Inspector Clouseau? Who’s that? - Gasp! See the many faces of Peter Sellers here…

Author's Rating:

Pros: Geoffrey Rush; great screenplay and directing

Cons: Drags a bit in the middle

The Bottom Line: 
The Bottom Line is out renting Peter Sellers’ movies.

Author's Review
Though I love movies of all kinds, I missed a lot of the movies that were considered the greats when I was growing up. My parents were very strict and television during the week was a no-no, and movies had to be pre-approved by them. That leaves me playing catch up in my movie-watching experience. I can’t begin to convey the look of shock and dismay on the boy’s face when he pulled out The Life and Death of Peter Sellers only to discover I’d never seen a single film starring Peter Sellers. That’s right, flog me now. I’ve never seen The Pink Panther.

To tell you the truth, this movie sat at the bottom of the pile and I thought it would be returned to the library unviewed, until the fates stepped in. When an old VHS movie failed to play properly, The Life and Death of Peter Sellers DVD was our only other option.

I was truly impressed with the acting and the directing for most of the movie. Had they just cut out 20 minutes or so of the 122 minute runtime, I would be giving this a higher rating. As it stands, both the boy and I started looking at our watches about two-thirds of the way through, getting antsy.

The movie starts out with Peter Sellers as an adult, barely making ends meet as a radio personality. His wife Anne urges him to try other things when the jump to movies doesn’t quite land, but his mother Peg won’t let him give up on his dreams. She follows him upstairs at one point to reprimand him for becoming a “nappy-changing radio man.” After that, he goes back into a casting agent’s office who had previously rejected him, this time dressed as an 80 year-old war veteran, and nails the part.

For quite some time, though Peter seems odd, he remains truly likeable. Though he has child-like temper tantrums, he always comes back trying to make amends. There’s a definitive moment (in the movie anyways) where Peter goes too far into the glitz and glamour, and he’s never able to make it back.

He meets Sophia Loren, gives Pink Panther director Blake Edwards one hell of a rough time, stiffs Stanley Kubrick a promised part (Sellers had originally signed on to do four of the parts in Dr. Strangelove but faked an injury to get out of being the tail gunner), marries actress Britt Eckland, and finally, finally, finally grows up a bit.

When I first picked up the DVD jacket, I was convinced (even though it starred Geoffrey Rush, whom I adore) that it was just another celebrity-life movie of the week, the kind that can be seen on network television, usually on Sunday nights. It definitely had the feeling of that at times, but due to the acting and some very odd moments where Rush/Sellers dresses as another main character to discuss Sellers, the movie was saved from that generic tabloid feeling. The Life and Death of Peter Sellers took some cinematic chances, and is saved from being relegated to the obscure, less-than-average made-for-television movie.

I’ve seen much better biographies (Walk the Line), but I’ve sat through much, much worse ones too. Geoffrey Rush does a phenomenal job becoming the many faces of Peter Sellers, even to my Sellers-virgin eyes. The supporting cast does what a supporting cast is meant to do – support. If not for the fact that it felt repetitive and dragged out for the last third, this would be an easy 4, 4 ½ star rating. Instead, I’ll have to settle for 3 ½, rounding up to 4 because of Geoffrey Rush. If you are a Sellers fan, by all means, go rent this today.


Movie Details:

Made for HBO, never released in the theaters.
Rated: Not Rated (see above)
Runtime: 122 Minutes
Written by: Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, based on the book by Roger Lewis
Directed by: Stephen Hopkins
Starring: Peter Sellers ~ Geoffrey Rush (Pirates of the Caribbean; Shine)
Anne Sellers ~ Emily Watson (Angela’s Ashes; Corpse Bride)
Britt Eckland ~ Charlize Theron (North Country; Monster)
Blake Edwards ~ John Lithgow (The World According to Garp; TV’s Third Rock from the Sun)