As if to cleanse my pallet of the 2006 remake of the Pink Panther, I rented the 1976 film, The Pink Panther Strikes Again. As I said before, Tammy is not a big fan of slap-stick comedy. She surprised me (and maybe herself) by sitting through this whole show and actually laughing at most of it. I, on the other hand, howled. I love Peter Sellers as Jacques Clouseau.

It seems like each of these movies has a scene that has become a Pink Panther cliche. In “Strikes Again” we have the classic, “Zat iz not my dog,” scene between Clouseau and the old German inn keeper. Oh, it makes me chuckle just to think about it.

I’m not sure what all I can say about this film to praise it. If you’ve never scene the old Pink Panther series, you simply MUST. If you have, then you have already made up your mind and you either think Sellers was a genius or you think it was stupid. In that case, I can’t do much to change your mind.

I will caution that if you are looking for some good Clouseau, don’t go back to the first “Pink Panther”, released in 1963. That one was a weird mix of James Bond, cloak and dagger, with Sellers’ slap-stick thrown in for comic relief. Also avoid the Panthers made after Sellers died (in 1980).

I give this film four out of five grins. By my ranking system, that means that I’d be willing to buy this one. (Which is convenient since they now have a Pink Panther box set. Hint hint!)