Bara con vista

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.

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.

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.

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.