Post by Clouseau on May 5, 2007 20:08:25 GMT
i suppose you could say i've taken my time getting around to it, but i finally finished The Pink Panther Gets Lucky this weekend, so i thought i'd go ahead and get my review up while it's still semi-fresh in my mind...
Paperback
August 2006
302 pages (not 320, as Amazon's listing says)
this was the first Pink Panther novel written by Marc Cerasini and Alice Alfonsi (i have previously already reviewed their second novel The Pink Panther's Just Desserts)...
thankfully, i can say that i enjoyed Gets Lucky much more than i expected to (i was dreading it after reading Just Desserts), but that's not to say that it was great, either... if i were to rank the three novels i've reviewed for you thus far, i would definitely put Gets Lucky above Just Desserts, but i would put Max A. Collins' The Pink Panther at the top, in a whole 'nother class by itself!
anyway, on with the review!
Clouseau (as in JD) is a bit ambiguous... the way he acts feels like he was based more on Steve Martin's version of the character, as does the mention of his white hair, but the description of the way he dresses and his use of disguises come off like something from one of the later Peter Sellers films...
Prof. Balls doesn't make an appearance, but certainly gets a nod, as Clouseau goes 'undercover' multiple times... in one scene, he dresses in drag but refuses to shave his moustache; in other, he's a croupier at a Las Vegas casino; and in yet another, he pretends to be a rapper!
as with JD, though, the way Clouseau speaks doesn't really answer any questions, because he seems to have nearly perfect English... his sentence order is a little off sometimes, but he doesn't mispronounce much again (except "leau", which is maybe a bit over-used), and if not for a plethora of "Bon dieu"s and the constant references to being a Frenchman, you wouldn't know he was French...
Dreyfus and Ponton do appear in the book, but only in minor roles, really, and i get the impression the authors weren't sure how to write for these characters... instead, Clouseau teams up with an American private detective (fitting since he spends most of the book in the US) named Junkyard Bob Convoy... Mr. Convoy - or Mr. Junk, as Clouseau often calls him - plays hard on the stereotype of a rugged man from the West... he drives a pick-up, calls Clouseau "pardner" a time or two, and he's just generally rough around the edges... once you get a few chapters in with him, though, he's not entirely as bad as he sounds...
the authors seem to enjoy playing with stereotypes, though, as is evident when they introduce a female rodeo star named Gina Autrey, who has the most ridiculously over-played Texas accent i've ever read...
once again, as with JD, i'm not sure who the book's intended audience is, because while the cover seems kid-friendly, the style and humor seem more suited for a teenager... thankfully, there is really only one romantic scene i can remember, and it's not as graphic as the ones in JD... innuendo abounds, though, as Clouseau unknowingly leads people to believe he's had a three-some with celebrity twins, and he also constantly refers to Junkyard (who made the mistake of calling himself a 'private dick' early on) as "my dick"...
as for the plot, again, i think the back cover of the book tells you all you really need to know:
all in all, i'm glad i read it, just for curiosity's sake, but it's extremely cheesey, and not incredibly highly recommended... at least the mystery part of the story is fairly interesting - which is one thing i also was thankfully able to say about Just Desserts - but it's not something i see myself re-reading any time in the near future...
anyway, there you go... hope you found this helpful!
Paperback
August 2006
302 pages (not 320, as Amazon's listing says)
this was the first Pink Panther novel written by Marc Cerasini and Alice Alfonsi (i have previously already reviewed their second novel The Pink Panther's Just Desserts)...
thankfully, i can say that i enjoyed Gets Lucky much more than i expected to (i was dreading it after reading Just Desserts), but that's not to say that it was great, either... if i were to rank the three novels i've reviewed for you thus far, i would definitely put Gets Lucky above Just Desserts, but i would put Max A. Collins' The Pink Panther at the top, in a whole 'nother class by itself!
anyway, on with the review!
Clouseau (as in JD) is a bit ambiguous... the way he acts feels like he was based more on Steve Martin's version of the character, as does the mention of his white hair, but the description of the way he dresses and his use of disguises come off like something from one of the later Peter Sellers films...
Prof. Balls doesn't make an appearance, but certainly gets a nod, as Clouseau goes 'undercover' multiple times... in one scene, he dresses in drag but refuses to shave his moustache; in other, he's a croupier at a Las Vegas casino; and in yet another, he pretends to be a rapper!
as with JD, though, the way Clouseau speaks doesn't really answer any questions, because he seems to have nearly perfect English... his sentence order is a little off sometimes, but he doesn't mispronounce much again (except "leau", which is maybe a bit over-used), and if not for a plethora of "Bon dieu"s and the constant references to being a Frenchman, you wouldn't know he was French...
Dreyfus and Ponton do appear in the book, but only in minor roles, really, and i get the impression the authors weren't sure how to write for these characters... instead, Clouseau teams up with an American private detective (fitting since he spends most of the book in the US) named Junkyard Bob Convoy... Mr. Convoy - or Mr. Junk, as Clouseau often calls him - plays hard on the stereotype of a rugged man from the West... he drives a pick-up, calls Clouseau "pardner" a time or two, and he's just generally rough around the edges... once you get a few chapters in with him, though, he's not entirely as bad as he sounds...
the authors seem to enjoy playing with stereotypes, though, as is evident when they introduce a female rodeo star named Gina Autrey, who has the most ridiculously over-played Texas accent i've ever read...
once again, as with JD, i'm not sure who the book's intended audience is, because while the cover seems kid-friendly, the style and humor seem more suited for a teenager... thankfully, there is really only one romantic scene i can remember, and it's not as graphic as the ones in JD... innuendo abounds, though, as Clouseau unknowingly leads people to believe he's had a three-some with celebrity twins, and he also constantly refers to Junkyard (who made the mistake of calling himself a 'private dick' early on) as "my dick"...
as for the plot, again, i think the back cover of the book tells you all you really need to know:
The incomparable Inspector Clouseau is on the case - and he still doesn't have a clue!
When the priceless Hot Pink diamond mysteriously vanishes during a magic show at the popular MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas - along with the famous starlet who was last seen wearing it upon her chest - authorities immediately summon Chief Inspector Jacques Clouseau, the world-renowned investigator from the Paris Police Bureau, to the scene of the crime. With the aid of an American private eye and bounty hunter, "Junkyard" Bob Convoy, the French detective who bumbled his way to fame in the widely celebrated Pink Panther case is determined to track down the legendary bauble and the chest it was last cleaving to. Oddsmakers predict he'll solve the case . . . or go bust trying! So look out evil-doers: Clouseau is in Sin City. (And look out Nevada Highway Patrol, because some fool has given him the keys to an SUV!)
When the priceless Hot Pink diamond mysteriously vanishes during a magic show at the popular MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas - along with the famous starlet who was last seen wearing it upon her chest - authorities immediately summon Chief Inspector Jacques Clouseau, the world-renowned investigator from the Paris Police Bureau, to the scene of the crime. With the aid of an American private eye and bounty hunter, "Junkyard" Bob Convoy, the French detective who bumbled his way to fame in the widely celebrated Pink Panther case is determined to track down the legendary bauble and the chest it was last cleaving to. Oddsmakers predict he'll solve the case . . . or go bust trying! So look out evil-doers: Clouseau is in Sin City. (And look out Nevada Highway Patrol, because some fool has given him the keys to an SUV!)
all in all, i'm glad i read it, just for curiosity's sake, but it's extremely cheesey, and not incredibly highly recommended... at least the mystery part of the story is fairly interesting - which is one thing i also was thankfully able to say about Just Desserts - but it's not something i see myself re-reading any time in the near future...
anyway, there you go... hope you found this helpful!
