L'amour, six pieds sous terre

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 just saw Lots with a View as a surprise advance premiere (or: sneak preview) and it was quite funny. Yeah, it was actually a very good movie. I just read another user comment on it that it's hard to deal with the subject of Death in a comedy movie. It indeed is. And I'm still battling with myself over the question if they did a good job.

On one had, it was funny. On the other hand: it comes as a slap in the face for everybody who has (just) lost a loved one. Willie's talk about his mother broke me; a dying wife or grandma may break you. And would Dr. Spock die, no real Star Trek fan would ever be able to watch this movie.

For everybody else: you'll have an exquisite laugh.

Only the Brits could make a film like this and have it be so tastefully charming! Betty (Brenda Blethyn) wants something more out of life, but she doesn't know what, when she realizes she is in love with her childhood friend, Boris (Alfred Molina), who owns the local funeral parlor. Meanwhile, an American mortician (Christopher Walken) who "wants to put the 'fun' back in funerals" moves into this small Welsh community with his assistant (Lee Evans) and wants to give Boris a run for his money with flashy, themed funerals. (Star Trek funeral, anyone?) Brenda and Boris decide to stage Brenda's death and funeral, with hilarious results. A very enjoyable film - if you're a fan of British comedies such as "Waking Ned Devine", you'll love this.

This was a wonderful film. My wife and I saw it on a princess cruise last year, and while it was an obvious plug for the cruise line, we thought the acting was superb (especially Christoper Walken). The story line is not your typical romance but the funerary background was an excellent twist. We both love Alfred Molina's acting and character that he portrayed however Walken steals the show with truly insane comedic genius. The way Walken's character tries to fulfill the deceased's supposed unrequited wishes in life in a uniquely expressive send off will have you rolling in the aisles. We kept waiting to see it in the states and have wanted to recommend it to our friends. I understand that it may come out with a different title and only in limited release, but we would love to see it again.

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.