I've gone on record as a Pink Panther skeptic. Even if the film's bump from August to February wasn't telltale sign enough, unless the trailer that's been on the web for roughly six years is totally misrepresentative of the finished film, I can't imagine this Steve Martin-penned remake being anything less than a total disaster. But it should be noted that Lloyd Grove, who admits to his own post-delay skepticism, recently watched it and liked it. I don't know how much credence we can give to the review of a gossip columnist, but in this morning's column Grove reports: "I got at least five belly laughs out of it - for me, an excellent total. I never knew that the phrase "I want to buy a hamburger" could be quite so funny." That is certainly news to me, as well. Grove goes on to praise Martin's performance as Inspector Clouseau as a new and seperate beast from the one created by Peter Sellars oh-so-long ago: "The star takes ownership of the pompous, disaster-prone, absurdly accented Frenchman after the movie's first three minutes." Which, of course, makes one wonder what happens in those first 180 seconds.