Frank Oz’
Death at a Funeral is a perfectly affable British farce, but
it never says anything of consequence about its situations. As I
watched the film, I was entirely amused by the characters, but I
never learned enough about them to care about what would happen
to them next. In this respect, Death at a Funeral
represents something of a miracle: director Oz finds his
audience fully engaged by the humor of his film, despite the
fact that they don’t have a dime invested in the personalities
inhabiting it. As such, the viewer will respect Death at a
Funeral’s craftily-written screwball antics just as much as
they’ll begin to forget about them five minutes after they leave
the theatre.
The funeral
promised by the title is that of the father of brothers Daniel
(Matthew MacFayden) and Robert (Rupert Graves). As previously
mentioned, we don’t learn much about these characters. From what
we do: Daniel is regarded as failed novelist despite the fact
that he not yet finished his first novel, and Robert is his
most-successful novelist of a brother. The two are constantly
competing, so much so that Robert shells out the last dollars in
his bank account (he may be successful, but he splurges) to fly
first-class back to England for the funeral from his New York
home, just so that all of the attendees will show their surprise
that the less-literate Daniel will be doing the eulogy. (Daniel
has this measurably written on three-by-five cards).
At the funeral,
laughs don’t come so much from the lead-duo as they do from the
supporting cast: Alan Tudyk’s Simon, who acts wildly due to a
particular prescription-drug mix-up, and Peter Dinklage’s Peter,
who may have been Dad’s closet gay lover, are particular
showstoppers. The bulk of Death at a Funeral’s success
comes in the form of random situational humor, which is probably
why it’s so forgettable. There are a lot of specific moments
and supporting characters that the viewer will chuckle
at, but not a lot of jokes or comedic developments
present. As it is, Death at a Funeral is perfectly funny
and jolly from scene-to-scene, but certainly won’t leave a
lasting impression. Whether this experience is worth the price
of admission, I’ll let you be the judge.
-Danny Baldwin,
Bucket Reviews
Review Published
on: 8.24.2007
Screened on:
8.22.2007 at the Edwards San Marcos 18 in San Marcos, CA.
Death at a Funeral is rated R and runs
90 minutes.
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