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143 out of 180 people found the following review useful: Who knew a funeral could be so funny?, 22 June 2007 Author: JenZC from United States
A midget, hallucinogenic drugs, homosexuality, sibling rivalry, nudity, and a funeral come together in riotous chaotic harmony in Death at a Funeral. The films story unfolds in the span of an afternoon and despite the short duration of plot Frank Oz, directory, endears us to the characters with witty and realistic dialog. What better setting than a funeral to highlight the humor and irony of life? The characters' mourning is completely relatable because it isn't overwrought or melodramatic and is thus all the more genuine.Family turmoil overshadows the funeral and propels the characters into awkward but hilarious situations. The film does not forget it takes place during a funeral and by the end a heartfelt eulogy is delivered in spite of the lunacy surrounding it.The humor is just dry enough to complement the somewhat dark comedy but not so dry that it alienates the audience.I haven't laughed this much at a film in a very long time...especially a film about a funeral.
143 out of 183 people found the following review useful: Nearly Died Laughing, 27 June 2007 Author: Kristen Kallahan from Seattle WA USA
I went to this screening expecting it to be a serious movie -- you don't expect to be laughing at a movie with both "Death" and "Funeral" in the title -- but this film was hilarious! It wasn't just me -- the theater was full of people screaming with laughter and clapping at various moments.Alan Tudyk is hilarious every moment he is on screen. Finally this underrated actor has gotten a good-sized part where he can show off his comedy skills.Most of the actors are British and I did not recognize them, but they were excellent.One I recognized was Jane Asher (she was Paul McCartney's girlfriend in the 60s -- he shoulda married her -- she's still alive and she's not a gold-digger). She plays the very composed widow here. (Oddly she has fewer creases on her face than her middle-aged sons.) This film reminded me a bit of "Four Weddings and a Funeral", but even more of those British madcap black comedies of the 60s with Alec Guinness or Peter Sellers.
124 out of 170 people found the following review useful: Highbrow meets lowbrow: results in laughter, 6 June 2007 Author: StacyScrip from L.A.
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!
86 out of 107 people found the following review useful: Very funny is a gently twisted British way, 19 August 2007 Author: ejev from Rhode Island
I wasn't quite sure what to expect out of this, even though I had enjoyed the trailer in the theater. There had been some comments about cruel humor, which I just didn't see. The story was well structured, with groundwork laid early on for very funny bits much later in the film that got us laughing hard without hitting us over the head with the joke. The moments of comic tension were good, without that excruciating sense that someone was going to be horribly embarrassed, or hurt, or whatever, that American films seem to have. The situation is very well known to everyone who's been to a family funeral, although in America we would have the service in a funeral home or church, and we've all had moments when we want to laugh at the wrong time, or notice something a little out of the ordinary in the service that seems to cry out for comment. My husband, 14 year old daughter and I enjoyed the film immensely, and we all gave it an 8 out of 10, with some good carryover lines to quote amongst ourselves. Go see it, enjoy, and leave the political correctness at home.
87 out of 123 people found the following review useful: Fantastic!, 12 July 2007 Author: sgwdem from Israel
I found this to be the funniest movie that I've seen in ages. We saw it today (July 12th) in Herzliya, Israel at the local movie theater at the mall. There were only 8 people in the whole audience, and my husband and I filled the room with howls of laughter.The actors are fabulous, especially Alan Tudyk, Khris Marshall, Andy Nyman, Peter Dinklage, and Daisy Donovan. Actually, the whole ensemble was great.Especially Alan Tudyk keeps his frenetic performance absolutely hysterically funny, throughout most of the film! Free of Hollywood hype, this film was a pleasure.The wackiest Funeral you'll ever witness.
68 out of 98 people found the following review useful: One of the years best comedies, 10 July 2007 Author: Stephan from Germany
I watched this movie yesterday at a pre-screening in Berlin. Without knowing what to expect I went there with a friend. When we came out of the theater, we've had tears in our eyes - it was just too hilarious! I haven't laughed that much in a movie for quite a while. If you love black-humor, "Death at a funeral" is definitely a must-see movie! It's full of bizarre scenes (partly earthy though, nevertheless funny), great cast (especially Alan Tudyk, who's having quite a lot of laughs on his side) and the script is so awesome! Dean Craig has done an excellent job by writing it, Frank Oz by directing one of the year's best comedy movies! You won't regret watching it!
68 out of 113 people found the following review useful: Death at a Funeral: humor before the grave., 14 June 2007 Author: mgoldhamer from United States
The laughs begin during the animated credits which prepares the film going public for the buffoonery to follow. Death at a Funeral (DaaF) is directed by Frank Oz. Because of the nature of this film I believe Mr. Oz is paying homage to the late, great, director, Robert Altman, particularly his film A Wedding. Both A Wedding and DaaF are both off beat, extremely, funny, and very non-typical of weddings and funerals, in which they both portray. In tribute to Mr. Altman, Mr. Oz also uses an ensemble cast of well known actors by face but not by name. The audience has seen their work and in this film they most definitely make you laugh. This is an adult comedy with an R rating for adult themes, nudity, recreational drug use, religious issues, postmortem issues, and the absurdity about death. Remember this is an adult comic opera taken to the extreme. At this funeral the mourners may come with their inhabitation's in check but due to the outlandish antics of many of the other grievous members assembled, all of the gathered, loose all claim to sanity. The audience becomes one with the collected zany members of this grieving group. Since the players on film have lost their inhabitation's so to does the audience. Remember this is an adult, knee slapping, laugh out loud farce. This film is outrageously funny, in an adult vein, not intended for children. If you go to a sporting event, after you have paid for your ticket and bought your seat, people around you cheer, yell, scream and sometimes even in funny costumes as well. A film house is the same communally shared type of experience and environment for entertainment but patrons of the silver screen tend to hold their laughter within, as of being afraid of upsetting the patron in the next seat. Is it not time to unshackle this age old concept and enjoy yourself along with others? I am certain that is the reason why Frank Oz made this film, so the audience could laugh and laugh at themselves. I personally want to thank you Mr. Oz for the laughter and the comedy of Death at a Funeral.
47 out of 75 people found the following review useful: Don't be turned off by the title., 15 September 2007 Author: PWNYCNY from United States
When the subject of great comedies comes up for discussion, this movie must be included. What a funny movie! Normally any movie that includes the word "death" in the title is a movie that is implicitly telling the audience to beware, it's going to be morbid. Well, this movie is not only not morbid, it is hilarious, not just in a black-comedy way, but in a straightforward matter that uses a funeral as the basis for generating some very funny scenes. The movie contains no morbidity. Rather, it is like an extended sitcom that portrays various people acting very silly and goofy. Everyone in this movie was funny, and one should not be turned off by the title because although death is a serious subject that should not be treated lightly, the movie really isn't about death at all, but actually about life and how silly and crazy people can act when the situation presents itself.
27 out of 38 people found the following review useful: quality humour, 18 November 2007 Author: Catalina Paraschivescu from Bucharest, Romania
It's been ages since I had such a good time enjoying a movie. While other movies about dysfunctional families are so dramatic and serious, Death at a Funeral makes things brighter and funnier even at a funeral. The characters are not complex, but various - an accidentally drugged men, a hurting widow, a famous writer and his brother who cannot escape the other one's glorious shade, a hypochondric young men, a sever father, a sour old men, a homosexual blackmailer... and much, much chaos. This antithesis between life, with its different forms of manifestation, and death makes Death at a Funeral a juicy mild-black comedy.
22 out of 29 people found the following review useful: A scatological farce and other British specialties, 1 October 2007 Author: giorgiosurbani from Italy
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
Short and to the point. Family relations, death and excrement. A hallucinogenic drug who's effect takes most part of the movie. A dead father "an extraordinary man" with a skeleton in his closet shaped as a dwarf (sorry little person)with blackmail in his mind. A lot of fun to see Jane Asher as the widow, the mother. She was the girl from the swinging sixties,, the Beatles "Deep End" and I believe Michael Caine's "Alfie" Loved to see Rupert Graves in a funny, adult turn. I miss this guy, such a good actor, so much better than others that made it big on the other side of the ocean. All in all a British sit-com dealing and doing what they do best. Toilette humor, and death, in the most straight forward politically incorrect British fashion. Frank Oz treats the whole thing as a drawing room comedy and everything goes so fast that there is no real time for a serious assessment. If you go I guarantee, at least, a couple of hearty laughs.
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