Morgan Bell
Kynaston
REVIEW: Death At A Funeral
May 13th 2008 14:57
Directed: Frank Oz (The Stepford Wives, In & Out, Housesitter, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels)
Written: Dean Craig (Caffeine)
Starring: Matthew Macfadyen (Pride & Prejudice, Enigma, Maybe Baby), Rupert Graves (Mrs Dalloway, TV mini-series Charles II: The Power & the Passion, TV mini-series The Forsyte Saga), Alan Tudyk (A Knights Tale, Serenity, Knocked Up), Kris Marshall (Love Actually, TVs My Family), Ewen Bremner (Trainspotting, Black Hawk Down)
This film claims to be the funniest British comedy since Four Weddings & A Funeral . . . it is funny, but its not THAT funny! The essential difference is that the story does not focus on just one person primarily, we are looking at a HUGE cast of characters who are all trying to be crammed in with equal time . . . Matthew Macfadyen is dull as dishwater (as usual) but luckily the rest of the cast bounce off each other really well . . . im a devoted fan of Rupert Graves and he does not disappoint, i only wish he had a bit more screen time and his character was a bit more developed . . . Tudyk, Marshall, and Bremner are hilarious and provide all the laughs with their characters, they are of course all the no-hopers of the family, but it works well. This film is a black comedy which relies fairly heavily on visual gags, it is basically the same kind of humour employed in TVs Fawlty Towers but without the dynamic character of Basil Fawlty to drive it home. The whole film is set the day of a fathers funeral, his adult sons (Macfadyen and Graves) are blackmailed about a secret from the fathers past, Marshall is a college pharmacy student (ie drug dealer) cousin and Tudyk is the adorable unliked fiance of the daughter who becomes the unfortunate victim of some mis-labelled pills (ahh acid - fun premise) when trying to make a good impression . . . these two catastophes combined with the meddling of every other eccentric family member lead to some very strange scenarios and a wholesome resolution that should satisfy most audiences.
a short clip of a drugged Alan Tudyk:
Written: Dean Craig (Caffeine)
Starring: Matthew Macfadyen (Pride & Prejudice, Enigma, Maybe Baby), Rupert Graves (Mrs Dalloway, TV mini-series Charles II: The Power & the Passion, TV mini-series The Forsyte Saga), Alan Tudyk (A Knights Tale, Serenity, Knocked Up), Kris Marshall (Love Actually, TVs My Family), Ewen Bremner (Trainspotting, Black Hawk Down)
This film claims to be the funniest British comedy since Four Weddings & A Funeral . . . it is funny, but its not THAT funny! The essential difference is that the story does not focus on just one person primarily, we are looking at a HUGE cast of characters who are all trying to be crammed in with equal time . . . Matthew Macfadyen is dull as dishwater (as usual) but luckily the rest of the cast bounce off each other really well . . . im a devoted fan of Rupert Graves and he does not disappoint, i only wish he had a bit more screen time and his character was a bit more developed . . . Tudyk, Marshall, and Bremner are hilarious and provide all the laughs with their characters, they are of course all the no-hopers of the family, but it works well. This film is a black comedy which relies fairly heavily on visual gags, it is basically the same kind of humour employed in TVs Fawlty Towers but without the dynamic character of Basil Fawlty to drive it home. The whole film is set the day of a fathers funeral, his adult sons (Macfadyen and Graves) are blackmailed about a secret from the fathers past, Marshall is a college pharmacy student (ie drug dealer) cousin and Tudyk is the adorable unliked fiance of the daughter who becomes the unfortunate victim of some mis-labelled pills (ahh acid - fun premise) when trying to make a good impression . . . these two catastophes combined with the meddling of every other eccentric family member lead to some very strange scenarios and a wholesome resolution that should satisfy most audiences.
a short clip of a drugged Alan Tudyk:
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Comment by Mr Nice Guy
Pop Culturist
Pop Rock Factory
You've managed to wet my appitite.
It's on the list!
Cheers
MNG
Comment by Morgan Bell
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i hope you enjoy it . . . some things work in it, some things dont, but overall i got some good laughs . . . there are some very talented British actors doing some very funny things!
thanks for the comment!
Comment by Linh
Celluloid Fun
I loved 'Death At A Funeral' when I saw it in the cinema last year.
However, I didn't find it as funny as 'Walk Hard- The Dewey Cox Story'. I was laughing out loud at most of the scenes in 'Dewy Cox' which I saw earlier this year.
Cheers!
Comment by Morgan Bell
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oh thats the JohnC Reily film where hes a rockstar isnt it? i havent seen that yet, but if its that funny i will put it at the top of my "to see" list!
its great when you find a really impressive comedy!
thanks for the recommendation!
Comment by Jason King
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Salty Popcorn
Total Randomness
Comment by Morgan Bell
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oh now i wish i had seen it at the cinema rather than dvd, i love when the audience makes something even funnier!
do you watch much recent UK comedy on TV? like Little Britain, League Of Gentlemen, My Family, Vicar of Dibley, Ab Fab?
Comment by Jason King
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Watched a few episodes of Little Britain, found it funny but also the same joke told 500000000 times (OK I like to exaggerate), never heard of League of Gentleman or My Family, watch Vicar if on the TV and used to watch Ab Fab lots. LOVED IT!!
Comment by Morgan Bell
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(somehow i knew you would have seen Ab Fab but i had to ask anyway, just to check youre an authentic gay lol)
Comment by Jason King
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Comment by Ayda
Phantasmelodia
Alan Tudyk is the one! Just couldn't get enough of his hilarious mimics all throughout this movie. Great to see it reviewed, Morgan. Ideal for a cozy weekend.
Comment by Morgan Bell
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thanks for getting around to all of my blogs
a cosy weekend, that is an excellent suggestion for when to watch this movie . . . Alan Tudyk is an A-grade comedy actor and i agree he was hilarious in this, the expressions on his face sometimes are priceless
i think theres a couple of other reviews floating around orble, some people really hated it haha
Comment by Cheryl J
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Oh no, another one to add to the ever expanding list
Comment by Morgan Bell
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Alan Tudyk is just lovely!
im a fan of Firefly and Serenity too . . . space cowboys! haha