Morte no Funeral

Despite having double the budget and some pretty big Hollywood stars the 2010 release adds nothing whatsoever, and in fact is in many ways inferior.

Not only are there some very lacklustre performances in particular from Chris Rock and Martin Lawrence as the two sons of the deceased, but the camera work in some sections is truly awful with the decision to use "handheld" or steadicam photography resulting in the picture shaking so badly in some sections that it is almost hard to watch.

Despite all this many of the best moments of the original are copied perfectly and work just as well as they did the first time around meaning that there are several good laughs to be had, but when you've got the choice of watching this or the original there's really no contest.

Distinctly average.

This lacks all the wonderful English sense of irony. That version was laugh out loud funny. This version doesn't work,

This film is about the funeral of a family man. the funeral turns out to be very eventful with many surprises.

"Death at a Funeral" is almost the same as the British original, be it the title or the plot. The British one was really funny, I remember myself laughing very hard when I watched it. This remake, is mildly funny, but it is just in a different league. It uses cheap humour to make people laugh, and it lacks the witty dialog of the original. Moreover, characters are less sympathetic and more annoying in this remake. Despite a few funny moments, I would stay "Death at a Funeral" is an uninspired remake of a great comedy.

Maybe filmmakers will bear in mind that remaking such a recent film in the same language with the same plot is not such a good idea, as it will inevitably draw comparisons between the original and the remake.

Death at a Funeral (2010)

*** (out of 4)

Remake of a 2007 British film, this comedy is certainly done in bad taste but the talented cast bring enough laughs to make it worth viewing. The "story", if you want to call it that, is rather simple as a group of people show up at a funeral only to have one thing go wrong after another. This includes the dead man's sons (Chris Rock, Martin Lawrence) constantly fighting, a man showing up claiming to be the lover of the dead man and we even get a white boyfriend who everyone hates and they're really going to hate him after he accidentally takes some acid. This is a rather vulgar movie that makes a living on bad taste and dirty jokes but what makes them so funny is that no one wants the stuff to be vulgar. It's strange but all the characters here are good people who mean no one any harm yet they just get into situations where they're forced to do things that they normally wouldn't do and that's what makes the film so funny. The film contains a terrific cast lead by Rock and Lawrence but we also get Danny Glover, Tracy Morgan, Luke Wilson, Loretta Devine, Peter Dinklage, James Marsden and Keith David. All of the actors are obviously given it their all. Sometimes they deliver wonderful jokes while at other times they fall flat on their face but no matter how the joke comes out you can at least see how hard they're working to try and make the laugh. One of the highlights of the film is when the crippled character played by Glover gets diarrhea and has Morgan rush him to the bathroom but his hand gets stuck in the toilet as the old man sits down. Another running gag has the father being gay and hiding it his entire life and his son played by Lawrence gets upset because the lover is white. The movie runs a very quick 90-minutes but every ten-seconds there appears to be a new joke being thrown out. I give the film credit for pushing all the right buttons and at least attempting to make fun of more dramatic situations. There's no good flow to the movie and the story is certainly nothing special but people are tuning into this thing to laugh and they'll be doing that quite a bit from start to finish.

Death At A Funeral is easily one of the funniest films I've seen in months. Those looking for something hilarious should definitely see it. It's a simple film; just a series of events and misunderstandings at a funeral. All these lead to real chaos, however. The physical and even the spoken humour is well executed. The whole cast deliver solid performances. The script is surprisingly good for a film like this. Add to this a fitting ending, and you've got one satisfying comedy. There's some gross humour, but unlike recent gross-out comedies the stuff here actually works and doesn't feel unpleasant. In addition, most gags contribute to later events in the story. Death At A Funeral is a solid Hollywood product with a star cast that manages to make every star worthwhile. It doesn't break any new ground, but it's truly hilarious.