Death at a Funeral

It's been ages since I had such a good time enjoying a movie. While other movies about dysfunctional families are so dramatic and serious, Death at a Funeral makes things brighter and funnier even at a funeral. The characters are not complex, but various - an accidentally drugged men, a hurting widow, a famous writer and his brother who cannot escape the other one's glorious shade, a hypochondric young men, a sever father, a sour old men, a homosexual blackmailer... and much, much chaos. This antithesis between life, with its different forms of manifestation, and death makes Death at a Funeral a juicy mild-black comedy.

Who would expect hallucinogenic drugs, homosexual adultery, human waste (literally), nudity, and much more such unexpected surprises in a funeral? I have always been a fan of Frank Oz's work and this time he directs a black comedy about a dysfunctional family (at a funeral). What I enjoyed about it is the different kinds of humour (slapstick, macabre, toilet, metaphorical...) that all fit together. I do not enjoy the overuse of toilet humour (especially the way it has been done in numerous Hollywood summer movies) but here it is within context and the film itself is full of laugh out loud moments. Oz assembles a host of talented actors that include Keeley Hawes, Andy Nyman, Daisy Donovan, Alan Tudyk, Jane Asher, Kris Marshall, Peter Dinklage and Rupert Graves. I did not expect Matthew Macfadyen to pull off comedy and here he was a funny surprise.

The entire film is set during the funeral and what makes this film different from others of its genre is the comedy and the pace is pretty smooth. Even though some of the comedic situations were over the top (in a good way) none of it looked out of place. It's the kind of film that may not appeal to everyone but those who get it will roll on the floor laughing.

I watched it during a tired evening and I thought I wouldn't be able to sit through it because I was so tired (not because I expected the movie to be bad or anything) but the constant laughing got me energized enough throughout. It's just infectiously hilarious!

This is one of my favourite comedies of all time. The humour is very British, very black and the cast are all superb. Don't watch the American re-make (why??? we speak the same language?) Watch this.

"Death at a Funeral" is a hilarious British black comedy from 2007 starring Matthew MacFadyen, Peter Dinklage, Jane Asher, Alan Tudyk, Kris Marshall, Rupert Graves, and Peter Vaughan.

A family gathers for the patriarch's funeral: his wife (Asher), his son Daniel (MacFadyen) and his wife Jane (Keely Hawes, MacFadyen's real-life wife), and his son Robert (Rupert Graves).

Robert is a well-known author living in a New York City penthouse; Daniel and Jane have been looking after his parents but now are planning to get a flat further away. Daniel and Robert are supposed to split the cost of the funeral, but Robert claims to have no money because it's expensive to keep up his lifestyle. He also won't give the eulogy, though everyone who walks in asks him if he's going to.

Meanwhile, Daniel practices a eulogy but never seems to get past, "My father was an exceptional man." Meanwhile, the funeral home has brought the wrong body and has to return to get the right one.

Daniel and Robert's cousin Martha (Daisy Donovan) is attending the funeral with her boyfriend Simon (Tudyk). When they go to pick up Troy (Marshall), Martha gives the nervous Simon what she thinks is a Valium. It's a hallucinogenic concocted by Troy, who is a pharmacy student.

By the time they get to the wedding, Simon is acting strangely. Not as strangely as he would act later on, but strangely.

Daniel notices a dwarf (Dinklage) at the funeral; the man says he wants to speak with Daniel privately. His name is Peter.

That's all I'll say but the story becomes more and more bizarre and funny, including a hypochondriac with a discoloration on his wrist that he's sure is a dreaded disease, blackmail, nudity, a locked bathroom, and lots of other things.

Very, very entertaining with fine performances, no one going for laughs, just playing the characters. That's really the way to do it.

One of my favorite parts occurs when Robert tries to dismiss the problems brought in by Peter, saying, "Oh, no one even noticed him." "No one noticed him?" Daniel asks. "He's 4'5!" A lovely ending puts the cap on this entertaining film.

I found this to be the funniest movie that I've seen in ages. We saw it today (July 12th) in Herzliya, Israel at the local movie theater at the mall.

There were only 8 people in the whole audience, and my husband and I filled the room with howls of laughter.

The actors are fabulous, especially Alan Tudyk, Khris Marshall, Andy Nyman, Peter Dinklage, and Daisy Donovan. Actually, the whole ensemble was great.

Especially Alan Tudyk keeps his frenetic performance absolutely hysterically funny, throughout most of the film!

Free of Hollywood hype, this film was a pleasure.

The wackiest Funeral you'll ever witness.