trouble. But it probably didn’t help Martin to team up on this “Pink Panther” with his “Cheaper by the Dozen” director Shawn Levy. One way to avoid the Hollywood sausage machine is to steer clear of those who are doing the grinding.

When I think of Steve Martin, a comic visionary comes to mind, someone whose career skyrocketed because he was doing things no one else was doing. Now he’s doing those things over and over again in situations that are beneath him, with less and less effectiveness. “The Pink Panther” might be a small step forward, or it might not be, but it was at least a bold choice.

This is the same artist who wrote “Shopgirl” and “Picasso at the Lapin Agile,” who wrote and starred in “Roxanne” and “Bowfinger,”  who was convincing in dramas like “Grand Canyon” and “The Spanish Prisoner.” He deserves to be appreciated for doing more than pulling his hair out while kids run circles around him.

I’d hate to think that someday people might walk out on him like I walked out on Andy Williams.

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