Death at a Funeral (2007)

Chaos ensues when a man tries to expose a dark secret regarding a recently deceased patriarch of a dysfunctional British family.

Director:

Frank Oz

Writer:

Dean Craig

Stars:

Matthew Macfadyen, Keeley Hawes, Ewen Bremner

2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Matthew Macfadyen	...	Daniel (as Matthew MacFadyen)
Keeley Hawes	...	Jane
Andy Nyman	...	Howard
Ewen Bremner	...	Justin
Daisy Donovan	...	Martha
Alan Tudyk	...	Simon
Jane Asher	...	Sandra
Kris Marshall	...	Troy
Rupert Graves	...	Robert
Peter Vaughan	...	Uncle Alfie
Thomas Wheatley	...	The Reverend
Peter Egan	...	Victor
Peter Dinklage	...	Peter
Brendan O'Hea	...	Undertaker
Jeremy Booth	...	Mourner

Storyline

Daniel is a decent young man, married to Jane, still living at his father's home. When his father dies, it is up to him to organize his funeral. On this painful morning, the suitable grave expression on his face, Daniel is ready to welcome his father's friends and relatives. But preserving the dignity inherent in such circumstances will be a hard task. Particularly with an undertaker who botches his work, the return from the USA of his famous but selfish brother, his cousin's fiancé who has accidentally ingested drugs, the presence a moron who takes advantage of the sad event to win back the heart (or rather the body) of a woman who is about to marry another, of a handicapped old uncle who is also the most unbearable pain in the neck. To cap it all, Daniel notices the presence among the mourners of a mysterious dwarf nobody else seems to know...

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Plot Keywords:

uncle | secret | funeral | saliva | sibling rivalry | 

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Taglines:

Last rites... and wrongs.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and drug content

Details

Country:

USA Germany UK Netherlands

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 July 2007 (Germany)

Also Known As:

Muerte en un funeral

Filming Locations:

Chenies Manor House, Chenies, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$9,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£357,212 (UK) (2 November 2007)

Gross:

£2,754,050 (UK) (9 July 2010)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sidney Kimmel Entertainment, Parabolic Pictures Inc., Stable Way Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

DTS SDDS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Frank Oz once said that it was impossible to make Peter Vaughan laugh on the set because he was so deeply into the crotchety character of Uncle Alfie. This is why there was no footage of Peter cracking up to use for the closing credit montage.

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Goofs

Troy drops the bottle of 'Valium' on the kitchen table, label face up, to answer the door. His sister Martha walks by and the bottle is laying label face down.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Daniel: [giving instructions to the pallbearers] Just, uh, straight through there and to the left, please.

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Crazy Credits

The closing credits give the name of each performer with a blooper shot of them cracking up during filming.

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Connections

Remade as Death at a Funeral (2010)

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Soundtracks

"Love Our Time Today"
Performed by Yamit Mamo
Written by Murray Gold

User Reviews

Highbrow meets lowbrow: results in laughter

I saw this at a screening and I had a rousing good time. It starts with a chuckle in the opening credits and slowly builds to spotty laughter, belly laughs, and loud groaning silliness. This is British farce with an expert ensemble cast. Everyone hits their marks and a couple go completely overboard and over-broad (Mr. Vaughn, we're looking at you.) Tudyk and Dinklage have the showiest parts and they feast on them. The rest of the cast is inspired and spot on.

It's a delightful combination of highbrow meeting lowbrow and everything in between. A dash of wit and charm mixed in with a few genuine surprises. A few old tropes are trotted out but there is a bit of backspin on them. If you want a laugh, go!