Bailando con el corazón

Hilarious from start to finish, there's got to be great courage to handle the theme of death with a smile, specially when two funeral parlors are battling for control of the market: a classic parlor and a revolutionary one where every funeral is a show, lead by Christopher Walken, a treat in the role of the visionary american mortitian. But the rest of the cast is great also, and this one is another success that only UK is capable of making. Surprising among the ensemble cast is Naomi Watts, that strikes in another metamorphosis (accent included). Always sporting a smile on its face, it seems like a paradox that there could be so much comedy to be taken from a movie that could be called "Four Funerals and One Wedding", but you'll understand when you see it.

And fun this movie is. I saw this on Cinemax a few months ago, and it wasn't so bad. As another reviewer said, it just has its moments, but those moments are pure gold (better than the tripe Americans usually churn out and call "comedy"). It's not a terrific film, but as something to watch on the tube, it's perfect. Alfred Molina and Brenda Blethlyn deliver good performances, but my favorite has to be Christopher Walken as Featherbed, the whacko American with his Star Trek and other themed funerals (although I don't know what he's doing in Wales).

Overall, it's a solid (albeit rather predictable) comedy.

I found this a very enjoyable light hearted comedy set in Wales with some truly funny sequences highlighting the rivalry between two funeral directors. The showbiz ideas used by Christopher Walken's character to liven up his funerals are genuinely laugh out loud moments.

Once again seeing this kind of movies turns me more and more into English humor, not too often seen on screen since the days of Monty Python and Man About The House. Too bad.

Brenda Blethyn (Who I first saw in Saving Grace early in the year, another must see by the way.) just excels, as Alfred Molina does. The rest of the cast, while virtually unknown to me, turns on great performances too. The film starts slowly and gradually gains in pace and amusement - midway I had tears in my eyes from laughing.

All in all, a funny English movie, a thousand times better than the supposedly 'funny' garbage that comes from Hollywood.

I was privileged to catch a preview of this film and I must say it's terrific. Christopher Walken is hilarious as a progressive U.S. funeral director trying to steal business away from a traditional funeral director (Alfred Molina) in a small Welsh town. Brenda Blethyn (Secrets & Lies, Saving Grace) is equally outstanding playing Molina's object of affection since childhood. She's married to a powerful local councilman, who, unbeknownst to her, cheats on her with his vivacious secretary. Molina's role, however, provides the backbone of the storyline and he does a superb job carrying it through. Ultimately, it's writer Ponzlov's deft intertwining of love and death that bring this comedy to life.

Overall, casting is first-rate, the writing wonderful and the cinematography beautiful. This fun, quirky and sweeet film will rank up there in popularity with features like Four Weddings, Waking Ned Devine and Local Hero to name a few.