Timing is everything in comedy, and thus thrilling classic is probably the most continuously hysterical film that I have seen in years. This is one of those films where you must watch without distraction and without turning away for any reason. Those who dismiss comedy as not an art form should open up to films like this where every moment is staged to be precisely perfect down to the second.

This really has no major plot, just the goings on at a lavish Hollywood party where Sellers, as an accident prone Indian actor, shows up stag and unknowingly turns the evening into a series of accidents, aided by a drunken server, a few ditsy starlets, and just plain bad timing. While there are a few familiar faces involved (Marge Champion as the hostess and Gavin MacLeod with a toupee as a rather nasty guest),the supporting cast is mainly unknown actors who are directed to not react to the things going on, giving the assumption that they were simply to ignore everything going on around them, exposing pretentious behavior from the audacious guests.

The genius of Peter Sellers and director Blake Edwards surpassed the two Pink Panther films with this where every inconceivable accident happens to him. I don't find anything offensive in Sellers' portrayal of a Hindu man; in fact he's quite lovable in his flaws, gentility and sincerity. So while it may indeed be a mad, mad, mad, mad party, there's nothing maddening for the audience except perhaps the fact that it will take several viewings to capture everything going on.

I guess I am one of the voices of dissent for this highly rated film. I hated this film thoroughly and it was a chore to keep watching since it was generally unfunny, lacked structure and was plagued by excess. It's been a long time since I saw a movie I enjoyed less--and that includes when I saw the schlock horror film FROGS last week! Director Blake Edwards and Peter Sellers had some amazing success in THE PINK PANTHER and A SHOT IN THE DARK and here they are re-teamed for a film that one many levels looks like an Inspector Clouseau film but lacking the structure and plot of these cute films. Sellers plays a bumbling Indian actor who is essentially Clousseau all over again. The difference, though, is that there is no mystery to solve and no real plot--just Sellers bumbling about the set and getting into trouble. It had no counter-balance or timing--just one embarrassing moment after another. And to make matters worse, almost none of this was particularly funny. The final effort looks more like an Edwards-Sellers vanity project than a real film.

I love Peter Sellers films but have to acknowledge that often he had great hits and often he had great duds. This is definitely one of the duds.

In a Gunga Din-like movie, bumbling east Indian actor Hrundi V. Bakshi (Peter Sellers) keeps screwing up and the director throws him out. A clerical error at the studio gets Bakshi invited to an exclusive party hosted by the wealthy Clutterbuck family. It's a night of chaos instigated by Bakshi.

There is something off-putting about brown-face. It's another time when it was acceptable. It still bothers me nevertheless. There is undeniably some fun slapstick that Sellers gets into. At least, he's not the bad guy. He's the clown who annoys every character in the movie and suppose to warm the audience's heart. It's the only non-Pink Panther collaboration between Blake Edwards and Peter Sellers. For today's audience, it would work a lot better without the brown-face.