Death at a Funeral
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Movie Reviews of Death at a Funeral
Movie Review: Sneaks Up And Surprises You
Summary: 5 Stars
The great thing about DEATH AT A FUNERAL is that there really is something for everyone. From brief bathroom humor to dark jokes, it's all there, laid out by UK-born director Frank Oz.
The title itself is a bit misleading, in that you would think it to be more horror-ish or dramatic. The words "Death" and "Funeral" don't normally make you skip to the theater thinking "Oh boy! Let's go watch this funny movie!" For that, I would fault only the production person who stamped the name on it. But that would be my only one; one which has nothing to do with the rest of this riotously funny film.
Like a snake creeping upon its prey, Death at a Funeral also slowly makes its way along, never lurching or jumping ahead of itself, building the comedic moments one upon the other. Starting out (as all the trailers have shown) with Daniel (Matthew Macfadyen) standing in his livingroom, watching his father's coffin being delivered in preparation for a British homestyle service. But once the coffin is open, Daniel states, "That's not my father." The funeral home quickly whisks away the casket and returns with the right one. This gradual sinking in of dark comedy holds the film together exceptionally well.
We're then introduced to the rest of the cast...
Jane (Keeley Hawes, Tristram Shandy - A Cock and Bull Story), Daniel's wife who's pressuring him to buy a flat in the city and leave his now widowed mother with his successful brother in New York.
Simon (Alan Tudyk, Serenity), who is arriving at the funeral with his soon-to-be wife and is stressed about meeting (again) his future father-in-law, so is accidentally given a pill thought to be valium but, in reality, turns out to be a powerful hallucinogenic. This sends Simon on a running joke throughout the film, including periods of catatonia, color fascinations, and rooftop nudity.
Uncle Alfie (Peter Vaughan, KISS KISS BANG BANG), a crotchety old fart who's brought to the funeral in a wheelchair only to find himself with explosively needy bowels and the witness to a possible murder.
Peter (Peter Dinklage), a midget-of-a-man with big life aspirations who comes to the funeral not only to mourn the death of a close "friend," but to also get what "he deserves" from the family.
There are other perpetrators in the film, too, but these are the main ones who's paths cross just about everyone else's.
The film's short 90 minute run time is excellent in that none of the funnies are overdone. They have their moment and are either tossed aside or folded over into the film's grand finale. The number one folding in of jokes has to be the faux-valium pill bottle that gets lost and re-lost only to spring up at the most hilarious moments.
This is a laugh-a-minute film that has perfect comedic timing and crucial usage of British pompous humor, along with dark moments that will make watchers cringe and giggle at the same time.
Movie Review: Laugh Till You Drop
Summary: 5 Stars
Director Frank Oz [aka Oznowicz] was actually born in England, and he was raised in America. A very talented actor, with 104 film appearances on his resume -he also specialized in "voice work". He and Jim Henson created the whole MUPPETS phenomenon. He created multiple characters, the most famous of which were Kermit and Miss Piggy. He is equally well known for being the voice of Yoda for the George Lucas STAR WARS series. As a director he has made 14 films, varying from THE DARK CRYSTAL (1982), through the classic fun of WHAT ABOUT BOB? (1991). All the way across the spectrum to the crime thriller, THE SCORE (2001), with Robert De Niro, Edward Norton, and Marlon Brando. DEATH AT A FUNERAL (2007) represents his triumphant return to comedy; and what a dark and delicious foray it is.
A farce of the first order, this film is about a normally dysfunctional family who are forced to confront each other at a patriarch's funeral. The amazing script was written by Dean Craig. He is a young writer/director with only four films to his credit. In 2003 he gave us DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS. His script for FUNERAL was filled with wafts, even wads of wit, had terrific internal timing, a solid structure and plot, with a delectable and irreverent sense of humor. It is a film so completely farcical that I believe it could be produced on stage, in live theatre. All those slamming doors, crossed-over plotlines, and zany characters would lend themselves to some outrageous theatrical moments.
Attending the film I was happy to give in to the instant giddiness that most of the audience immediately lapsed into -beginning to titter and then guffaw while the opening credits were still rolling. If laughter is the "best medicine", and we all know that it is, then this film should be mandatory viewing, and the tickets should look like a medical prescription pad. Viewing this film is definitely good for "what ails you."
Lost love, mistaken identities, bumbling morticians, caskets that come alive, those terrible and dark secrets regarding the patriarch's "special needs", hallucinogenic bursts of inhibition, nudity, toilet hi-jinks, suppressed sex, unrepressed sex, deviant sex, pregnancy, predispositions and misunderstandings, jealousy, an ice queen for a wife and mother, a Spartacus toga party, a centurion's costume, an unpublished novel, harping, cajoling, bondage, wrestling, roof-romping, with enough turnabouts, fop haws, reversals, and surprises to flesh out three other comedic films, plus a really excellent cast -makes this darkest of drawing room comedies land on its dancing feet somewhere lodged half way between Oscar Wilde and Noel Coward, or say George Bernard Shaw and Harold Pinter, who is emulating Carl Reiner, who collaborated with Mel Brooks, after consulting with Woody Allen. This solid little film my not be tinged with "greatness", but it is absolutely the funniest evening I have spend in the theater this year.
Movie Review: British Black Comedy at its Best
Summary: 5 Stars
Director Frank Oz (The Stepford Wifes, What About Bob and the voice of Yoda in the Star Wars films) combined with the writing talent of Dean Craig (Lift, Dirty Little Secrets) have created one of the most unrelenting British comedy's that has been created in years. What I mean by `unrelenting' is the non-stop jokes and hilarious situations where the audience simply cannot stop laughing from start to finish. Death at a Funeral is an absolute riot.
One could also propose that this film is a fine example of British black comedy that the British are famous for...
Daniel (Matthew MacFayden) does a superb job as the son of his recently departed father, attempting to do the right thing while chaos explodes all around him.
The film begins as the undertakers' bring the coffin to the home for the eulogy to find that they have brought the wrong body, having to rush back in time with the correct one.
The successful novelist brother (Andrew Nyman) arrives from New York only to be complaining about first class air travel, and immediately commits a faux pas, sending his mother away in tears. Successful though selfish, he will not pay for half of the funeral expenses because of recently renovating his Manhattan penthouse.
We see the sibling rivalry between the two: Daniel the want to be writer and Howard the successful one; however success does not necessarily equate to a good heart which Daniel has in abundance.
A mysterious dwarf appears at the service who continually stares at Daniel until we find out about the little man's relationship with the deceased.
The film picks up from here with a hallucinogen mistaken for valium and the antics of those affected by the drug only makes the entire afternoon a string of comedic errors and laugh-out-loud- antics.
Absolutely the most hilarious film I've seen in 2007.
A solid 5 stars.
Movie Review: A truly wonderful and intelligent comedy.
Summary: 5 Stars
When I went into this movie, I knew nothing about it. I believe that this is the best way to see this particular movie. I sometimes prefer not to know, but I legitimately hadn't heard of this movie before it came out. I saw it under a recommendation of, "Hey, we saw this movie last night and it was very funny." That was all it took.
There were very few recognizable faces, and only one actor whose name I knew. The story was ridiculous and heart-warming all wrapped up together. For a movie that featured neither the comedic styling of Mel Brooks nor many (if any) "inappropriate" jokes, I am not sure I have ever laughed that hard at a movie. Consider, if you will, that Death at a Funeral is like Meet the Parents (Widescreen Special Edition), but funnier...and intelligent.
If you need/want to know what the movie was about, I won't deprive you. But if you will head my recommendation, stop reading here and enjoy the movie.
The movie:
A son attempts what would be a routine funeral for his father, but for a few unforeseen factors. This seemingly prim and proper British family may just be as flawed and...well, normal as any other family. An unfamiliar face in the crowd tries to blackmail the family, a promising young man who is trying to marry into the family accidentally takes enough hallucinogenic drugs to kill a small animal, and everyone keeps asking why the son instead of his author-for-a-brother will provide the eulogy. Family and friends come together to mourn and pay their respects to a man that they all thought they knew. What happens could never have been expected.
Movie Review: Be prepared for your own death - from laughter!
Summary: 5 Stars
My husband brought this DVD home from the video store this weekend. He sometimes brings home odd things and certainly the title and cover of this DVD were no exception. I took one look at it, turned up my nose and said "Uggh, I have no interest in seeing this. What in the world caused you to pick it out?" He said, "Oh, it's some British movie and it's supposed to be funny." I gave him a good eyeroll.
I actually missed the first 15 minutes of the movie because I wasn't interested in watching it at all, much less being there from the beginning. Within a minute of sitting down with him though I was laughing hysterically. So hysterically in fact, that our daughter came in from the next room where she was sitting with headphones on, music blaring in her ears, because she could hear us screaming with laughter. When she came in to the room, my husband and I were balled up in fits of tearful laughter and couldn't even talk to her.
When the movie was over, all I could say was "Oh - my - gosh! That was the funniest thing I've ever seen in my life. I laughed so hard I couldn't breathe and thought I was going to throw up. Then I couldn't sleep because I kept laughing.
Of course, it's not a movie you can talk about at the water cooler because people just won't understand why playing with toilet paper, talking to a deceased man's dwarf lover, or walking on a roof naked are funny. You just have to see it to understand.