'Humour' passes away in 'Death at a Funeral'
By Nick Knittel, Contributor
October 1, 2007 | 10:29 a.m.
British comedy is well known for its dry, sharp-as-a-lance humor -- the kind that could blow right past if you aren’t paying attention. Unfortunately, “Death at a Funeral” is not that kind of British movie.
But if you do like sitcom-level gags that can be seen coming a mile away, perhaps you should take a closer look here.
Everything begins with a death, fittingly enough. The patriarch of the family has just croaked, and good son Daniel (Matthew Macfadyen) attempts to wrangle relatives and friends together to give his father a decent send-off.
Of course, that doesn’t happen. Daniel, in the midst of the funeral, is caught up in a talent feud with his older brother and famous novelist Robert (Rupert Graves) over the eulogy. On top of that, they are hounded by a midget (Peter Dinklage), their father’s sometime gay lover who attempts to blackmail the brothers as compensation for being left out of the will.
As if that weren’t enough, cousin Martha (Daisy Donovan) accidentally feeds her fiance, Simon (Alan Tudyk), a hallucinogenic drug created by her brother Troy (Kris Marshall). Despite being completely unoriginal, the subplot involving Simon is probably one of the funniest things within the entire film and also features an extremely large number of shots displaying Alan Tudyk’s bare ass. "Firefly" fans rejoice.
Stock characters fill out the remainder of the cast: an angry, cursing old uncle; a selfish asshole of a cousin; and an insensitive preacher. Few of these bring anything new or humorous to the proceedings, save for a chuckle here or there. Most are simply a rehash of things seen before and done better elsewhere. When the casket is knocked over and Papa’s body rolls out, you’ll be rolling your eyes instead of splitting your sides (rhyme unintentional), except for Simon's screaming, “He’s alive! He’s alive!” in the background.
Director Frank Oz, the puppeteer behind Yoda and the Muppets, has spent a long time in the comedy realm. He directed hits like “What About Bob?” and “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,” so making such a mediocre outing like “Death at a Funeral” is a little disappointing.
That is, until you realize “The Stepford Wives” is a part of his resume, and then things seem to be a little more understandable.
For what it’s worth, the movie gets the job done but in such a broad way that it becomes fluffy, airy and unsatisfying. This is the movie you take your parents to see, as evidenced by the throngs of baby boomers in the seats of the theater. These are parents who aren’t afraid of a little swearing now and again and who haven’t seen anything more pointed than, say, the BBC’s version of “The Office,” a much funnier and more propelled brand of British humor that is leagues beyond what is shown here.
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“Death at a Funeral”
Critic's Rating: C
Running Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
MPAA Rating: R for language and drug content
Movie Genre: comedy
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Visit the official "Death at a Funeral" Web site.