Eulogy (2004)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Michael Clancy

Writer (WGA):

Michael Clancy (written by)

Release Date:

24 February 2005 (Australia)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

Last rites. Last words. Last laughs.

Plot:

A black comedy that follows three generations of a family, who come together for the funeral of the patriarch - unveiling a litany of family secrets and covert relationships.

Plot Keywords:

Twins | Eulogy | Dysfunctional Family | Lesbian | Funeral

Cast

Hank Azaria	...	Daniel Collins
Jesse Bradford	...	Ryan Carmichael
Zooey Deschanel	...	Kate Collins
Glenne Headly	...	Samantha
Famke Janssen	...	Judy Arnolds
Piper Laurie	...	Charlotte Collins
Kelly Preston	...	Lucy Collins
Ray Romano	...	Skip Collins
Rip Torn	...	Edmund Collins
Debra Winger	...	Alice Collins
Micole Mercurio	...	Delilah the Neighbor
Lucy Boyle	...	Girl in Dorm Room
Tania Gunadi	...	Girl in Dorm Room
Kevin Ruf	...	Commercial Dad
Alex Moore	...	Young Daniel

MPAA:

Rated R for for language, sexual content and drug use.

Runtime:

91 min | Canada:85 min (Ontario)

Country:

USA | UK | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

UK:15 | Iceland:LH | Canada:PG (Ontario) | USA:TV-MA (cable rating) | Netherlands:12 | Australia:M | Singapore:M18 | USA:R (certificate #38723)

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Eulogy Productions LLC

Trivia:

Dedicated to John L. Black.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Kate and Ryan are walking along the country road after Kate says "I'm sorry you had to see my Grandmother like that": Ryan says "I've never seen anyone like that", Kate squats and puts her hands to her face. Then, her face is uncovered.

Quotes:

Kate Collins: [reading a letter from Ryan out loud] Did you really leave me again? After all the seasons I spent waiting, watching out the window, listening at the door, waiting for the news of your return? for the news that you realized that someone important was waiting for you. A whole lifetime I've been waiting. I can't believe you're not coming back. I can't believe I'm supposed to stop waiting. I can't believe you left me again...
[ends letter]
Kate Collins: Grandpa didn't leave because of you, it was because of you he kept coming back. I hope you all realize that.

Movie Connections:

References The Ballad of Ramblin' Jack (2000)

Soundtrack:

Fascination

Review by Adrienne Urbanski

Film Review: EULOGY

Directed & Written by: Michael Clancy. Produced by: Steven Haft, Richard B. Lewis & Kirk D'Amico. Director of Photography: Michael Chapman. Edited by: Richard Halsey. Music by: George S. Clinton. Released by: Lions Gate. Country of Origin: USA/UK/Germany. 85 min. Rated: R. With: Hank Azaria, Zooey Deschanel, Glenne Headly, Piper Laurie, Kelly Preson, Ray Romano, Rip Torn & Debra Winger.

It takes a much more dire occasion than a holiday to force the Collins family together. The death of Grandpa Collins (Rip Torn) finally brings the embittered family members under the same roof. Kate (Zooey Deschanel) and her has-been actor father (Hank Azaria) find themselves stuck with Uncle Skip (Ray Romano), a sleazy lawyer who has raised two sons so equally vulgar that their own mother has abandoned them. His sister Lucy (Kelly Preston) arrives with her lesbian lover Judy, announcing they're to wed; this sets off uptight Aunt Alice (Debra Winger) on a rampage. The family's bickering turns into an all-out brawl, with every possible insult and betrayal coming out of the wood work. And as if the constant feuding weren't enough, Grandma Collins (Piper Laurie) seems bent on offing herself with increasingly creative methods. By the time the funeral rolls around the plot has taken dozens of bizarre twists.

Rich with laugh-inducing dialogue and eccentric characters, this is a madcap comedy at its blackest. Ray Romano proves to be funnier as a slimy creep than as his nice-guy sitcom persona, and deadpan Zooey Deschanel shines as the film's central character. The cast as a whole makes the careful balance of comedic timing and delivery seem like second nature. While the film often falls short on logic, it succeeds in laughs.