Eulogy

This movie is a hilarious reminder that reality has nothing to do with what we think is true. Brilliant screenplay, exceptional cast, and LOL funny. If you loved "Harold & Maude," "Sideways," and/or "Wilder Napalm," you'll love this one too. Debra Winger continues to be a revelation. Ray Romano - who knew? Hank Azaria, perfect as always. Piper is the real surprise. I don't have anything else to say, but have to write 10 lines in order to get my two cents in. Is this crazy? Shorter and to the point is better. Anyway, whether my remarks get posted or not, this site is one of the very most useful and frequently consulted on our "favorites" list.

Just barely watchable, a few jokes were good. If you have nothing better to do on a weekend this is a good way to spend a couple of hours. If you miss Ray Ramano, this is for you. Most of the sibling situations are cliche. It's OKK.

If Hollywood stopped making films about dysfunctional families there'd be a real drought in the theaters and on DVD shelves. "Eulogy" is a pretty conventional tale but it's well-acted.

The paterfamilias, grandfather, is dead, apparently by his own hand, and the family - immediate and extended - arrives at the grieving widow's home to prepare for the funeral immediately resuming hostilities over well-aged feuds and hurts. Nothing surprising here.

Zooey Deschanel as Kate is a college student who seems to be the most normal member of an eclectic and eccentric crew. Her grandmother is Piper Laurie and, have no fear, those who remember the beautiful young actress of an earlier Silver Screen age won't recognize her here. How the mighty have...aged.

Hank Azaria has a fun(ny) role as a loser with a heart.

Deborah Winger turns in a first-rate performance as Kate's shrewish Aunt Alice who exudes homophobia at a sister who arrives with her fiancé (or fiancée), a sharp, observant woman. Alice, is married to a drone who without barely a word smiles ceaselessly and seems on the verge of drooling.

Their three kids are also silent, probably disturbed big time. And two nasty pre-teen twins of Alice's brother make Dennis the Menace a choir boy by comparison.

No character here that hasn't been seen in many movies and TV sitcoms. But there's a thread of drama with the zany comedy that makes "Eulogy" a mite different if whacked out family stories intrigue you.

It's an ensemble production - see the IMDb.com main page for the full cast. But Ms. Deschanel, with her dark eyes and sharp takes at her family members' antics, is the acting center of the flick.

8/10 (barely but I laughed a lot).

I was up very late last night and I thought I would watch half this movie before sleeping and the other half today. But, I was laughing so much during the whole 90 minutes that I wasn't even much aware of how much time went by. It's been ages since my jaw ached from watching a movie. 'Eulogy' is one of the funniest films. There have been numerous movies about dysfunctional families but what makes this one different is the unique characters, the novel jokes, the excellent ensemble cast, a fresh script and it's genuine fun.

Michael Clancy's direction and screenplay are quite amusing. It would have been very easy to mess up a film like this one by adhering to clichés but Clancy's novel treatment makes it a refreshing experience. Where else will you hear lines like 'You don't throw a lemon at me in front of a lesbian' or 'She has made a business out of persecuting me and I'm supposed to sit here, at my father's funeral, and watch her *beep*-sing at Samantha?'? Alright, they sound a lot better withing the context of the movie.

All the actors do a remarkable job and terrifically fit together as a messed up family that includes a dead father (the skilled Rip Torn), a suicidal mother (a sublime Piper Laurie), a chronically angry daughter (welcome back Debra Winger) and her husband , a hormonal son (the hilarious Ray Romano), a sassy daughter and her no-nonsense fiancée (played brilliantly by Kelly Preston and Famke Janssen), a pot-smoking son (a superb Hank Azaria), his questioning daughter (a luminous Zooey Deschanel who marvelously carries the film), her twin perverted cousins and their three selectively mute younger cousins. To support the family there's a sensual nurse (a fiery Glenne Headly) and a guy from the neighborhood (a charismatic Jesse Bradford). Quite a magnificent ensemble!

The entire comedy elements are very well displayed. At times it is wacky and at times subtle but it all goes well together and remains enjoyable and wildly charming from start to end. With movies like this, who needs laughing gas?

I went into this film with high expectations considering the amazing cast and wasn't disappointed. It was consistently entertaining -- and often explosively funny.

Sometimes it felt like a throwback screwball comedy other times the comedy was more subtle and nuanced but it was always fun. Looked like it was gonna get a touch overly sentimental at the end but managed to bleach the saccharin out of the most "emotional" moments. A welcomed little performance piece film full of nice little moments.