By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.25
Director: Frank Oz
Starring: Alan Tudyk | Andy Nyman | Daisy Donovan | Ewen Bremner | Matthew Macfadyen | Peter Dinklage | Rupert Graves
Country: germany, united_kingdom, united_states
Year: 2007
Running time: 90
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0795368/
Chris says: “This dyspeptic British comedy regarding a family funeral for a deceased patriarch shouldn’t work at all. It has too many characters to respectfully consider, an abundance of outlandish plot twists, and a steady current of lowbrow humor. And yet, it averts disaster (and occasionally soars) simply because it’s funny, and consistently so at that. Frank Oz can be hit-and-miss as a director (for every gem in his discography like the underrated WHAT ABOUT BOB, there’s a STEPFORD WIVES), but here he’s completely suited to the zany pace, nimble construction and delightfully dark tone of Dean Craig’s screenplay. The large ensemble cast features a bevy of Brits young and old, but the most inspired work comes from American actors Alan Tudyk (FIREFLY/SERENITY) and Peter Dinklage (THE STATION AGENT): to reveal anything more about their characters would spoil the fun. DEATH AT A FUNERAL is certainly a crowd-pleaser, and I could ramble off a long list of smarter and more nuanced comedies I’ve seen—but I couldn’t tell you the last time I’ve laughed so hard watching one of them. 3.5 cats
“DEATH AT A FUNERAL was screened at the Provincetown International Film Festival”
Michael says: “Frank Oz has had a pretty interesting career. Most people will remember Oz for bringing life to the muppets and characters on Sesame Street. However Oz has also had quite the career as a director as well, helming such mainstream (but largely entertaining) fare as THE DARK CRYSTAL, THE MUPPETS TAKE MANHATTAN, LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS, HOUSESITTER, IN & OUT, and BOWFINGER. After his last big Hollywood affair, (the underwhelming THE STEPFORD WIVES), Oz makes a comeback with some smart, adult fare in the form of DEATH AT A FUNERAL, a British comedy where just about everything that can go wrong at a funeral, does. It’s an entertaining way to spend 90 minutes, with a strong ensemble cast and some truly fun and funny moments.
“I really don’t have much to say about DEATH AT A FUNERAL, but I did want to point out two stellar performances. Alan Tudyk (SERENITY; WONDER BOYS) is hysterical as a family member’s fiancé who inadvertently downs a potent hallucinogenic. His reactions to things both seen and unseen are spot on. Peter Dinklage also turns in a performance of comic brilliance. His use of his eyebrows and sideways glancing stop just short of mugging, but play the comedy to perfection. 3 cats”
Jay says: “There’s something almost quaint about DEATH AT A FUNERAL; it could have been made and set up to a hundred years earlier with just a few details being changed. Maybe it would have been better that way; this farce about a dysfunctional English family stiff-upper-lipping their way through a disastrous funeral might occasionally have benefited from having to be a little more restrained, or a little less old-fashioned.
“Daniel (Matthew Macfadyen) is attempting to run the affair, which is not off to an auspicious start, with the undertakers initially bringing the wrong body. His wife Jane (Keeley Hawes) seems more worried about whether he has delivered the down payment on a flat in the city, so that they can sell the house if Daniel’s mother Sandra (Jane Asher) will live with her other son, Robert (Rupert Graves) in New York. Every mourner expects Robert, a successful writer, to deliver the eulogy, which just makes Daniel feel more slighted. Also in attendance are nephew Troy (Kris Marshall), a student chemist; his sister Martha (Daisy Donovan); her nervous fiancé Simon (Alan Tudyk); hypochondriac family friend Howard (Andy Nyman); Justin (Ewen Bremner), who is smitten with Martha; and Uncle Alfie (Peter Vaughan), the requisite cranky wheelchair-bound old man. Also appearing is Peter (Peter Dinklage); no-one else recognizes him but he feels entitled to something, even beyond being there.
“This is fairly well-worn ground, but to a certain extent that means that the material is well-tested; most everybody knows their role, and how this kind of comedy works, and as such they don’t slip up very often. Writer Dean Craig and director Frank Oz generally balance irreverence with sincerity; they’re careful to make sure that their characters aren’t too peculiar; otherwise, the movie would just become a grotesquerie about people who are eccentric and stupid for no good reason. They do test the limit of that on occasion – these days, apparently even British comedies about repressed family tension have scatological bits which are momentum-crushingly unfunny, and a recurring bit about the Valium that Martha gives Simon actually being a designer hallucinogen goes on for a very long time before paying off as something other than getting a disconnected laugh out of Alan Tudyk acting crazy every few minutes.
“The trouble is that the film really needs to cut to Alan Tudyk every few minutes, because the various bits with the family members stopping short of open bickering feel familiar and, while well-acted, are never quite so funny as they should be. I don’t think there’s a single point where this movie zigs when one would expect it to zag; or a joke that becomes extra funny because the details are unexpected. Some of the conflicts seem to be little more than standard issue: Martha’s father isn’t impressed with Simon because that’s how potential father-in-laws are; Sandra is passive-aggressive because the only other way to play her is bawling constantly. Everything that goes wrong at this funeral is supposed to be driven by these characters’ histories, but the backstories aren’t unique of fleshed-out enough to make things go quite this awry.
“The set-up may be generic, but the cast handles it with great skill. The relationships between the various characters all feel genuine; the brothers, in particular, behave the way real brothers do, with everything unspoken because it’s been present their entire lives – rivalries, jealousies, taking each other for granted, and knowing exactly how the other feels. There’s also something perfectly right about how Martha relates to Simon; no matter how out of control or embarrassing the situation gets, these two do love each other and this pointedly isn’t a crisis. Even Peter, who comes in with demands and thus causes much of the trouble, has a real sense of loss to him.
“A few individual performances stand out. Macfadyen makes a fine straight man, always just about ready to crack. Dinklage is as good as usual, with presence well beyond his short stature. Alan Tudyk almost effortlessly turns in yet another memorable supporting performance, basically playing high for an hour and a half. Daisy Donovan is an earnest delight as Martha. And Andy Nyman and Ewen Bremner make a fun odd couple.
“I guess they don’t make a lot of films like DEATH AT A FUNERAL any more; the drawing-room comedy kind of went out with drawing rooms. It’s a bit of a shame; there are undeniable pleasures to the film’s dry wit, and if it seldom delivers the guffaw, it at least manages a steady stream of chuckles.”