Movie Review: "Death at a Funeral" (2010)
Franck Tabouring
Seen on: April 16, 2010
The players: Director: Neil LaBute, Writer: Dean Craig, Cast: Peter Dinklage, Chris Rock, Regina Hall, Keith David, Martin Lawrence, Tracy Morgan, Zoe Saldana
Facts of interest: Remake of Frank Oz's 2007 comedy.
The plot: The film tells the story of a family desperately trying to make it through a funeral ceremony.
Our thoughts: If you’ve seen Frank Oz’s 2007 British comedy “Death at a Funeral,” you may as well stick with it and skip Neil LaBute’s American remake, because the new “Death at a Funeral” is so close to the original one, it almost becomes a completely unnecessary viewing experience. Okay, maybe this one’s a tad raunchier, but in my book, it’s not exactly funnier.
I see no point at all in remaking a movie just three years after its release, but then again, this is Hollywood, and that means anything is possible. Just like the 2007 version, the remake follows a family’s misadventures during an unconventional funeral ceremony, and that’s pretty much all there is to report about the story line.
Even though I didn’t catch myself laughing hard at any moment in the film, I do have to admit that LaBute’s film is paced well enough. “Funeral” is by no means a boring experience, and its short running time certainly helps move things along. In other words, there’s always enough chaos to keep the plot entertaining enough until the end.
If only all this chaos was hilarious, this would be a much better film. “Death at a Funeral” occasionally attempts to throw some social criticism at us, but in my book, these attempts mostly fail. What works for this version is the raunchy humor and the energetic cast, which I agree go together just fine. Still, the film could be funnier.
Chris Rock and Martin Lawrence occupy the lead roles as the two stressed brothers trying to bury their deceased father, but none of them is supplied with solid enough material to stand out. On the other hand, Danny Glover, Peter Dinklage, Luke Wilson and Tracy Morgan are the funnier guys this time around. They do manage to pull off some decent jokes.
Other than that, what else is there to say about a movie in which a funeral guest gets high on a hallucinogen, a dead dude rolls out of a coffin, and another guy craps on somebody else’s hand? What I will say though is that the slapstick we get to see here is way more enjoyable than that in all those crappy, embarrassing teen comedies we’ve been seeing.
Freaky quote: "She may be in 12th grade, but that ass is in grad school." - Martin Lawrence
The final word: “Death to a Funeral” is certainly a watchable big-screen experience, but I still believe it’s unnecessary, especially if you’ve seen the original one. If you haven’t, I can see why this one may seem appealing.
Article by Franck Tabouring
Reader Comments (1)
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