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Death at a Funeral (2007)

Director: Frank Oz

3

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From Time Out New York

Grafting crude, borderline-cruel 21st-century humor onto a comedy of manners that pointedly evokes the first decade of the last century is a novel way of getting laughs, so the drug-deranged gay dwarf and profanity-spewing senior citizen in this Frank Oz Britcom have a certain peculiar integrity. The sniveling prat who gets sprayed with the old guy’s shit, maybe not so much.

Trashy trappings aside, Death at a Funeral is a pleasant if staid account of a bourgie clan burying one of its own. The funeral party gathers at the home of the deceased, where his feuding adult sons (MacFadyen and Graves), devoted niece (Donovan) and her inadvertently doped fiancé (the scene-stealing, frequently naked Alan Tudyk), along with various hangers-on—including the aforementioned acid casualty (Peter Dinklage) and be-fecesed friend of the family (Andy Nyman)—pop the cork on their long-simmering resentments. This makes for pretty thin broth, and most of the film’s fun is reserved for its final third. But Oz does a decent job of building up to Death’s big laughs—and even when things go all gooey for the sentimental finale, there’s a final gross-out gag pitched to the cheap seats.

Author: Mark Holcomb 2007-08-14 18:44:04

Time Out New York Issue 620: August 16–22, 2007

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User reviews of this film

  • Andrew said...
    Posted on Feb 03 2008 04:46 I saw the film on a business trip to Aus and can't wait to see it again - I'm still chuckling weeks afterwards. It's not a complicated film, but then old-fashioned French farces seldom are. Well worthwhile.
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  • jackson said...
    Posted on Nov 12 2007 22:39 this film contained a great and very funny storyline to go with it. The acting and actors were top notch. An overall great comedy and it is worth seeing.
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  • stephen nyc said...
    Posted on Aug 18 2007 23:42 i'm still laughing hours after seeing this film. i'm too uptight usually to like comedies of manners, but a friend wanted to go. i'm glad i went along. it's the funniest movie i've seen all year. even the most vulgar scene had me laughing out loud as did the "death" of the movie's title. the largely unknow-to-americans ensemble worked very well, especially donavan, tudyk, and dinklage. it may not be a date movie, but it's definitely worth seeing.
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Death at a Funeral

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Cast & crew

Director: Frank Oz

Cast: Matthew Macfadyen, Rupert Graves, Daisy Donovan, Peter Dinklage, Alan Tudyk, Keeley Hawes, Ewen Bremner, Andy Nyman, Jane Asher, Kris Marshall, Peter Vaughan full cast

Genre(s): Comedy, Drama

Rated: R

Duration: 90 mins


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