| Movie DescriptionWhen the master thief, the Tornado, begins stealing expensive artifacts (the Magna Carta in London, the Turin Shroud in Turin, and the Imperial Sword in Kyoto), the Government of France assembles a Dream Team of International Detectives to solve the case. Inspector Clouseau (Steve Martin) is reassigned from his task as a parking officer by Chief Inspector Dreyfus (John Cleese) to join the Dream Team in Japan, site of the Tornado's recent heist. At the airport, as soon as he is officially leaving France, news breaks that the Pink Panther Diamond has also been stolen. Clouseau travels back to the scene of the crime, where the other members of the Dream Team, Inspector Pepperidge (Great Britain), Vicenzo (Italy), Kenji (an electronics specialist from Japan), and Sonia (a researcher and criminology expert from India), are gathering. They go to Rome to investigate a black market fence, Alonso Avellaneda (Jeremy Irons), who deals with The Tornado. Assuming he is The Tornado, the Dream Team question him while Clouseau snoops around. Avellaneda successfully vindicates himself by demonstrating that he lacks a bullet-wound to the right shoulder- the Tornado was shot in that shoulder during a theft over a decade ago. After they leave, Avellaneda meets with the Tornado himself (Johnny Hallyday).
Later on that night, Clouseau and his partner, Ponton (Jean Reno), spy on Avellaneda, using a bug they planted at the table they were sitting, as he takes a date out for dinner. Unfortunately, the mission is compromised when they find Vicenzo and Clouseau's love interest, Nicole (Emily Mortimer), together at the restaurant. Having been banned for burning down the restaurant three months earlier, Clouseau disguises himself as a dancer and attempts to switch the bug to Nicole's table. In the process, he ends up burning down the restaurant again. At the same time, The Tornado steals the Pope's ring, an act which begins to turn public opinion against the Dream Team. When Clouseau's acts of foolishness aggravate the situation, he is voted off the team, with only Sonia sympathizing with him. Shortly afterward, Clouseau is called to an office where they see the Tornado has killed himself, and left a suicide note claiming he destroyed the Pink Panther- regarding it as being so beautiful that he could not bring anyone other than himself to own it- and left the other treasures to be recovered. Examining a key they found in the Pope's Chambers, they successfully match the DNA of the victim with DNA of the Tornado acquired when he was shot, and thus believe themselves to have solved the case. However, Clouseau is unconvinced and believes the Tornado was not the thief.
For their victory in recovering the stolen items (minus the Pink Panther), a celebration is thrown in the Dream Team's honor. Clouseau, who was not invited, tries to convince Dreyfus that the real thief is still at large, but is ignored. Dreyfus relays to the group that Clouseau told him Sonia was the thief, and the group, treating the idea as a joke, works out a plausible explanation for how she could have done it; as the Tornado's ex-lover, she would have in-depth knowledge of his methods, and has set up a situation to draw all attention to the thefts of the other artifacts while leaving her free to sell on the Pink Panther as the only treasure that could be cut up and sold on without suspicion. Nicole suddenly realizes that Clouseau's story may actually be feasible, prompting Nicole to ask Sonia to conclude the joke by showing the contents of her purse, Clouseau claiming that the Pink Panther is in her purse. Disgusted by this indirect accusation, Sonia attempts to leave the party. As Sonia tries to leave, Nicole again asks her to take everything out of her purse. Sonia pulls out a gun, and after initially threatening to shoot Nicole, she shoots Clouseau, but the bullet ricochets off the medal of honor he had received. She then runs upstairs. Clouseau and the rest of the Dream Team chase her all around the building, while they all—except for Clouseau—make fools of themselves.
Finally cornered, Sonia threatens to destroy the Pink Panther, and Clouseau successfully goads her to do so. Clouseau reveals that she had destroyed a fake gem he had switched with the real one before his departure from France, and that the Tornado, a master thief and a recognized authority on valuable gems, would have recognized this; therefore, his suicide note— where he praised the beauty of the gem in his possession— was forged and he was actually murdered. He reveals that he had given Sonia's car a ticket two days before the Pink Panther was stolen, contradicting her alibi of having been delayed to the crime scene because of her flight. Dreyfus tries to claim credit for having appointed Clouseau to his parking job, but Clouseau, remembering Dreyfus told him to deny this to anyone who asked, rebukes the claim. Clouseau later marries Nicole, though the wedding is short-lived after Dreyfus fires the cork out of the Champagne bottle onto a security device, causing Black Ops to storm the party in a manner similar to an earlier event in the film. Clouseau and Nicole ditch the wedding and head for the airport for their honeymoon with the animated Pink Panther watching them leave. The film ends with Pink Panther looking into the camera as he walks into the chaotic wedding and closes the door. |
