Reviews of Death at a Funeral

A highly entertaining dark comedy!

Posted : 4 days, 14 hours ago on 21 December 2009 12:32 (A review of Death at a Funeral)

A dysfunctional British family attends a funeral, where secrets are revealed and hilarious chaos ensues!

Let me just start by saying this: If you aren't into dry humor or dark humor, you will most likely dislike this movie a lot. I happen to love both, so I highly enjoyed it. Like a lot of dark comedies out there, or should I say most out there, the plot has death ensuing all the chaos and hilarious mishaps. With The Big Nothing, The Big White, and Very Bad Things being a few to point out. I personally can't get enough dark humor movies, and really wish there were more to be honest.

Death At A Funeral has a very basic premise, with a family attending a funeral of a relative, and a lot of things going wrong. The funniest thing involves a small man that nobody seems to know, which I will not go into detail about (spoilers of course).

The comedic material used in this movie is pretty similar to that of The Office UK, or the US version for that matter. It takes awhile to get used to, but when it sinks in, it sure is great.

When your talking about characters in film, you want something to remember, and Death at a funeral brings that to the table big time. There are certain characters that will annoy you a lot, and other characters that you will never forget. It has a great mix.

Once this movie really begins to unfold, it's difficult not to enjoy. It's a very good dark comedy, and most likely will be on my shelves once I get the chance.

Give this film a try!


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Death at a Funeral

Posted : 9 months, 3 weeks ago on 8 March 2009 11:06 (A review of Death at a Funeral)

Death at a Funeral isn't the 'omg-you-gotta-watch-this' movie. The movie's slightly humorous, but I was grossed out by the toilet humor. XP It's hard to believe that a lot of exaggerated, unfortunate events can happen in one afternoon and even on a funeral. In real life, I think the funeral wouldn't be that bad if people would cooperate, listen, and show respect. So I say this is exaggerated. The only thing I liked from this movie is the ending when one of the sons gave the speech about their father.

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Enjoyable British comedy!

Posted : 1 year, 3 months ago on 18 September 2008 04:32 (A review of Death at a Funeral)

Jane: "Would you like a cup of tea, Sandra?"
Sandra: "Tea can do many things, Jane, but it can't bring back the dead."

Only the English filmmaking industry could exercise the concept of a sombre funeral service as a foundation on which to build an eccentric black comedy. Death at a Funeral is the latest comedy from American director Frank "voice of Yoda" Oz. Regardless of being directed by the said American, the film encompasses a distinct English flavour as it's blessed with a wonderful English country setting, mostly English actors, and a reasonably clever script courtesy of Dean Craig. At times the film is reminiscent of an episode of Fawlty Towers with its frenetic antics and oddball scenarios, but minus the comedy genius of John Cleese.

Director Frank Oz is recognised for his previous work including Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Bowfinger. Although his recent career has been a little unsteady, he's crafted a delightful comedy with Death at a Funeral that never fails to entertain for every minute of its roughly 90-minute duration. The film is clichéd, occasionally predictable, and the laughs are in disappointingly short supply, yet Oz has created a lively and wily little film containing a fair few notable moments and an impeccable cast. It's probably worth noting that much of the film's humour is derived from awkward, exhausting confrontations that grow tiresome and humdrum towards the end.

The story is a fairly straightforward beast: the film chronicles a succession of oddball events that unfold during a funeral service. Virtually all the proceedings transpire in one single location throughout the entire duration of the movie. Given that a majority of the film takes place in one house, it would have been awfully gruelling to sustain the film for longer than its eventual running time.
The simple plot is expanded shrewdly, and by no means does it outstay its welcome. There isn't much you can say about the plot without spoiling the fun, so I'll endeavour to be as brief as possible.

Daniel (Macfadyen) is trying to get the funeral underway to give his deceased father a dignified send-off. He's a decent young man, married to a woman named Jane (Hawes) and still living at home with his now-widowed mother (Asher). Daniel is joined by a cavalcade of family and friends gathering around to pay their respects. Plenty of chaotic events follow as the eccentric supporting cast are introduced.

Death at a Funeral received a fairly mixed reception. One's taste in comedies will determine if you're an avid fan, a passionate hater, or someone in between. Personally, I find myself in between. It's just some silly fun. It may not be the greatest British comedy of recent years, and it might not necessarily be a good film, but it'll pass 90 minutes of your time very satisfyingly. This is a flawed flick; however the shortcomings can (to some extent) be overlooked.

The only truly lethal problem with Death at a Funeral is the lack of genuine laugh-out-loud moments that we come to expect from the British film industry. As I said before, the laughs stem mainly from awkward situations in addition to gross-out moments. There's black humour aplenty - but occasionally the operative word "humour" appears to be ignored. Many of the awkward situations appear relatively unfunny, such as the murder sub-plot. And sometimes the film makes its audience closer to vomiting as opposed to laughing (like a situation including a wheelchair-bound, cantankerous elderly man needing to visit the bathroom).
The script also feels very clunky as it often goes around in circles instead of advancing the proceedings. There are countless unnecessary (and ultimately undeveloped) elements present, resulting in quite a disjointed effort. The film could definitely have benefited from more creativity and less recycled ideas. Much of the characters are standard and clichéd. It seems that it tries to be quite old-fashioned as well. It could have been the next Love Actually or Four Weddings and a Funeral but the genuinely hysterical moments are too few and far between. Too often this film sinks into a family drama as opposed to its intended genre.

The strongest aspect of Death at a Funeral is the ideal cast. The character relationships are realistic and there's strong chemistry between the central characters. The two brothers in particular feel like brothers in their dialogue exchanges and general interaction. In short: the entire cast capably handle the material, and do a far better job than Dean Craig did on the script.
Alan Tudyk is certainly worth mentioning. The American actor, known for Firefly (and Serenity, for that matter), Dodgeball, 28 Days and A Knight's Tale (just to name a few), is a convincing Englishman. His character inadvertently ingests a hallucinogenic drug and spends time at the funeral making a fool out of himself...eventually ending up naked on top of the house.
Matthew Macfadyen is quite likable as the man whose father is the subject of the funeral. The film also spotlights the always reliable Ewen Bremner (from Trainspotting) as a sleaze hoping to score again with a woman he slept with during a one-night stand. Besides those I've previously mentioned there's also Kris Marshall, Peter Dinklage, Andy Nyman and a few others. Needless to say, the cast have a keen grasp of comedy and rarely strike a false note.

Overall, Death at a Funeral had a clever concept but was let down by its disappointing script. Although supplying a steady stream of chuckles, the meaty laughs are lacking and the gags predominantly unfunny. The cast and filmmakers obviously had a great time making the film, and it shows in their performances. However the abundance of awkward situations just isn't as funny as some people had hoped. It's competently made, but ultimately clichéd and lacking any memorable moments. All in all, it's a modest film with modest ambitions. It'll easily provide a spot of entertainment on a rainy afternoon or a boring evening at home.

6.2/10

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A comedy of errors

Posted : 1 year, 11 months ago on 27 January 2008 04:55 (A review of Death at a Funeral)

The BBC website describes 'Death At A Funeral' as a desperate bid to marry a Richard Curtis comedy of middle-class manners with the taste-free gross-out style of the Farrelly Brothers. I can't say I really like those directors, but I can say I enjoyed this. Any film that can combine midget wrestling, hallucinogenic drugs and scatology at a funeral and still retain some class deserves some praise. The cast on paper we're not a huge pull in my decision to watch the movie, but there were a few surprises, mainly Daisy Donovan whom I thought was excellent here. Death At A Funeral is a welcome return to the British farcical comedies of old.

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