Passed Away

Jack Warden is patriarch of an Irish clan. When he passes away, lives are turned upside down and the fun begins. The ensemble cast is up to the challenge of believing their cliches just enough to sell them effectively to their audiences. Pamela Reed and Nancy Travis are standouts. Bizarre situations abound. I've now seen it twice, and enjoyed it immensely each time.

Fun,unchallenging, episodic fluff -- heavy on the Irish ethnicity -- easy to take. All-star cast finds plenty of good material to bring fun to awkwartd situations. Peter Riegert and Pamela Reed are standouts. This is one big cliche accompanied by 15 ancillary cliches, but who cares? Its all in good fun.

When Jack Scanlan, the head of a "normal" Irish family dies suddenly, everyone turns to the oldest son, Johnny (Bob Hoskins) to be the new family decision-maker. Everyone is having their own issues and power struggles within the family. All the family believe Johnny can take over for Dad; however, Johnny can't handle the sudden pressure and decides that it is time for a mid-life crisis. Mayhem ensues as all the problems come to a head at Jack's wake. Before Johnny can handle the family's problems he has to come to grips with his own problems and accept his new role in the family.

A crackerjack cast helps to make this film a fun watch. It's not unusual for comedies to be about dysfunctional families, but with an above average script, and with appealing characters, one can sit back and happily conclude, the family depicted here, is more messed up then is mine. Of course, we get a happy ending, but how it's going to get there is not so obvious. One of the better comedies of the 1990's.

This is a very quirky comedy. No surprises but very well acted and the script has enough funny situations to keep one entertained. Not great by any means but I found it worth watching and as I always enjoy seeing Bob Hoskins I was not disappointed. This movie is definitely not for everyone.